"hot" HP laptop

My daughters' HP dv5215us laptop keeps running too warm -- especially when she runs dvd's or (too) many applications. Then it just shuts itself down... no warning messages, nothing -- just off.
I think I can hear her fan, but I wouldn't swear by it. Is the fan replaceable in this laptop? If so, where could I find one?

As an aside that may or may not be pertinent, the 'condition' seems to be a bit worse since she upgraded from XP to Vista.

You folks have always helped me out (either directly or by what's already been posted by someone else...) so I'll thank you in advance for your help!

 

If the fan is running, especially if at full speed, you should definitely be able to hear it. You should also be able to feel warm air coming out of the fan vent. If you detect no fan noise or warm air venting, the fan may, indeed, not be running at all.

Can you get some type of room fan and point it at the laptop while to see whether that affects its behavior or the length of time it runs before an unwanted shutdown? Might be a good troubleshooting step to confirm temperature is an issue here.

 

Sorry it took so long to reply.. yes, I can hear her fan... it's actually pretty loud. I don't know if there are any diagnostics out there that I could use to check this?? And would there be a replacement part available?

 

Does sound like it could be overheating, how old is it and how long since the fans, heat sink etc have been cleaned out?

I'd be checking the fan and heatsink for dust buildup first off.

If your willing to have a go yourself most notebooks provide reasonable access. Just remove the screws out of the bottom access panel and see what you can see.

Often you can just give the fan and heat sink a good blow out to remove most of the dust but generally a good clean out is in order so removing the heat sink, pipes and fan is a good idea. Clean out all the dust, clean the thermal paste off the CPU and heat sink/pipe, apply new thermal paste, put it all back together. Done.

 

if you suspect temps, check out these programs (i posted a screenshot of hwmonitor, on my mini-laptop). g/l, sos

http://majorgeeks.com/HWMonitor_d5842.html <-- HWMonitor 1.1.3 (no installation required, just unzip)

http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html <-- EVEREST Free Edition 2.20 <-- installation required

edit - when it shuts down, are you able to boot up right away?, or do you have to wait a while (possibly cooling down), before it boots up again?

 

Are you sure it's the cooling fan you are hearing? More importantly, can you detect any warm airflow exiting from the cooling vents on the back or side of the unit (usually HP design sucks room air in from vents on the bottom and blows out warm air from vents on the sides) If you have trouble detecting warm airflow, try holding it up to your cheek which is more sensitive to heat and airflow usually than the hands.

If the fan is indeed blowing loud and there's little or no warm airflow detected, the two possibilties are 1) You're hearing something other than the cooling fan or 2) Your heat sinks (fins) are plugged up with dust or pet hair etc & should be blown out. To blow out the heat sink, there's usually a panel on the bottom of the laptop that can be removed to expose the heat sink, then you can just use canned air purchased at a computer shop or office supply place like staples to blast the dust and stuff right out of there (you likely want to do this outdoors).

Another consideration is how your daughter uses the laptop. If she sits it on a soft surface such as bedding or an upholstred surface, the computer can 'sink in' enough to completely obstruct airflow. You might try buying one of the inexpensive ($20-30) laptop cooling bases available at computer shop or office supply places. This is a thin square 'platform' of sorts that goes beneath the laptop, and usually has a fan or two directed upwards towards the bottom of the laptop.

Good luck!

Andy The Geek
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Website: http://www.geekhousecalls.com
blog: http://www.geekablog.com

 

Thank you all for the excellent suggestions... I will more than likely "roll up my sleeves" today and get busy on the tests suggested and on cleaning the heat sinks and fans. Since my 'golden oldie' laptop is nearing it's end, I'll be taking on the daughters' laptop and getting her a new one since she's looking at going to college this upcoming fall (a year early).

As soon as I get done playing around with it, I'll post what I find for those of you who like to know if your advice was right or not (I always like to check if my advice is good -- oh, the ego in me! lol)

As has been my experience in the past, you guys on here are the best! Thanks again!

Maggie