Re: Tracking Down Cause of Creeping System Hang
Posted: 16 Apr 2010, 14:09
An overheating notebook, and all do, is going to eventually fail.
Notebooks with powerful GPUs are even more likely to die of heat.
Software measurements of notebook heat are somewhat irrelevant given the
limited options for remedying problems. In a reasonably designed desktop
heat issues may be local but in the tight confines of a notebook heat
distributes more evenly through the unit and parts that ordinarily would not
be exposed to high temperatures in a desktop are exposed to big temperature
swings every time the laptop is used.
The hard drive is about the only user replaceable item in a notebook and you
report your hard drive is functioning properly.
If you have never done it open the notebook and clean out all the mung or
pay someone to do it. If you are careful the only problem is making sure you
do not knock any keys off the keyboard if you have to remove it.
Also try using a cooling device under the notebook: they are noisy but can
reduce the temperature of the notebook and extend its useful life.
I was able to resurrect a nearly five year old Dell laptop this way that
kept shutting itself off because of heat issues. Of course I do not use that
machine for heavy work but merely to power a nearly static external display.
If video games ever catch on for the Mac platform, which largely consists of
undercooled notebook parts with limited passive heat radiation, their
otherwise seldom stressed anemic video systems may start boiling over like
an Icelandic volcano.
Notebooks with powerful GPUs are even more likely to die of heat.
Software measurements of notebook heat are somewhat irrelevant given the
limited options for remedying problems. In a reasonably designed desktop
heat issues may be local but in the tight confines of a notebook heat
distributes more evenly through the unit and parts that ordinarily would not
be exposed to high temperatures in a desktop are exposed to big temperature
swings every time the laptop is used.
The hard drive is about the only user replaceable item in a notebook and you
report your hard drive is functioning properly.
If you have never done it open the notebook and clean out all the mung or
pay someone to do it. If you are careful the only problem is making sure you
do not knock any keys off the keyboard if you have to remove it.
Also try using a cooling device under the notebook: they are noisy but can
reduce the temperature of the notebook and extend its useful life.
I was able to resurrect a nearly five year old Dell laptop this way that
kept shutting itself off because of heat issues. Of course I do not use that
machine for heavy work but merely to power a nearly static external display.
If video games ever catch on for the Mac platform, which largely consists of
undercooled notebook parts with limited passive heat radiation, their
otherwise seldom stressed anemic video systems may start boiling over like
an Icelandic volcano.