Comments on: Heat and Dust

By: Graphic Design Brisbane

Graphic Design Brisbane — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:16:48 +0000

Great advice – I often surf while in bed and my MAC gets super hots and starts spinning the fans supper fast.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:19:13 +0000

Good article. You say “Some newer laptops have a special removable cover on the back for easy access to the heatsink. ” Do you know any model numbers of laptops with a special removable cover to access the heatsink? I want to buy one ! Thanks.

By: John

John — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:09:45 +0000

Man some of you guys are not machine safe! Its to easy give it air. You clean in every so often but there are other things you can do to keep the heat down. They are called chill pads. Some computers are built to have dust covers on the keyboard. Im in Afghanistan and im tired of cleaning this thing every week. I might just invent laptop air filters. Duh!

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 22 May 2010 17:52:43 +0000

Great summary. I do something else to increase airflow under the laptop. I always prop the screen side on something that will lift it up an inch or two. My prop of choice is a box of staples. I am careful not to cover the bottom vents. Added benefit: the keyboard presents at a better angle.

By: Pra

Pra — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:07:17 +0000

Cam:
It’s not googs to use a keyboard cover for laptops as heat is dissipated throught the keyboard as well. If you use a keyboard cover to keep off dust you can use when the laptop is not running though .

By: M

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:22:55 +0000

Very informative.. Thanks! Can a vaccum cleaner do the same job?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:05:37 +0000

I’ve “fixed” at least 3 laptops in the last year that were overheating due to the air vents being blocked. One guy had taped over his for some reason + the other 2 were cleaned with a cardboard nozzle macgyver would have been proud of.

By: Omer

Omer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:36:48 +0000

I can’t point out enough how often people bring me their laptops and tell me its broken when the only problem is dust. People need to dust out their laptops at least once a year, ideally more, otherwise a laptop can EASILY over heat. The best way to clean laptop dust is by blasting it with compressed air. You don’t even need to OPEN the laptop, just blast ALL The vents. I purchase compressed air from my local Micro Center, but others can buy it online.

By: Gerry

Gerry — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:34:26 +0000

Great tips on keeping heat down which keeps reliability up. I’ve seen a lot of dead laptops because they were operated on a soft surface and the laptop couldn’t breathe and died.

By: Philip

Philip — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:11:41 +0000

Just to further clarify my laptop felt extremely hot to touch in the morning, then on a restart windows could not find the hard drive.
The technician who replaced the hard drive told me to stop using it on a soft surface.