[silversurfer20]

I've upgraded my girlfriends acer laptop with extra Ram, but since then its been running too hot and keeps overheating. I've tried turning all the performance settings down but it hasn't helped very much. Is there a safe way to change the fan settings to prevent the laptop overheating, and if so how do I do it? Or should I just buy a heat-absorbing mat, as I've heard they are quite good. Thanks for any help. If all else fails I can just take the RAM out again, but I'd rather not except as a last resort...

[Alex Ethridge]

Adding memory to a laptop would not cause overheating so any change in cooling would be coincidental.

If the laptop was cooling sufficiently before and not now, you should check the entire cooling system. First, be sure all the vent ports are clear. Never operate the laptop on a soft surface like a pillow, blanket or bed as this will block air flow. Next, make sure the heatsink and fan aren't clogged with dust. And of course be sure the fan is spinning freely.

You might be surprised how much dust I've blown out of laptops with compresses air. For me, canned iir just doesn't produce enough turbulence. I use a shop air compressor.

It may sound like I'm oversimplifying the problem; but, heat transfer is what is needed and these are the components that do it.

[aka Brett]

Hello and welcome to TSG

look at attached........set the value to 50 percent for plugged in and battery........that will get you by until I get back on here I will be on again tomorrow..am getting to go to sleep.

Do you know what the actual temps are running?

Edit
I cross posted with alex
Follow his advice as well.

[aka Brett]

Originally Posted by Alex Ethridge

Adding memory to a laptop would not cause overheating so any change in cooling would be coincidental.

If the laptop was cooling sufficiently before and not now, you should check the entire cooling system. First, be sure all the vent ports are clear. Never operate the laptop on a soft surface like a pillow, blanket or bed as this will block air flow. Next, make sure the heatsink and fan aren't clogged with dust. And of course be sure the fan is spinning freely.

You might be surprised how much dust I've blown out of laptops with compresses air. For me, canned iir just doesn't produce enough turbulence. I use a shop air compressor.

It may sound like I'm oversimplifying the problem; but, heat transfer is what is needed and these are the components that do it.

Same here...can just dont do much

[silversurfer20]

Hello,
ok, I've tried changing the power settings to power saver, see if that makes a difference.. When I get a chance I'll make sure all the vents etc are clear as well. I'm not 100% certain that it overheating is the problem, as the computers never told me as much, but it does seem to be when its hot that it turns itself off, and then needs to be left to cool down for a while to prevent it doing the same thing again almost immediately. If there is a way of checking the running temperature in Vista I've no idea how, I've had a look and been unable to find anything, same goes for anything related to the fan. I've read on other forums that one potential solution is just to set the fan to be on all the time instead of cutting in and out to save noise, but I don't know how viable that is or how to go about doing it. Thanks for all help so far.

[aka Brett]

The power settings dont always work on power saver as far as cpu policy.
it can either run at reduced speed or run throttled down and throttle up when needed...setting cpu policy in advanced setting overrules cpu policy for a selected power profile.

[silversurfer20]

I think all the power saver plan does is dim the screen a bit more and put the computer to sleep a bit sooner, so pretty useless really. I've tried it but no help, can't find any more advanced options anywhere in control panels either.

[aka Brett]

go to post 3
I attached a pic for the setting

[aka Brett]

Go to this link
download and install post back with the temps
Also do you have an amd or intel?
if an amd the problem has to be fixed without question
while I am not knocking amd by any means..some of their processors do not live through getting hot and can take the board with it.

An intel is alot more forgiving in this area

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

[silversurfer20]

intel processors fortunately.

Have attached the image with the temperatures and stuff from PC Wizard. Don't know whats normal or anything, but thats with the computer just running the browser and the PC Wizard. I haven't changed the power options but found the options now, so should I try lowering the maximum processor state and see if it makes a difference? I assume if I do, and it works, it will impact on performance somewhat, but is at least a temporary solution. Thanks v much for the help so far.

[aka Brett]

Thats hot.
especially for the light load you were running.

The hottest mine has ever been is 60c that was running both cores hard.
When the fan kicks on I am soon back in the 40s.

[silversurfer20]

ok, so it does seem like the temperature is the problem then. I'll try changing the settings now, see if that makes any difference. Is there a way to set the fan to run all the time?

[aka Brett]

I would clean everything.
Reducing the cpu multiplier is just a patch to a problem.
Just for grins go ahead and reduce it and your temperature show be drastically lower...if they arent you will need to take off the heat pipe clean,,apply new compound.

Was the fan running when you got the earlier temp figures?
if so then having the fan run all the time wont fix it

[casper0191]

Have you already did the hard ware or board cleaning?

[silversurfer20]

no sorry, I haven't. I will do all the other things first, it was just in case I needed it as a last option, but I will try cleaning it out first, thanks.