Heating Issue

I've just recently formatted my Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop and since i reformatted it, it began crashing easily.
Before i reformatted my computer, it only crashed once or twice.
My laptop is a 1 year old computer, running on the below specs:-

Windows XP Pro SP2
AMD Turion 64 Mobile 2Ghz
1GB RAM
ATI Radeon Express 1150
I'm using an External Creative! 24-bit soundcard

I suspect that heating is the main issue for my crashes.
I've got a couple of question i would like to ask regarding the heating issues and windows XP.

1. Are there any softwares that allows me to control the speed of my fans?
2. If there aren't any softwares that allows me to do so, can i get a new processor fan and install it, or replace the old thermal paste with a new one?
3. Does laptop cooling pads work and is it worth getting a Cooler Master Infinite pad?

I don't know where i should post this up but it has something to do with Windows XP so i decided to post it here.
If i posted in the wrong place, please direct me to the correct place to post this.

 

1. Yes - interestingly, called SpeedFan - I'm sure there are others
2. Yes - my recommendation would be artic silver but pulling a laptop apart isn't for the average Joe. There are several vendors who you can buy parts from too.
3. Most laptop coolers are a good investment.

Now, a question for you that may be at least partially responsible for your heat issue. Did you install chipset drivers after you reformatted or just use what Windows put in there for you?

 

I've downloaded speedfan the moment i'm experiencing the heating issue, but i don't see any options for me to manage the fan speeds.

Is artic silver just the thermal paste or is it a fan? So all i have to do is to redo the thermal paste on the processor?

I shall get a laptop cooler then.

Yes i did install the chipset drivers for my dell, should i try installing it again to see if i missed any?

 

I haven't used SppedFan for at least 4 years but as I recall, yes there was a utility to manage fan speeds there provided your board supported that feature.

Artic Silver is a specific brand and type of thermal paste. Artic Silver 5 is thier current flagship product while Artic Silver III is (in my book) easier to work with on larger die processors because its viscosity makes it easier to spread. If you haven't already done so, a good cleaning of your heatsink may help some, but I still think it could be driver related if it just came on after your reformat. Since that's a Turion CPU, you may want to investigate newer drivers from the chipset Mfg (I'll ty to take a look at this later if time permits) and I believe AMD put out a patch for that processor for use with XP after one of Microsoft's patches created soem interference. I'd have to research that so I'll encourage you to do the legwork and let us both know if you find any relief.

 

I've been seeing a good many laptop's cooling fins packed full of dust, which no fan speed control or cooling pad will circumvent. If you're at all handy with a miniature screwdriver and can follow directions, you might find the task of cleaning it less daunting than most. You'll have to go that far in disassembly to apply new thermal paste as well.

 

the last time i checked, i installed all the drivers that is provided on the Dell driver CD into my laptop.So my guess is it isn't the driver, but i'll try reinstalling everything once more.

So you're saying that i should take apart my laptop to clean up all the dust inside?

Another issue that just popped up was when i'm playing CS1.6, my screen just hang there for a couple of seconds randomly throughout the game. I've got no idea why its happening.

 

No, I'm not saying you should. I'm saying it probably needs done, and that if a person is at all handy with regards to disassembling/reassembling things, it's not a terribly difficult task. If you fit that description, and after reviewing the instructions in full, you feel you can do the deed, go for it. If in doubt, have someone qualified do it.

 

I'm confident that i can do it.
Before i destroy my laptop, any last advice that you would like to gimme?

 

You shouldn't need to actually remove the fan. The main objective will to be to blow any dust out of the fins of the cooling units. In the photo in noahdfear's link, you can see a set of cooling fins behind the fan.

I have found that if there is a way of holding the fan blades still (if they rotate, they generate electricity back into the system) you can blow compressed air back in through the air outlet/exhaust to dislodge dust off the fins. (Reverse of the natural air flow. Watch out for a large cloud of dust )

You may not need to dismantle the machine.

If you don't have a supply of compressed air, you can buy a "can" of compressed air at an electronics or office suppliers store.

Just be careful (!!) about keeping the fan from rotating.

Matt

 

Re: advice
Patience, patience, patience ...........
As dave said, "if a person is at all handy with regards to disassembling/reassembling things, it's not a terribly difficult task. " Just don't force anything and be particularly careful of any small ribbon connectors. If you take any of those apart (usually a compression fitting on both ends) by accident or on purpose, remember the orientation.

 

Thanks alot from you guys.
I think i've managed to lower my heat by a little bit.
I completely reformatted my computer again, installed whatever programs they have on the resource disk and then slowly reinstalling all the other programs one by one.

My computer's HD temp is still pretty high so i shall try and remove the dust and even better, replace the thermal paste.

 

If you don't need to replace the thermal paste, don't. Try a good cleaning first and test drive it for a few days.

 

Do i have to take apart my laptop to clean it?
Or i could just try doing it from the outside?

 

billjean77

I do not know of any software that will help on the heating situation but yes you can obtain a new heatsink and fan to replace the old one. If you are not an experienced repair person you might do more damage than good because you will almost have to completely dismantle the notebook to get to the heatsink and fan. I might mention one possoble simple solution, NewEgg.com has an exterior fan that can be attached to the exterior where the interior fan exhausts that fits most laptops. if it does not completely do the job it at least ought to indicate for sure if you have a heat problem. On that subject, have you held your hand over the exhaust port to see if any air is moving out of the laptop, if you are getting air out I doubt that heat is your problem. Good luck

 

Lets be smart about this. If you can blow it out good without taking it apart, why would you want to take it apart? Try it and see before considering your next option. Be logical in your approach to resolving this or any other problem. Hey - if you're going to work on 'em, you need to think like 'em too.

 

Billjean, i can't feel any air coming out from the exhaust port. So i guess i can be sure that its a heating problem.

Rockster, is there an online guide that shows me how to blow the dust out without opening the laptop?

Another question, when i'm streaming videos on my firefox, it stop every 10 seconds.
The video is fully buffered and when i move the scroll a little, the video will continue for another 10 seconds and stop again.

 

Billjean:

SpeedFan is a hardware monitor software that can access digital temperature sensors, but its main feature is that it can change fan speeds (depending on the capabilities of your sensor chip and your hardware) according to the temperatures inside your pc, thus reducing noise. Several sensors, like Winbond's and the AS99127F support fan speed changing, as well as others from Maxim, Myson, Analog Devices, National Semiconductor and ITE, but the hardware manufacturer must have connected the relevant pins to some additional, yet trivial, circuitry. This means that if you have, say, a Winbond W83782D on a BP6 then you're ok, but not every motherboard with such a hardware monitor chip will be able to change fan speeds. From one of the very first hardware monitor chips that could be found in standard PCs, the National Semiconductor LM75 (and all of its clones, like the Philips NE1617 and the Philips NE1618 or the Maxim MAX1617) or the Analog Devices ADM1021, such chips have been greatly improved, both in their precision and in their capabilities. Current chips can monitor fan speeds, voltages and change fan speeds by using PWMs (Pulse Width Modulation). Some chips can even be programmed to vary fan speeds without any additional software intervention. If your BIOS was programmed to setup such chips this way you can still try to use SpeedFan's Advanced Configuration to revert to manual (software controlled) mode. Winbond W83697HF, Analog Devices ADT7463, SMSC EMC6D102, ITE IT8712F, National LM85C and Maxim MAX6650 are very good candidates. Some SuperIO chips include temperature sensors too. SpeedFan can automatically detect them and use their features. SpeedFan can find almost any hardware monitor chip connected to the 2-wire SMBus (System Management Bus, a subset of the I2C BUS) Serial Interface and to the ISA BUS and works fine with Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, 2003 and Windows XP. It works with Windows 64 bit too.

Simply adding an external exhaust to a "plugged up" internal exhaust doesn't make a lot of sense to me so I will interpret your suggestion as one to consider if after cleaning the CPU fan/heatsink there is no noticeable improvement.

jAsOs
I would certainly think there would be an online guide to this somewhere. What have your search results come up with so far?

Personally, I would try your streaming stall after cleaning the heatsink fan assembly. If its still stalling out once you have temperatures under control, the first thing I would investigate is memory but I think you are getting ahead of yourself.

You can download a free copy of Everest from here. I would suggest version 2.20 which will give you information on temperatures.

 

a'ight, thanks alot.
I'll try all those steps and get back here.

 

Once you have Everest (V 2.20) installed, you can open the program, click on computer then on sensors and that should give you your temperature readings.

 

If I may say something, I wouldn't want to blow the accumulated dust towards the inside of the laptop. It would only settle somewhere else. I think it depends on how the laptop case is. Some laptops's fan can come off by removing a few s crews and only a small part of the case come off to reveal the fan. Some others don't have this.

I would really receommend trying to extract the dust instead of blowing it in. Try a small brush with short bristles while you put your vacuum cleaner pipe near the fan outlet. If the fan is noisy then it really needs to be replaced, though.

And if it is a year old, is it still under warranty?