My laptop overheats easily; how can I reduce the frequency of this happening?

Question

I have an iBook G4, 1 1/2 years old, that doesn't seem to be able to run any slightly taxing programs for more than ten, twenty minutes at a time. I can't play any computer games, whether they're designed for laptops or not, on it without it overheating and making disconcerting whirring sounds. Consequently, my laptop is useful only for internet and word processing. I'd like to be able to use my laptop to its fullest extent without having to constantly letting it rest and cool down, so how can I reduce the frequency of its overheating spells?

Answer 1

I use a laptop cooling fan to help the heat problem. It seems to help keep it cooler since I use it for hours. I would also try to keep the area where the fan is located clear of everything, if possible.

The cooling fans range in price from $10 to $40 and some even include USB hubs or stands. You can find them at various stores who sell computers or office products or online.

Answer 2

The whirring noise would indicate a problem with a cooling fan ... you could try elevating the laptop by using a laptop riser ... I personally make a wire mesh stand for an old lappy that ran quite hot ... or spend a few dollars and get someone to have a look at it before you cook it

Answer 3

There's a laptop fan that they sell ar Radio Shack. Costs about 20 - 30 but it's well worth it. You sit the lap top on it and it cools the laptop by about 70 - 90%

Answer 4

most of the reason laptops overheat is because they can't breathe. get a stand that isn't solid, with holes or something, and put your laptop on it, so the bottom of it is exposed to the air. I do it and my laptop barely even gets warm.

Answer 5

The most likely reason is that the fan is dirty (a big all of dust on it). If you can get a vacuum to the vent opening, you might get some of it, or it may need to be cleaned professionally.

Here are some links for your perusla:

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=iBook+G4+overheats&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

Answer 6

Well there is this rubber thing at Walmart I dont know what its called but its in the electronic section and it is supposed to keep air blowing threw so your battery stays cool and lasts longer. They are about 8-10 dollars and I suppose they work great. Hope this helps!

Answer 7

The easest thing to do is lift the back end of the computer so the fan can get some air. It just needs an inch.

Answer 8

Buy an cooling pad to remove heat from inside the machine and replace it with cool air

Answer 9

Like the posts above me said change the scaling to powersave instead of ondemand or performance to go to teh text file mentioned above type this: sudo gedit /etc/rc.local then type ur password if your using Kubuntu / or xubuntu ( KDE/XFCE) instead of gnome then use Kate for KDE or mousepad for XFCE should look like this: #!/bin/sh -e # # rc.local # # This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel. # Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other # value on error. # # In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution # bits. # # By default this script does nothing. for cpu in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu?/cpufreq/sca... do echo -n powersave > $cpu done exit 0

Answer 10

first of all....good choice on getting a MAC.....

get some air spray

then get a man or talented woman who knows how to open your computer without damaging your comp. and let them clean it because you are over heating it. with all the dust. and heat, if you are not using it put ur screen saver to 5 mins. unless you are watching a movie or something extensive