[aldiboronti]

This started a couple of days ago. I have a Packard Bell, 2.80 GHz, 512 MB RAM, running Windows XP. I bought it around 18 months ago.

Here's the problem. A couple of days ago the printer reported a communications failure with the computer. All the cables were seated OK so I shut down Windows and restarted to see if that would help. The computer wouldn't boot. Puzzled, I switched off and then I noticed that the side of the laptop was very warm. Checking underneath I found that the area above the battery cover was very, very hot, and this heat was radiating to other areas.

I unplugged everything and left the laptop to cool down. After 30 minutes or so I tried again and this time it booted fine and ran smoothly. However, after around 40 minutes the same area as before had become very, very hot again. Worried, I shut the thing down again.

I have a couple of questions. Firstly, would a cooling device (I'm thinking of one of those pads on which a laptop sits to keep it cold), would such a device help?

Secondly, as the heat is centered on the battery area would removing the batteries be a solution? (The laptop is used on a tabletop at home almost exclusively and I operate it on mains power almost all the time.)

Thirdly, could it be a fan problem? I can hear the fans whirring occasionally, and looking through the vent I can't see any obvious signs of dirt, fluff, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[pugmug]

Yes to all three.

[Alex Ethridge]

Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't clogged with dust. Frankly, I don't trust canned air. There isn't enough pressure or volume especially in cases where you can't see the fans and/or heat-sink. Go somewhere that has compressed air in a tank and blow it out.

As for the battery getting hot, if it is actually the battery and not anything else, you could have a disaster or even a tragedy waiting to happen. You had better take it to an authorized service center and find out for sure what is going on.

And, by the way, always lay the laptop on a hard surface, not a bed, couch, cushion or even your lap. They ventilate from the bottom and these surfaces occlude the ventilation ports.

[kaligt55]

oooooooooooops

[kaligt55]

That was my oops in the last post.
I have a duel fan for both laptops. does that stand true also. Put them on a flat surfaace even if they have the fan????

[Alex Ethridge]

What good is a fan or even a dozen if the ports are blocked?

I don't think a laptop has been made without a fan in about ten years.