A Stupid Laptop

Ani

Alright so. I've had this laptop since 2009, and about a year ago it started having problems. All I know about the specs are that they're all the same, save for the operating system and the display on the laptop itself not working. (It's a HP Pavilion dv6000 for reference, I'll refer to it as the 7Top or 7T.) When I got the laptop, it had Windows Vista, just straight Vista. Again, last year. It started shutting down randomly. I got a CPU thermometer program a few months ago, and I noted that when the cpu got to 208 degrees ferinhiet (idk in Celsius sorry ;_;), the computer would die. Not permanantly, but just shut down and refuse to turn back on until it cooled off. Is this normal for a laptop? If not, what could the problem be? I hope someone can get back to me, and thanks sooo much in advance!~

~Ani

Kirk

Ani wrote:

I'll refer to it as the 7Top or 7T.

Except, nowhere in your post do you refer to it as 7Top or 7T except here.

Ani wrote:

Again, last year. It started shutting down randomly. I got a CPU thermometer program a few months ago, and I noted that when the cpu got to 208 degrees ferinhiet (idk in Celsius sorry ;_;), the computer would die. Not permanantly, but just shut down and refuse to turn back on until it cooled off. Is this normal for a laptop? If not, what could the problem be? I hope someone can get back to me, and thanks sooo much in advance!~

A few things.

1) Google has a built-in converter which could have given you the answer in Celcius, if anyone here cared:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=208%20F%20to%20C

2) NO, this is not normal for a laptop! It is, however, normal for a laptop with an overheating problem.

Pay attention to where you're using the laptop. Do not use it on soft surfaces, such as a bed or carpet, as this can cause the vents to become obstructed and can lead to overheating.

Furthermore, if the laptop is from 2009, your fans may just be clogged with hair and dust. My general recommendation in this situation would be to take the laptop apart as far as needed to blow out the fan(s).

Ani

Pay attention to where you're using the laptop. Do not use it on soft surfaces, such as a bed or carpet, as this can cause the vents to become obstructed and can lead to overheating.

When I use it on my desk, it does the same thing. (Plus the fact that the poor 7T can't really be made portable anymore with the display not even working and needing an external monitor), so I assume it's clogged fans. I'll see what I can do. Granted, it might just be the age of the thing. At any rate, i'll do what i can. Thank you, by the way.

BlueSun

It's definitely overheating. If you do take apart the laptop, be careful and take notes as you remove screws so you can re-assemble it without missing something. If you're not comfortable taking it apart, you can try to blow the dust out with compressed air.

Also, as somewhat of a band-aid solution, you can try propping up the back of the laptop to increase air flow or purchase a cooling mat.

But honestly, given the age and issues (it's an HP, so that's your first problem), you may want to consider (if you can afford it) a new laptop. Or maybe even a small desktop. I'm assuming it's out of warranty at this point.

Alex_theman

BlueSun wrote:

It's definitely overheating. If you do take apart the laptop, be careful and take notes as you remove screws so you can re-assemble it without missing something. If you're not comfortable taking it apart, you can try to blow the dust out with compressed air.

Also, as somewhat of a band-aid solution, you can try propping up the back of the laptop to increase air flow or purchase a cooling mat.

But honestly, given the age and issues (it's an HP, so that's your first problem), you may want to consider (if you can afford it) a new laptop. Or maybe even a small desktop. I'm assuming it's out of warranty at this point.

My hp has only one problem, the battery is stuck, and all I need to fix it is to take it apart and reassemble it

wingzeroismine

Ani wrote:

Pay attention to where you're using the laptop. Do not use it on soft surfaces, such as a bed or carpet, as this can cause the vents to become obstructed and can lead to overheating.

When I use it on my desk, it does the same thing. (Plus the fact that the poor 7T can't really be made portable anymore with the display not even working and needing an external monitor), so I assume it's clogged fans. I'll see what I can do. Granted, it might just be the age of the thing. At any rate, i'll do what i can. Thank you, by the way.

Do you use it as a desktop and keep its lid closed using all external devices (keyboard/mouse/etc)? That would also prevent heat from radiating upward, but like the others said, removing enough of it to blow out the fan could help. If you're particularly savvy you could try removing the fan completely and put fresh thermal grease down, this can dry out over time and cause heating problems but isn't usually needed.

Ani

wingzeroismine wrote:

Do you use it as a desktop and keep its lid closed using all external devices (keyboard/mouse/etc)? That would also prevent heat from radiating upward, but like the others said, removing enough of it to blow out the fan could help. If you're particularly savvy you could try removing the fan completely and put fresh thermal grease down, this can dry out over time and cause heating problems but isn't usually needed.

I used to, but then my external keyboard fell apart so I stopped.

BlueSun wrote:

It's definitely overheating. If you do take apart the laptop, be careful and take notes as you remove screws so you can re-assemble it without missing something. If you're not comfortable taking it apart, you can try to blow the dust out with compressed air.

Also, as somewhat of a band-aid solution, you can try propping up the back of the laptop to increase air flow or purchase a cooling mat.

But honestly, given the age and issues (it's an HP, so that's your first problem), you may want to consider (if you can afford it) a new laptop. Or maybe even a small desktop. I'm assuming it's out of warranty at this point.

I have (and i'm using) my alternate laptop- A Dell Latitude D600, aka the Craptop. This one has... meh specs and runs XP, but it gets the job done with the right programs. I was building a desktop until I accidentially broke the motherboard I got by putting the processor in wrong. Granted, I still have the old motherboard that was in there prior to the broken one, as well as the original parts I used... I should rebuild that thing

Kirk

Ani wrote:

I used to, but then my external keyboard fell apart so I stopped.

.... but how??

BOD

Happened to me too, so inconvenient.

iandun

BOD wrote:

Happened to me too, so inconvenient.

How the hell do you even do that to a keyboard?

BOD

I have many methods.

noone

Laptop keyboards fail easy like that if removed. (If you haven't noticed, that's a laptop keyboard.)
Up until a year or so ago, I had used the same keyboard for at least the past decade and a half. If a keyboard is solid enough and properly taken care of, it should last for quite a while.