Laptop overheating problem

[dzero]

I have an athlon II p320 HP laptop I've had for two years now. It has gone to 90c for the first time and is idling in the 70s with a pad. I have six cans of compressed air lying around so that isn't the issue. I am hesitant about opening up my laptop since I don't have the extra cash lying around to purchase another one if the worst happens. I have a little 10 piece general tool kit that has served me well for my desktop but are there any special tools I'll need for a laptop?

[Mathragh]

Generally a set of small screwdrivers is all it takes.
However, it helps a lot if you can find a manual in which the dissasembly of your laptop is described, since sometimes dissasembling it can be quite finicky.

If you're taking it slow and dont do stuff you dont think you should do, I guess you should be fine.
Just make sure you correctly sort all the screws and parts you dissasemble so you dont mix things up, and that you have some spare cooling paste lying around. Also make sure you remember how and where all the connectors were placed on the mobo and the chassis.

[RigRebel]

Originally Posted by Bo$$

thats good
whenever you can afford to, send it back to them... It seems to be faulty

I agree with Bo$$ 100% he know his stuff. The first thing I would have done is what Bo$$ instructed, which was to blow it out.

Also, I am a Dell Certified Systems Engineer for Hardware only field repair/field replaceable units for about 20-25 Dell and Alienware products, mostly laptops. I have averaged about 5-8 laptop repairs (in a 50 mile radius) a day, that's a lot. You blew it out (and saw a considerable difference) and have it on the cooling pad and nothing obstructing the bottom vents such as on a pillow, heavy carpet etc. then there is not much else you can do without cracking the shell. But, I recommend that if you haven't ever done that... send it back and have them crack it open and check, It's still on warranty. One wrong pull on a ribbon cable, push on a ribbon port tab, or Hardrive ribbon/hard plastic adapter and you may break something effectively voiding your warranty and bricking the board beyond field repair. Especially, when removing the palm rest and if you have to remove the LCD to get the palm rest off.

Send it in good luck.

Originally Posted by dzero

I have an athlon II p320 HP laptop I've had for two years now. It has gone to 90c for the first time and is idling in the 70s with a pad. I have six cans of compressed air lying around so that isn't the issue. I am hesitant about opening up my laptop since I don't have the extra cash lying around to purchase another one if the worst happens. I have a little 10 piece general tool kit that has served me well for my desktop but are there any special tools I'll need for a laptop?

Read on...

Originally Posted by Mathragh

Generally a set of small screwdrivers is all it takes.
However, it helps a lot if you can find a manual in which the disassembly of your laptop is described, since sometimes disassembling it can be quite finicky.

If you're taking it slow and don't do stuff you don't think you should do, I guess you should be fine.
Just make sure you correctly sort all the screws and parts you disassemble so you don't mix things up, and that you have some spare cooling paste lying around. Also make sure you remember how and where all the connectors were placed on the mobo and the chassis.

he's somewhat right about the screw driver but more tools like the plastic or wood laptop tool (http://forum.notebookreview.com/alie...here-pics.html) , magnifying glass, magnitized multi-screwdriver and torque screwdrivers for HP laptops will make it much easier and less likely to break, scratch something. He's 100% right on the cooling paste. I forgot to mention that. Some laptops you can actually remove the heat sink without cage disassembly by going through the bottom covers.. but those are few and mostly on Dell. For some you have to remove the fan before you can remove the covers. Try to get the schematics from HP.com they should be easy to get. PM me the model number if need be and I'll get you the link if need be.

Originally Posted by dzero

I have an athlon II p320 HP laptop I've had for two years now. It has gone to 90c for the first time and is idling in the 70s with a pad. I have six cans of compressed air lying around so that isn't the issue. I am hesitant about opening up my laptop since I don't have the extra cash lying around to purchase another one if the worst happens. I have a little 10 piece general tool kit that has served me well for my desktop but are there any special tools I'll need for a laptop?

If you haven't ever cracked one open read above first then read below for requested tools to use and some added helpful tips.. If you have or if you're a PC Tech or very PC technical oriented then you can give it a try. I'd recommend a couple of things. I was tier 3 so mostly I saw what other techs did wrong because I was usually dispatched after their failed attempts.
1. Try to download the "teardown" schematics for the model. HP is nice cause anyone can get those right from the website (I'm going through my HP cert at my current job right now). Dell you have to be a Dell certified tech unless someone reposted them privately.
2. HP LOVES TO PUT IN TORQUE SCREWS!!.. you WILL most likely need a torque screwdriver set and a small kit with small Phillips head screw drivers.
3. Have a good multi screw driver preferably magnetized in case you have to place the screw way down a screw hole before tighten or drop a screw.
4. Try to find a nice plastic laptop tool. I forget what they are called (link pasted above with their pictures) but i have one and it's my number one tool next to my multi screwdriver. it's like a long stylus pen and it is flat on one end like a flat head screwdriver and pointed on the other like a sharp point. It works great for wedging between plastic bezels without scratching them and pushing down wires.
5. FOR HP MODELS>>>I strongly recommend a magnifying glass for looking at ribbon cable ports to determine if they are pull, push or simply tight fit style tension ports. Dell's are easier to distinquish. Toshiba's are a nightmare.


WHICH BRINGS ME TO HELPFUL TIPS >>

5. HP "SOMETIMES" and Toshiba "most the time" LOVE TO HAVE RIBBON CABLE PORTS WITH NO TABS BUT SHINNY METAL TAB "LOOKING" POINTS ON EACH SIDE THAT LOOK LIKE PULL TABS BUT THE ARE NOT! DON'T PULL THEM OR PRY THEM WITH A SCREWDRIVER UNLESS YOU KNOW THEY ARE PULL TABS! YOU'LL MOST LIKELY BREAK THE RIBBON PORT/ or SOLDER POINT OFF THE BOARD. LOL. It can be REALLY hard and nerve racking to know where the tension tabs on HP ribbon cable ports are. Some are just held in by having a tight fit of the ribbon into the ribbon port, some have a 90 degree front flip tabs and some have small metal tabs on each side RESEMBLING pull tabs but they ARE NOT.. they are solder points... don't pull them. I would be really careful trying to distinquish which is which... HAVE A MAGNIFINGY GLASS ON HAND. The unnerving part is if you can't tell, it could just be a tight fit style port and the only way to tell is have the teardown schematic or to pull it gently but semi-fermly out and hope you didn't just rip the ribbon port with pins and all off the motherboard lol.
6. As always, make sure you're properly grounded and I don't care what others say, always remove the battery, then the Hard-drive, then the RAM, and the LCD grounds to the wireless card before you do anything. Some laptop models create a short from the LCD ground wire going to the wireless card and can brick a board if you don't.
7. Lay out all your pieces in order with screws the way you pulled them out.
8. DON'T FORGET TO PULL OUT THE DVD/CD DRIVE OUT AND LOOK FOR SCREWS UNDER THE PLASTIC RIM.. pulling the DVD/CD can be tricky on some models. Refer to the manuals/schematics. Sometimes you will see a small silver tab with a screw in it from the back INSIDE under one of the removable back covers. You have to remove the screw then get something long and pointed (like the laptop tool I suggested) and find the whole where you can instert it up against the back of the DVD and push LIGHTLY to pop it out. Make sure you're hitting the DVD/CD AND NOT A CAPACITOR or some other mobo circuitry, ribbon port, etc...
9. NEVER PULL SO HARD TO SEPERATE A BEZEL THAT YOU SNAP IT. If it seems like something is holding the palmrest or a bezel still on then something probably is. Double check that you removed all screws (sometimes they are under wirles cards, ram, etc) and gently pry with the plastic tool.. if you removed all proper screws holding the palmrest or bezels it should come off if you're lifting at the right angle. If something won't give and won't let the plastic pull off easily. Stop take a breath, check screws and try to lift from a different point or angle with your plastic tool. Patients with plastic is a key skill to learn if you don't want to break plastics. I never broke a bezel or palmrest because I was cautious and patient with the plastics.
10. Don't tighten to tight especially when reassembling bottom carriage, you can screw to hard and break the "screw foot" from the "screw foot pedestal" and thus your screw will just spin and spin till one day you hear something rattling in the laptop and that's the broken plastic screw foot. lol

Good luck, If you are calm, tech savy, take your time and look at every angle before you leap, you should do just fine. And you'll feel great after you fix your first laptop, it's addicting.
I'm kind of tired and can't think through the rest. PM me if you have questions

[Mathragh]

Good post! this is surely going to prevent someone from breaking their laptop

[RigRebel]

Originally Posted by Mathragh

Good post! this is surely going to prevent someone from breaking their laptop

That's the idea thank you for your help and tutoring to him also. I like to see people have good experience with tweeking and fixing not bad ones. Peace!