Why your laptop is overheating and what you should do

You may have noticed that your laptop is overheating because of a temperature increase in your laptop and, or malfunction.

It is important to find out why your laptop is overheating as this could be down to more reasons than a simple maintenance issue. The most common causes of an overheated laptop are as follows: 

Poor air flow or blockage in laptop exhaust vents
Over time, your laptop may have accumulated a heavy cloud of dust or other foreign particles that have clogged the air vents or blocked the heatsink, this can cause the laptop to overheat and underperform.

Laptop exposed to sunlight
If you have been working on your laptop somewhere where it is exposed to sunlight, naturally the laptop will have warmed up and lead to the overheating.

Not giving your laptop any breathing space!
Most of us are victims of poorly resting laptops on our thighs or on a bed. Your laptop should always be placed on a hard flat surface and free of dust or foreign particles to let clean air flow freely through it.

Faulty or Damaged Laptop Fan
It is a possibility that your laptop fan may be faulty or damaged. Often if this is the case, the fan will stop working altogether.

Incompatible New Hardware Components or Operating System
If your laptop started overheating since you added any new hardware components to your laptop, this could imply that the hardware is incompatible. Similarly, if your laptop is an old model and you have upgraded or installed a new operating system, this can also be a cause of the problem.

Degenerated Thermal Compound
Between the heatsink and the CPU, a thermal grease develops in your laptop if this has degenerated this may be the cause of your overheated laptop.

You may be confident in identifying the cause of overheating and are able to fix it yourself, if not, rather than dissembling your laptop without knowing what you’re looking for, you can bring the laptop to Swift Digital or take it to your local computer repair shop where the issue can be identified and fixed, for greater longevity. Hereafter, should you continue to experience frequent overheating problems, we suggest contacting the manufacturer.

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