[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":302},["ShallowReactive",2],{"en-post-24":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":12,"extension":295,"meta":296,"navigation":297,"path":298,"seo":299,"stem":300,"__hash__":301},"content/post/24.md","24",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":281},"minimark",[9,13,16,21,24,37,41,44,55,59,62,65,68,71,75,86,90,93,119,123,134,138,141,152,156,167,171,182,185,189,278],[10,11,12],"p",{},"A laptop palm rest too hot to touch, a fan that never stops sounding like a jet, frame drops the moment you start a game, or shutdowns out of nowhere. Overheating is extremely common in summer and under sustained load. Most of the time nothing is broken: dust has blocked the airflow, the thermal paste has dried out, or a background process is pinning the CPU. Work through the steps below, starting with temperatures and ending with physical cleaning, and it usually comes back down.",[10,14,15],{},"First work out which shape the problem takes. Hot at idle points to the environment, airflow, or background load. Hot under load with throttling points to cleaning, new thermal paste, and limiting performance. Both start at step 1.",[17,18,20],"h2",{"id":19},"step-1-measure-the-temperature-before-you-guess","Step 1: Measure the temperature before you guess",[10,22,23],{},"Opening the case without measuring first is a good way to waste an afternoon. Read live temperatures with a tool.",[25,26,27,31,34],"ul",{},[28,29,30],"li",{},"HWiNFO, free and the professional default. It shows CPU and GPU temperatures and hotspots, and whether thermal throttling has kicked in.",[28,32,33],{},"CPU-Z, or Task Manager > Performance, for a quick look at CPU usage and clock speed.",[28,35,36],{},"Rough reference points. On a laptop, 45 to 60 degrees C at idle and 85 to 95 under load is normal to slightly high. Above 70 at idle, or hitting 100 under load and throttling, means cooling has a real problem. Desktops generally run cooler.",[17,38,40],{"id":39},"step-2-clean-out-the-dust-fastest-and-most-common-fix","Step 2: Clean out the dust, fastest and most common fix",[10,42,43],{},"Dust blocks the exhaust vents and the heatsink fins, heat cannot escape, and the fan spins harder and harder.",[25,45,46,49,52],{},[28,47,48],{},"Laptop. Shut down, disconnect power, remove the bottom cover or service hatch, and clear the fan blades and heatsink fins with compressed air, a blower, or a soft brush. Stubborn dust responds to a cotton swab with a little alcohol. Once a year is reasonable, or every six months if you smoke, have pets, or live somewhere dusty.",[28,50,51],{},"Desktop. Shut down, disconnect power, open the side panel, and blow out the CPU heatsink fins, the graphics card fan, the case fans, and the dust filters.",[28,53,54],{},"Warranty warning. Opening a branded laptop or desktop can void the official warranty, and there is a risk of disconnecting the wrong ribbon cable. While it is under warranty, or if you are not confident, go through the vendor's service channel. Out of warranty, you can do it yourself or use a repair shop.",[17,56,58],{"id":57},"step-3-replace-the-thermal-paste-the-top-hardware-cause-on-older-machines","Step 3: Replace the thermal paste, the top hardware cause on older machines",[10,60,61],{},"Thermal paste carries heat between the CPU or GPU die and the heatsink. After two or three years it dries out and powders, and heat transfer drops sharply.",[10,63,64],{},"The signs are high temperatures and a racing fan even after cleaning, plus a heat pipe that feels hot at one end and cool at the other, which means the thermal path has broken.",[10,66,67],{},"Fixing it means removing the heatsink, wiping off the old paste, applying new paste such as Shin-Etsu 7921 or Thermalright, and reseating it firmly. This step involves disassembly and pressure, so leave it to someone experienced or a repair shop. On a laptop, pay attention to screw order and how much force you use.",[10,69,70],{},"As an advanced option, some gaming laptops can move to liquid metal, but the corrosion risk is high and it is not worth it outside enthusiast use.",[17,72,74],{"id":73},"step-4-fix-the-environment-free-and-immediate","Step 4: Fix the environment, free and immediate",[25,76,77,80,83],{},[28,78,79],{},"Raise the machine. Use a cooling stand, or temporarily prop up the rear feet on two bottle caps so air can enter from underneath. Never use it on a bed, your lap, or a soft surface, which blocks the intake completely.",[28,81,82],{},"Keep the exhaust clear. Leave 10 cm of space around the rear or side vents.",[28,84,85],{},"Use an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Closing the lid or using an external display under load keeps the built-in panel's heat out of the equation.",[17,87,89],{"id":88},"step-5-background-load-and-malware","Step 5: Background load and malware",[10,91,92],{},"A CPU pinned by something you cannot identify will never run cool.",[94,95,96,104,113,116],"ol",{},[28,97,98,99,103],{},"Press ",[100,101,102],"code",{},"Ctrl + Shift + Esc",", open Task Manager, sort by CPU or memory, and end anything using far more than it should.",[28,105,106,107,112],{},"Disable startup apps. In Task Manager > Startup apps, disable everything you do not need. ",[108,109,111],"a",{"href":110},"/post/12/","Windows Computer Running Slow or Taking Long to Boot? A Complete Speed-Up Guide from Software to Hardware"," goes through startup items and background services in far more detail.",[28,114,115],{},"Run a full antivirus scan. Mining trojans and junk software sit resident and use CPU, and they will spin the fan up too.",[28,117,118],{},"Cloud sync such as OneDrive, automatic updates, and indexing briefly raise temperatures at peak times. That is normal, and nothing to fix if it does not persist.",[17,120,122],{"id":121},"step-6-power-and-performance-mode","Step 6: Power and performance mode",[25,124,125,128,131],{},[28,126,127],{},"Settings > System > Power > Power mode, set to Balanced. Do not leave a plugged-in laptop locked to Best performance.",[28,129,130],{},"On battery, power saver cuts heat noticeably. There is no need for high performance outside rendering and gaming.",[28,132,133],{},"Gaming laptops can switch to a quiet or balanced mode in the vendor's control app, such as Lenovo Vantage, MyASUS, or OMEN Gaming Hub, which gives a gentler fan curve.",[17,135,137],{"id":136},"step-7-limit-turbo-and-underclock-the-fallback-for-machines-that-throttle","Step 7: Limit turbo and underclock, the fallback for machines that throttle",[10,139,140],{},"If it still hits the thermal limit under load after cleaning and new paste, cap the peak clock yourself and trade a little speed for a cooler machine.",[25,142,143,146,149],{},[28,144,145],{},"Laptop. Use ThrottleStop to disable turbo or set a maximum multiplier, or cap CPU power, PL1 and PL2, in the vendor app. You give up some peak performance and get a machine that neither throttles nor burns your hands.",[28,147,148],{},"Desktop. Turn off Turbo Boost in the BIOS, or undervolt, which lowers voltage and temperature without losing performance using Intel XTU or the motherboard BIOS, though it needs stability testing.",[28,150,151],{},"BIOS changes and undervolting carry a stability risk. Read a guide and change one thing at a time.",[17,153,155],{"id":154},"step-8-when-the-fan-itself-is-the-problem","Step 8: When the fan itself is the problem",[25,157,158,161,164],{},[28,159,160],{},"Rattling or clicking. Usually a worn or dusty bearing, or a bent blade. If cleaning does not help, replace the fan. Laptop fans are cheap and a repair shop can fit one.",[28,162,163],{},"Not spinning at all. Check in the BIOS that fan control has not been disabled by mistake. Hardware failure means a replacement.",[28,165,166],{},"Desktop. Fit larger, quieter fans, or tidy the airflow path with intake at the front and exhaust at the rear, which improves both noise and cooling.",[17,168,170],{"id":169},"step-9-update-the-system-bios-and-drivers","Step 9: Update the system, BIOS, and drivers",[25,172,173,176,179],{},[28,174,175],{},"Get the latest BIOS from the laptop or motherboard vendor, since vendors often use new revisions to improve fan curves and power behavior, along with chipset and graphics drivers.",[28,177,178],{},"Windows Update can also carry fixes related to thermals.",[28,180,181],{},"If it suddenly runs hot after an update, a driver or firmware bug may be responsible. Uninstall the most recent batch from Windows Update history, or roll back the driver in Device Manager, and see whether temperatures drop.",[10,183,184],{},"If none of this helps and temperatures stay abnormal with frequent shutdowns, the fault is probably hardware, meaning the fan, heat pipe, or motherboard power delivery. Have it serviced rather than pushing on, since running it hot can burn something out.",[17,186,188],{"id":187},"symptom-lookup","Symptom lookup",[190,191,192,208],"table",{},[193,194,195],"thead",{},[196,197,198,202,205],"tr",{},[199,200,201],"th",{},"Symptom",[199,203,204],{},"Most likely cause",[199,206,207],{},"What to try first",[209,210,211,223,234,245,256,267],"tbody",{},[196,212,213,217,220],{},[214,215,216],"td",{},"Hot at idle, fan always running",[214,218,219],{},"Background load or blocked airflow",[214,221,222],{},"Step 5, background; step 2, clean dust",[196,224,225,228,231],{},[214,226,227],{},"Frame drops as soon as you game",[214,229,230],{},"Hitting the thermal limit and throttling",[214,232,233],{},"Step 2, clean; step 3, new paste; step 7, limit turbo",[196,235,236,239,242],{},[214,237,238],{},"Fan sounds like a jet",[214,240,241],{},"Dust, high load, or malware",[214,243,244],{},"Step 2, clean; step 5, scan; step 6, change mode",[196,246,247,250,253],{},[214,248,249],{},"Fan rattles or clicks",[214,251,252],{},"Worn bearing",[214,254,255],{},"Step 8, replace the fan",[196,257,258,261,264],{},[214,259,260],{},"Heat pipe hot at one end, cool at the other",[214,262,263],{},"Dried thermal paste",[214,265,266],{},"Step 3, replace paste",[196,268,269,272,275],{},[214,270,271],{},"Hot whenever used in bed",[214,273,274],{},"Intake blocked",[214,276,277],{},"Step 4, raise it, avoid soft surfaces",[10,279,280],{},"Measure the temperature before you touch anything. Hot at idle means checking background load and airflow, while throttling under load comes down to the two physical fixes of cleaning out dust and replacing thermal paste. Raising the machine and keeping the vents clear costs nothing and works immediately. On the software side, use power mode, cut background load, and cap turbo if needed. A rattling fan just gets replaced. When you open the case, watch the warranty and the ribbon cables, and while the machine is covered, go through official service.",{"title":282,"searchDepth":283,"depth":283,"links":284},"",2,[285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,293,294],{"id":19,"depth":283,"text":20},{"id":39,"depth":283,"text":40},{"id":57,"depth":283,"text":58},{"id":73,"depth":283,"text":74},{"id":88,"depth":283,"text":89},{"id":121,"depth":283,"text":122},{"id":136,"depth":283,"text":137},{"id":154,"depth":283,"text":155},{"id":169,"depth":283,"text":170},{"id":187,"depth":283,"text":188},"md",{},true,"/post/24",{"description":12},"post/24","QG6FEEm3KuFZ45QK3vdBjy1BjXEl8EtnwVlNFGVMbes",1794378303595]