How to fix overheating laptop without taking it apart

Does your laptop overheat? And you want to know How to fix overheating laptop without taking it apart? Well, Modern laptops have become slimmer and provide more impressive processing speed than in the past. Laptops become more powerful due to an increase in the number of cores and threads and now they can support higher resolution displays. 

Processors help to provide faster speed and better performance but also cause an overheating problem. When your laptop gets overheated, it may cause hardware failure and permanent damage to the internal system.

Today, I’m going to show you how to fix your overheating laptop without taking it apart and how you can improve the performance of your laptop and extend its lifespan. 

How do you know that your laptop is overheating?

How can I tell if my laptop is overheating? If your laptop gets hot, it doesn’t always mean that it’s overheating. In addition to overheating, if you’re also facing sluggish performance and your laptop’s fan is running super fast without taking a nap, then there is a strong possibility of overheating.

As the CPU gets hot it starts reducing the clock time which results in slower performance. If a certain limit is reached, your laptop may unexpectedly shut down by the fail-safe software to prevent any damage to the hardware.

Why is your laptop overheating?

Your laptop is overheating due to inadequate cooling. The most common reason for laptop overheating is that you probably have dust covering your laptop’s fans which can trap the heat. To get rid of this, you should clean the vents, ensure that the laptop has enough airflow, and update the BIOS (Basic Input/output system).

It is possible to fix all of these issues yourself, although some jobs will be more complex than others. Read on to learn how to do a quick fix that doesn’t require deliding your CPU or GPU and applying fresh thermal compounds.

How to fix overheating laptop without taking it apart? ( A Descriptive Guide )

Sometimes the problem could be simple, and a few software fixes may help to reduce the laptop’s temperature. You can restrict the unwanted program that loads up with Windows operating system automatically.

Here, I am going to tell you how to keep your laptop cool and thus improving its performance and extending its life expectancy.

1. Find the main problem of overheating

There are times when you cannot see any significant improvement through hardware fixes.

Then you should take a look at software fixes such as the performance and power usage of your laptop.

So it is very important to find the main problem that causes the laptop to overheat. Suppose if your laptop gets hot due to software fixes and you are only focusing on hardware fixes then it won’t work. So, you need to find out the main cause.

When you encounter some software issues, you are advised to lower the brightness or slow down the CPU clock speed. Under clocking is done inside the operating system using software tools.

2. Always place the laptop on a flat surface

The majority of laptops have their vents at the bottom. If you place your laptop on a soft surface like blankets or lap then this can block the proper airflow inside it. This blockage of airflow causes the laptop to overheat.

Make sure that you place your laptop on a hard and flat surface such as a desk surface. If you prefer, you can also purchase a laptop stand or a laptop holder. For most practical purposes, you can find these holders and stands for less than $50. 

3. Look for an issue with the battery.

Batteries of your laptop are of different types and different capacities. Although there are many different theories about proper battery maintenance, one thing is certain. Don’t let your battery run at 100 percent or 0 percent for extended periods. 

Batteries are meant to be used but if you keep the charger plugged in all the time, it is an indication that the battery is not being used at all, rather being stored at its full capacity. This can cause the battery to run out and die. When the batteries are not working well then they generate a lot of heat.

4. Turn off CPU Turbo Boost

Many laptop users have noticed that turning off the CPU’s Turbo Boost will decrease the laptop’s internal temperature by certain degrees. Basically, turbo automatically overclock your CPU to ensure that it can handle intensive tasks. This will consume more power, which is responsible for laptop overheating. There’s probably a tiny bit of CPU performance sacrificed, but it’s not even noticeable.

5. Clean the vents

As we discussed earlier, air vents are usually located beneath your laptop. One of the major reasons for overheating laptops is the blockage of these air vents of your laptop. Because if these vents get blocked then there would be no proper transfer of heat.

Run a much resource-hungry app and check the air vents on your laptop. While some of them are capable of sucking in cool air, some are capable of blowing out hot air. When the laptop is operating at maximum capacity then check the vents. You can do this to check if they provide proper heat transfer function.

If you face any problem with the heat transfer function then you must check the vents. For this purpose,  you can use compressed air. If it is possible to open the back panel for individual elements, check if you can do this then remove the dust. But you must be having technical skills for this purpose.

6. Limit the use of Software

Other than the tips and fixes mentioned above, you can also try a few other things. This will include the software fixes and limiting the usage of your softwares.

Check the apps that are using CPU unnecessarily in the Task Manager. You can also uninstall the software applications you don’t need. 

Although you are attempting to degrade your laptop’s performance and sacrificing the software capabilities of your laptop for hardware improvement.

7. Turn off the Laptop rather than sleep or hibernation.

It’s also wise to turn off your laptop each night before going to sleep. We assume that most of us always do that, but some of us still leave our laptops on hibernation and fall asleep.

When the laptop is on hibernation, the apps are running in the background. It may increase the chances of dust accumulation.

Also, try to avoid placing the laptop near the place where your pets fall asleep.

Because the pets’ hair can become one of the major causes of vents blockage.

8. Thermal Paste use.

As the thermal paste between the heatsink and processor degenerates over time, it may cause issues. If you have the technical skills to solve this issue and can apply a fresh layer of thermal paste, then you can do this by yourself.

And if you don’t have the skills then you should get it done by a professional service center.

9. Get a Laptop cooler

Laptop cooling pads are designed to offer a more cooling effect. Make sure that the cooling pad you choose is well suited to your laptop’s specifications.

If your laptop has vents beneath it then you must go for the best laptop cooling pad that blows cool air into the upward direction. There are also coolers that just absorb heat and don’t consume any power. Laptop cooling pads help the laptops to perform well.

Maybe you are thinking about how laptops cooling pads work?

A laptop cooling pad has a number of fans on it, to blow cool air into the laptop. You simply put your laptop on the chill mat and power it on by plugging it into your laptop. The fans start running and throw cool air into your laptop by which the laptop’s temperature is dropped by a few degrees.

How can I make the laptop run cooler?

There are many ways to keep the laptop cool such as

1. Open up the laptop and clean the fans with compressed air and if the fan is broken then find a new fan replacement for it. 
2. Uplift your laptop by placing a book under the laptop. And if you want to spend some money then you must go for a laptop cooling pad.
3. To maintain balanced airflow and keep your laptop cool, use a lap desk.
4. Control the speed of the laptop fan with different programs such as SpeedFan because when the fan is constantly running at high speed, it indicates that your laptop’s CPU is working hard and it may result in getting a hotter laptop.
5. Avoid actions that put huge stress on the laptop CPU.
6. Keep your laptop away from high temperatures because, during high temperatures, problems with your hard drive or battery can cause the laptop to overheat.

How do I Clean dust out of my laptop fan without taking it apart?

1. Take your laptop’s bottom panel off. Not that there are different kinds of laptops made by different manufactures. So always be careful.
2. Hold the fan gently so that it does not rotate or move.
3. Clean the fan gently with a neat cloth.
4. Clean the air vents.
5. With the help of a blower, blow air into the fan to move the dust out of it.
6. Before you take any of the hardware out, make sure you know everything about laptop parts.

Conclusion

There are many ways to prevent the laptop from overheating. Excessive heat produced by laptops is a serious issue and it can affect the laptop’s

performance and also can cause damage to its internal components. 

And today we have learned to find out the main problem of overheating, how to fix the laptop without taking it apart, and also about the best surface for placing the laptops.

If you don’t have much time to clean the vents regularly, and can’t fix the overheating problem without taking it apart then you must buy a good quality cooling pad for your laptop.

Frequently Asked Questions