Overheating is a very common issue as regards laptops. As laptops get older, and as their components are subject to increasing hours of computing, the potential for overheating rises. An overheating laptop may result in:

Slow performance

Program and app crash

Data loss

Damage and failure of hardware parts including video cards, hard drives, motherboards, and more.

Despite the popularity of this problem, few people neither know how to diagnose nor solve it. Therefore, this article is geared towards giving you the essentials you need to properly diagnose and fix an overheating laptop.

The first signs you should look out for to ascertain if your laptop is truly overheating include:

Constant noise-making and excessive fan speeds

Computer’s inability to perform basic operations

Persistent error messages

Unexpected system shutdowns

Of course, high temperatures

If your laptop is showing these signs or other signs that were not mentioned, here are a few tips for fixing it.

1. The Fan Assembly

The fan is the logical component you should take a look at if your laptop is experiencing overheating. Is it making excess noise or blowing hot air? If so, the fan needs to be cleaned. The fan could have accumulated dust which in turn may lead to problems on the overall status of your laptop. Therefore, locate the fan where you will notice the dust accumulated in the vents. You don’t need to open up the laptop to do this. You can carefully use an old toothbrush to clean the surface where the fan is located, and use a tiny object such as a long sewing needle to clean the clogged dust from the fan.

2. Battery

Different laptops come with different types of batteries that have different lifespans. It is advisable to regularly use your laptop while unplugging the charger. Non-compliance with this means your battery runs the risk of low lifespan which may lead to excess heat generation. If your battery is becoming prone to losing charge very quickly, it could cause your laptop to overheat. Therefore, you should get a replacement even before the battery life completely depreciates. This is a proactive measure.

3. CPU Overload

Gamers are particularly guilty of this offense. Loading too many (heavy) games and apps at a time would inevitably lead to overheating because the CPU is running at optimum capacity. Fixing this is quite easy on the part of the laptop, but quite difficult for the user. To fix this, you have to…

4. Alternate between Games

Games are fun and could be addictive. Games are also bigger in size and requirements than others. Likewise, the size of a game determines how much is required of the CPU. Playing heavy games for long periods could lead to overheating. To avoid this, you should alternate between heavy games and smaller games. If you notice you have been playing a certain game for a long period of time, switching to a relatively smaller game or switching task entirely will lower the temperature of your laptop.


5. Place the Laptop on a Hard and Flat Surface

Primarily, laptops accommodate dust and blow air through the rear. Placing a laptop on surfaces such as your lap, beds, or pillows will obstruct the laptop’s airflow. This leads to high temperature. This can be avoided by placing your laptop on a flat and hard surface such as a dining table, an office desk, or even a drawing table.

Conclusion

Overheating is a very common issue as far as laptops are concerned. High-end gamers and video editors are bound to experience this more often than users who only use their laptops for word processing and movies. Irrespective of the kind of user you are, overheating isn’t something you have to dread. By taking the simple steps above, you will fix your laptop’s overheating problems with ease.

More @ http://zokija.com/blog/how-to-diagnose-and-fix-an-overheating-laptop/

Overheating can cause a severe problem, but when you take precautionary steps you can avoid risk. First you can check the dust on fans and secondly best way to monitor your CPU temperature through softwares such as Coretemp and Hwmonitor. These free computer temperautre montoring apps allows you to keep an eye on the Temperature.

For more you can read the full article about how to monitor your computer temperature
https://softlay.net/how-to/monitor-your-computers-cpu-temperature.html