6 Ways To Fix An Overheating Laptop Without Taking It Apart

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Are you wondering how to fix an overheating laptop without taking it apart? I have got you covered.

Unlike the past models, today’s laptops are way too powerful yet slimmer. They come loaded with high-tech chips, graphic cards, processors, and much more to make your life a lot simpler. However, there is an added disadvantage you get – overheating.

fix overheting of laptop

The more internal add-ons, the more multitasking a laptop is labeled. And the more tasks you perform simultaneously, the higher the chances of your laptop getting overheated. 

However, fixing such a laptop is very easy and you need not have any technical knowledge to work around. Continue reading to know how to fix an overheating laptop without taking it apart and other stuff you might be interested in. 

6 Common Indications Of A Laptop Overheating

Most users think that a hot bottom is the key (or only) indicator of their laptop overheating. This, however, is not completely true. 

Why?

If you are using your laptop for a long time or running multiple applications or programs simultaneously, the internal components of your laptops will certainly heat up and cause the bottom to heat up as well, but slightly. 

Hence, this slight temperature rise does not fall under the alarming situation of overheating.  

Instead, the following signs of overheating should quickly grab your attention. 

  • A loud noise is coming from your laptop’s fan
  • Your laptop suddenly freezes or stop while you are working,
  • You can not even touch your laptop’s bottom as it is way too hot
  • You can see unusual lines on the screen
  • The laptop shuts down on its own
  • Your laptop is not able to handle even the regular tasks

If you face any of the above problems, your laptop is experiencing a serious overheating problem which you should attend to immediately. 

What Causes A Laptop To Overheat?

Knowing exactly what is causing your laptop to overheat is crucial to implementing any solution (discussed in the next section). Out of all possible causes, here are the most common ones you should know. 

  • Your laptop is too old
  • The laptop exhaust fans are not working to their potential
  • You are overcharging your laptop
  • The room temperature is high
  • The ventilation is stuck by dust and debris
  • You do not keep the laptop on a flat surface before using it

Once you have determined the exact reason for your laptop’s overheating problem, you can get started with the following fixes. 

How To Fix An Overheating Laptop Without Taking It Apart?

The more features-laden your laptop is, the more overheating issues you are bound to face. However, fixing an overheated laptop is as easy as encountering such a problem.

Here are my top resolutions to help you out in your struggle in how to fix an overheated laptop. So, let us dive straight into this. 

Use a compressed air canister or air duster

When you are looking at how to fix a laptop overheating problem without taking it apart, a compressed air canister is a handy tool to have. And guess what? It is extremely easy to use. 

All you have to do is shake the can and blow compressed air into your laptop vents to open them up. 

You can also use the spray to clear off the dust particles stuck between the keyboard keys.

Get a laptop cooling pad

Cooling pad or laptop cooler
Cooling pad or laptop cooler

A laptop cooling pad is also known as a laptop cooler. It is a popular laptop accessory that helps reduce their operating temperature if they are themselves not able to do so. 

However, you cannot choose any random cooling pad for your laptop since it can negatively affect your device and its internal components. 

The cooling pad’s design must be in line with your laptop’s air intake system. 

Choose a flat surface for your laptop

In case you do not know, placing your laptop on a soft surface such as a bed, pillow, sofa, blanket, quilt, or lap is also a common cause of overheating. These soft surfaces do not allow proper ventilation and this leads to overheating. 

To overcome the overheating problem arising due to soft surfaces, you should use a proper laptop stand or portable table to keep the vents unblocked. You can also raise your laptop using a book or a plate as I do. 

Clean the air vents

Thermal grease/paste: how to fix an overheating laptop without taking it apart
Thermal grease/paste

So, your laptop is overheating since the dust and dirt particles have choked its air vents. In that case, here is my quick step-by-step cleaning procedure you can try out. 

  • Switch off your laptop and remove it from charging
  • Remove its battery
  • Take a pack of alcohol wipes and allow the alcohol to evaporate a little
  • Once done, use the alcohol wipes to clean the fan. Alternatively, a hairdryer (on relaxed mode) is also a good option
  • Do not forget to blow some hot air inside the exhaust ports using the dryer or vacuum cleaner
  • Next, apply a small amount of thermal‌ ‌grease‌ ‌between‌ ‌the‌ ‌heat‌ ‌sink‌ ‌and‌ ‌CPU
  • Again clean the fan with a cotton swab
  • As the last step, clean the air vents using your old toothbrush

You can also watch the below video to clean out the dust inside your laptop. 

Credits: Scotties Tech

Close all heavy applications

Even a single heavy application in your laptop can slow it down, decrease the fan speed, and contribute to the overheating problem. 

Therefore, I suggest closing all heavy applications on your laptop and this requires less than a minute of your time. 

To do so, follow these steps. 

  • Click on the Start button on the bottom left corner of your screen.  
  • Type Task Manager and hit the Enter key.
Task Manager
Task Manager
  • As the Task Manager opens up, click on the Processes tab at the top.
Processes tab
Processes tab
  • Check the applications, programs, and tasks for different parameters such as CPU, Disk, Memory, Power usage, etc. Select the heavy applications and close them.  

Turn off your laptop for sometime

Yes, you read that right!

When you are done with your important work only possible on the laptop, completely shut it down for some time. You should not put it on sleep mode as hibernation reduces your laptop’s cooling efficiency in the long run. 

What I suggest is shutting down the system as soon as you feel the bottom is getting heated. 

So, these are the top 6 ways to fix an overheated laptop without taking it apart.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I fix my overheated laptop at home?

Yes, you can easily fix your overheated laptop at home even if you are not a techie. All you need to know is what are the signs of overheating you are facing, the main cause(s), and some quick resolutions as discussed above.

How do I fix my laptop from overheating?

You can fix your laptop from overheating by placing it on a flat surface, checking the performance of the fan, cleaning the choked air vents, closing unnecessary apps/programs in the background, avoiding using the laptop for long hours, etc. 

How long can a laptop run without overheating?

An average laptop can run for around 3 to 4 hours without overheating. However, gaming laptops can hardly run for an hour. 


Conclusion

I hope this guide solves all your queries about how to fix an overheated laptop. The key here is to first understand the signs of overheating which includes the various problems as discussed above. 

Once you ascertain that your laptop is overheating, you should figure out what is causing it. In most cases, it is the old age of your laptop or using it on a soft surface that leads to the problem. Further, poor ventilation is a culprit too. 

To solve the issue, try the above resolutions which are tried and tested by the majority of the laptop users. If you continue to face the overheating problem, do not hesitate to get in touch with me for a workaround. 

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