Overheated now it's fried...

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My PC and Laptop have both overheated (PC about a year ago) but they both show the exact same symptoms.... Overheated then cooled off now they both turn off after about 30 mins normally and don't turn back on for about an hour at the earliest... I cleaned out the Laptop fan and tried it still didn't work and it's not overheating each time it just shuts off w/o warning and won't turn on again... Any ideas on whats wrong or how to fix it?

Sounds like a power supply issue.

My laptop does that... took me six months to find out it was a capacitor come loose from the board. It would get warm, pop free, and the comp would shut off. It's surface mount or I'd have already fixed it... it needs to be heat gunned back on. I don't have the detailed kind of tools needed to do it.

You can check if it's a capacitor... mine breaks free if I jar the right side on the palmrest.

You could also try tearing it apart and rinsing out the heatsink. Dust builds in there like glue.

well all the lights are still blinking it just shuts down it'll turn on then right off again.

And I sent it to my mothers co-worker who is an IT guy there and fixes peoples stuff for less than a store and he thinks it overheating too by the description she gave him so I'll wait and see... Worst case scenario I have to buy a new one ( I have some money from work if I need to I will...)

oh and long time no see kip

HI!! !

Yea... it's overheating. You just have to find out why... if it's new, something broke. Also, remember we are moving into summer. My lappy won't run here in Vegas during the day. Swampcoolers suck.

EDIT: I just realised... Mississippi... humidity is bad for comps... if water condensed in with the thermal compound, it would kill any heat transfer ability it had.

I heard it might be that the motherboards are dead.

If it ever turns on they aren't dead. Maybe on the green mile, but not doorstops just yet.

Pry the side panel off the desktop and look inside. There are a bunch of round tubes standing up on two legs. Run your finger over them. If they are tallest in the centre, or have a brown crust, that's your problem.

Capacitors are directly tied into the mobo's ability to spread the power where it's needed, so if any are blown, that would cause random issues. If they are flat or slightly indented on top, those are fine.

Also, if it boots, download the Hiren Boot CD, or a copy of Memtest86 if you find it loose. That tests your ram, which can also cause random shutdowns. The overheat may have damaged the ram, but in a spot not used often enough to be obvious.

EDIT: It has to post to be able to run memtest... question though. Is it shutting down after a screen displays, or before?

Well I'm posting using tyhe 30 min working time of my PC but if you mean window as in a blue screen or anything no it doesn't it just beeps and turns off.

The lappys probably dead then. Concentrate on the desktop. You can try sending the lappy out for service, especially if it's under waranty, but it may make no difference if it's not.

laptop is dead and I'm going to buy a new one so any ideas?

As for PC not going to bother really can I scrap it for money maybe?

Thanks anyway just need an affordable Laptop and I'll be good...

You might be able to sell it to a used parts store... you'll get value out of the CPU and RAM and such...

As for a laptop, go with a Toshiba. Just do your research, read reviews. While most Toshibas are robust computers that can take anything you throw at them, some won't even survive a month. Their main problem? Heatsink design. Mine has a crappy heatsink, so it hangs out on a cooler all day long.

Well I bought a simple PC at the store today b/c I really needed something and after a review thought it best to wait for a laptop until I need one which I don't right now....

It's an Emachines EL1200 if you know what that is...

Right now I'm trying to find good ways to keep it up so it doesn't do what my last two comp's did so I need to know how to clean it and how often any ideas beyond a dust remover spray?


I was gonna make a new thread but decided that would be wasteful lol might still who knows..

Those slimlines are a PAIN. Man...

You can do the dusting. Also, pop off the side panel once in a while, yes I know it seems scary, but you should see a few screws. Use the duter on the heatsink every once in a while to clean it out too.

If you don't like pulling it apart, any small store will do it for you for cheap. You should only have to clean the guts every once in a while, so it's not something you should do weekly.

Also, don't put the computer in an enclosed space. A lot of cheaper computer desks come with that cubby hole for them, yea, those aren't the best. Kepp it out in the open. It will get a little dustier, granted, but it won't over heat it's space.

Well it was cheap and I was able to get it right away and so far it's working fine just want that external HD and I'll be set... So it has a 1 year warranty and I don't think that would let me open it but I'll check later... Is there anyway I can by accessories for this thing like cooling fans to attach to it or anything?



To be honest I'm just glad I have a computer again and no more posting with my PSP lol