My laptop stays on only with the help of... hair dryer

4

My HP Pavillion dv6000 laptop can not stay on if I do not use the hair dryer to cool it.

I have cut (!) the plastic case from the behind to get more air. However this was not a solution because it was not stay longer and it was turned off suddenly.

So when I use the hair dryer works fine but this is not the ideal solution.

What do you suggest me?

EnexoOnoma

Posted 2011-09-10T17:04:20.330

Reputation: 171

4Duct tape the hair drier to the chassis. Fixed! :) – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2011-09-10T17:24:07.527

Normally the problem is not the air entering the laptop, but the air leaving the laptop. In front of the cooling fins, which are at where the air leaves the chassis, often a fleece of dust and hair builds up. This will block the airflow. Disassemble your laptop and remove that fleece. – Darokthar – 2011-09-10T18:49:29.837

@Darokthar Disassemble is a very scary word...let's use "open up" instead. – digitxp – 2011-09-10T23:30:25.253

The amazing thing for me is: hair dryers put out hot air. I suppose it could be the case that the air is cooler than the processor, so the forced convection is still cooling the computer, but this surprises me. Did you take the heating element out of the hair dryer? – Slartibartfast – 2011-09-11T03:24:41.123

How do you know that the cause for the shut-off is heat? Have you monitored the CPU, GPU, and hard drive temperatures using software, both with and without the hair dryer? (that's a test I recommend; if the problem isn't heat, you can go a long way in the wrong direction trying to fix a non-existent heat issue.) – Slartibartfast – 2011-09-11T03:32:19.893

@techie007 indeed this is what I was doing – EnexoOnoma – 2011-09-11T03:33:16.710

@Slartibartfast Can you suggest me one software to do those metrics? – EnexoOnoma – 2011-09-11T07:10:09.850

Answers

8

Disassemble the CPU heatsink and clean out all the fuzz and grime that's built up.

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams

Posted 2011-09-10T17:04:20.330

Reputation: 100 516

1I think something is going on with the graphics card though... Because it is in that place that it is super hot – EnexoOnoma – 2011-09-10T17:19:21.893

The video card is usually hot. But yeah, check that heat sink as well. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams – 2011-09-10T17:22:57.977

On most laptops there is a heat pipe which connects both the GPU and the CPU to the same heat sink which the internal fan cools. – Bacon Bits – 2011-09-10T17:34:49.380

We were having problems with two new-ish Dell laptops. The Dell technician came and blew out the computers. They worked fine after that; every month now I blow the dust out. – zpletan – 2011-09-10T17:36:32.377

@Nikolai: if clearing the dusts doesn't help, it's probably time for a new laptop; newer laptops are often better on these, some might run fine on passive cooling when on low power mode (which means much lesser dust buildup over time, and better airflow). – Lie Ryan – 2011-09-11T11:39:11.850

2

Many laptops are design poorly so that they essentially suck in dust and hair (especially if you have cats!). Also, some some bigger laptops with faster fans, they accelerate this process. My mother has a Toshiba that can only be operated on a clean surface, or the air path through the machine gets clogged.

I recommend you trace the path of the air flow into the machine and make sure it is all clear.

I then recommend a laptop cooler (Cooler Master has one). It will do three things: make sure your laptop is on a clean surface, provide clearance so you can get air into it and heat away from it, and provide for increased air flow (because they have built-in fans that run off USB power).

e40

Posted 2011-09-10T17:04:20.330

Reputation: 1 143

0

I suspect your model of laptop is probably one that was affected by the nVidia class action lawsuit. Check out the Class Notice PDF there to see if your model is one which was affected, but most dv6000 and dv9000 laptops with nVidia GPU or MCP chips were, IMX. Basically, there was a defect of some kind which causes the system to overheat. Common symptoms were the screen going black, the wireless card will stop working, or the system would simply not boot at all.

The suit is resolved now, and no further claims are being taken so at this point you're out of luck. The laptops I saw with this problem always got steadily worse, too. Eventually an external fan will not be sufficient. You should begin shopping for a replacement now.

Bacon Bits

Posted 2011-09-10T17:04:20.330

Reputation: 6 125

0

Try laptop cooler stands, such as one of these:

enter image description here enter image description here

slightly more elegant than a duct taping a hairdryer to the laptop

Lie Ryan

Posted 2011-09-10T17:04:20.330

Reputation: 4 101

Well I will need one with at least 8 fans on it – EnexoOnoma – 2011-09-11T03:34:07.800

@Nikolai: I used to have a laptop on which the original fan has stopped working at all, a cooling stands that has three fans are sufficient to keep it almost at room temperature. – Lie Ryan – 2011-09-11T03:56:26.027