Has anyone ever used a laptop cooling pad?

[Nituvious]

I am thinking about purchasing one. My laptop has been constantly overheating to the point it may have damaged the keyboard. It annoyingly shuts off mid way through anything if I have left it on for several hours.
I can't keep it in my lap anymore for obvious reasons so now I keep it sitting on stilts(I sawed up a board into two narrow ridges) so it can breath easily but that doesn't work very effectively...

I was looking at this:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Not ... 622&sr=8-3

[Derek]

Stating the obvious really but have you checked that your fan(s) are working and that your laptop isn't full of dust. My laptop gets hot sometimes, nearly too hot to be on my lap but so far the keyboard hasn't melted.

[utopiomania]

Its a technical problem with the laptop itself. It's faulty. Have it fixed or buy a new one.

[Nituvious]

It happens when the laptop is left on for an extended period of time(not the keyboard - it's always like this. I think the keyboard is just bad in itself).
I'm thinking maybe if I get a cooling pad it would help but I would like some opinions on that.

If it doesn't do the job I will get it repaired. And still have a cooling pad!

[c4s]

@utopiomania
Consider that the average temperature in USA can be way higher then in Norway, so I don't think it's a technical problem at all.

[IdeasVacuum]

Depends on where the laptop's own fans are - many have either the fans themselves or intake duct in the underside, so using a laptop pad which has fans could make matters worst. I would certainly give it a good clean (whilst switched off!). The pad I use works very well:

http://www.xpad4laptop.com/index.html

The company is based in the USA and does not have a UK distributor so I had to pay a lot for it - worth every penny though.

[Mistrel]

If your laptop is overheating then it probably wasn't built with adequate air circulation in the first place. Buying a cooling mat doesn't really fix the problem.

I can highly recommend this laptop:

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=e ... 430ac3503f

It runs extremely cool, very quiet, and has a 7-8 hour battery. It comes in 13", 14", and 15".

I use a metal stand for my notebook, not for the cooling, but because it adds a small angle for more comfortable typing. I've never owned one but I've seen others with coolers that have fans in them. I find them very annoying as the fan on the cooler tends to be louder than the laptop itself.

A review I read on a fanless cooler concluded that the difference was negligible with one test showing that it actually added to the overall temperature.

[PureLust]

I can't keep it in my lap anymore for obvious reasons so now I keep it sitting on stilts(I sawed up a board into two narrow ridges) so it can breath easily but that doesn't work very effectively...

In theory, any branded Laptop should have a cooling-system which is strong enough to cool it, even on extensive usage.

Mostly the Problem is related to dust.

If you know, how to handle a screwdriver, you should have a Look at the heat sink.
If it looks like this, you should clean it immediately:

As you can see on the Picture above, the heat sink is so dusty, that its nearly impossible for the air to flow through - so the Laptop cannot be cooled enough and will overheat.

After cleaning the heat sink should look like this and the cooling should be ok again:


A hint, that the Problem is related to a dusty heat sink is, if the fan is spinning high fulltime at a very noisy level.

[utopiomania]

@c4s

Consider that the average temperature in USA can be way higher then in Norway, so I don't think it's a technical problem at all.

It is probably. Most of use the laptop INSIDE a building, like at home for example, and I doubt they
maintain a way higher temp at home or at work than we do. Also, in the summertime it can be very hot outside here too.

So, if your keyboard melts, or your d*ck gets fried, get a refund, or buy something else.

[Nituvious]

Hmm... I tried dissassembling it to clean it, but I never could get the freaking plastic cover off.
I'll buy a can of aerosol and see if I can get anywhere with that.

[IdeasVacuum]

Google your laptop model, someone somewhere will know how to open it up safely.

[PureLust]

Or you can try it on Youtube.

You can find a Lot of Tips&Trick there, how to Open even very tricky cases.

[Nituvious]

Yes, I used google and youtube. But one of the screws is stripped and I don't have a drill bit small enough for it.
Youtube only pulled 1 video for the presario cq60, though.

[Mistrel]

You can try the "HP Customer Self Repair Services Media Library" site:

http://h20464.www2.hp.com/index.html

Sometimes you can find full disassembly instructions with videos. If your model isn't listed there then you'll need to do is try to find the service manual.

Try googling "compaq cq60 service manual", it's the first result. Don't link it directly here though, as service manuals are copyrighted work.

[PureLust]

But one of the screws is stripped and I don't have a drill bit small enough for it.

THIS Guy seems to had the same problem, but in Part 4 of his Tutorial He finally made it and shows you how to clean the CPU-Fan.

Good luck.