Overheating laptop ---HELP

[Typhoon]

Hi there. I have a laptop that has all of the sudden recently been overheating (to auto-shut-off). I am not sure what the problem could be. I can only think of two things. 1) Maybe my sister caused the problem by unawaringly covering up the vent, thus overheating the laptop and possibly damaging the mainboard, or 2) the mainboard is poorly built/designed thus being somehow defected? I had sent in this laptop about 5 months ago because it had an overheating issue (that was totally unrelated to how I cared and handle the laptop--which was well cared for). They replaced the whole mainboard and cleaned out dust. I had learned that many other owners of this laptop experienced overheating issues (which damaged the mainboard and other parts) and thus having to send it in for warranty repair. By the way, I have a eMachines M5309 laptop (Athlon XP-M 2500+, 60 GB HDD, ATI Radeon IGP 320M - 64MB). My problem now is that I don't think I can send it in even though it has 3 months of warranty left, because many areas of the plastic casing has cracks and a broken plastic hinge cover. This happened because my mom dropped it on the floor. I didn't have the overheating problem until the period of recent time my sister used the laptop. Before I spend money on buying a new laptop, I would like to find out (for sure) the reason why my laptop is having this problem. It only overheats and shuts off when the CPU takes on intensive tasks like scanning the harddrive for viruses, running a 3D game, even while installing Linux or Windows under VMWare Workstation, etc. This even happens when the laptop has nothing under it--allowing for air circulation. What other reasons could cause it to overheat and shut off? Dirty fan? And what solution options do I have?

[marcm]

This may be a last resort, but I did a Pricegrabber search for a laptop cooler and here (http://www.pricegrabber.com/search.php?topcat_search=1&form_keyword=laptop+cooler&Search=Search) are the results. This may not be what you are looking for, but it may help you if you want. Personally, I have never used one, so I'm not sure how effective they are either :?

[Jason Dunn]

Wow, sounds like it's rough being a laptop in your family. 8O :lol:

First, you can try a software cooling program:

http://www.benchtest.com/cooler.html

Laptops, unlike desktop PCs, are notoriously difficult to crack open and work on, so sending it in for warranty work might be the only option. I'm sure you can specify to them that you're only asking for the cooling problem to be addressed and not the other problems.

[jbachandouris]

I work on laptops everyday. It may be that the CPU fan is not working whic would cause the sysmptoms you described. Unfortunately, most laptops must be completely taken apart to replace the fan. Since you still have sometimeleft on your warranty, I would send it in. I don't believe your sister blocking the vent is the cause, but I could be wrong. Fans DO fail, so I see no reason why your warranty wouldn't cover it.

And, if you're looking to keep the PC, I would inquire about extending the warranty. Keep us informed as to your progress!