I have a 3 1/2 year old Compaq Presario 2700 laptop that has performed very well for me up until recently. The fan started running all the time and the CPU usage would be at or near 100% even if I had very few tasks running. Then starting yesterday, I think it is overheating. It will be running with the fan going on high (as usual lately) then suddenly click off like all power has been cut. I can then restart the machine, but only for a short period before it will do it again. After allowing it to cool, I can use it again for awhile before I run into the same problem.
Is this something that can easily be fixed if I were to take it into a repair shop (Data Doctors or something like that) or maybe even fix myself, even though this is a laptop? Or should I just start shopping for a new one and back up my critical data to my external drive while I still can before my motherboard fries from the heat.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance. Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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It sounds like something is eating up all your processing power, which makes the processor create more heat, which strains the fan. Scan for spyware and viruses (if you haven't already).
Also check your startup config to see what programs are running in the background. Open up the Task Manager and look at which programs are using up your CPU. If you've got programs running that shouldn't be, remove them from startup or uninstall them.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Scott: I'm hopefully getting a mac in a month if I get the new job I applied for. I'd still like to keep this one for awhile longer
Jon: All great suggestions, but I'ved done all that stuff when the fan started going out of control, and I still have the problem. I've done virus and spyware scans with multiple programs. No unknown tasks running, and I've already used msconfig to disable startup of unnecessary items.
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I'll happily consider a Mac, but I'll wait until the MacIntelling of the brand is complete.
Also, if you're running xp you can run 'msconfig' and get a more detailed list of what is running at startup (and turn them off).
Posts: 1368 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Good idea. I thought of that, but instead, I just gave him a warning and told him how much the computer shop guy charged to fix the thing. He has been much more prudent since then.
Ideally, I would like to teach him that the best control is self-control.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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