Have you had problems with your laptop overheating? In this article, we have listed some common solutions to the problem so you can find out why your laptop is overheating and how you can fix it. In some cases, you may need to have it repaired by a professional laptop service technician.

Why Does A Laptop Overheat?

There can be several reasons behind a laptop heating up. For starters, if your laptop can be in a place where the ambient temperature is high. In such a case, it is quite normal to expect the machine to overheat. If you use the laptop in such a space where there is not enough air circulation, the laptop is prone to overheating.

There is also a possibility that the laptop’s vents may be blocked, preventing airflow and leading to laptop overheating issues. The problem can also occur if you are not using the original charging adapter. Another reason could be a software or service that is running in the background and consuming a lot of processing power.

The laptop could also overheat if the internal components are clogged with dust, preventing clean airflow. The problem can also occur if the CPU thermal paste wears down, resulting in ineffective temperature management. If the laptop’s internal cooling components, such as the heat sink or cooling fans, are not working properly

1. Remove dust from the laptop for efficient airflow

Modern laptops are usually equipped with CPU fans to ensure proper ventilation. Compared to devices like smartphones, a laptop is more prone to dust accumulation over time. If your laptop is overheating, the first thing you need to check is whether a lot of dust has accumulated in the vents or around the CPU and the entire cooling system.

If there is dust inside the pipe, you can clean it with a soft brush or soft cloth. You can also use a can of compressed air. Make sure you don’t damage any parts of the laptop when you try to remove the dust. This should solve many issues related to laptop overheating.

 2. Check For Wear And Tear

Your laptop is a complex machine with complex parts and components. If it generates excessive heat, there is a possibility that some parts or components may be damaged by wear and tear. Check your laptop’s charging cable, charging adapter, or ports for such damage. If this is the case, you may need to get a replacement for the damaged part.

3. Are you using an original/certified charger?

Make sure you use the original charger that came with the laptop. There may be a number of compatible third-party chargers on the market, which are likely to be much more affordable compared to the original charger. But it is always better to use an original or certified laptop charger.

4. Prevent unnecessary applications and processes from starting automatically

If a lot of applications are running in the background when the laptop starts up. Sometimes, many unnecessary applications and services can be started during the login process, which greatly burdens the laptop’s processor and reduces its performance. Things get worse if you’ve also connected your laptop to a power source at the same time. To avoid such a situation, you can stop any applications you consider unnecessary during startup.

To stop these apps, you can either use the Windows Task Manager or you can click on the settings menu and disable the unnecessary apps from there. In addition, there are several startup processes that you can disable. That being said, please make sure that you don’t disable any applications or processes that are crucial for Windows to run successfully.

5. Use a laptop cooling pad

Even if your laptop has an internal CPU cooling fan, buying an external cooling pad for your laptop can help remove excess heat while charging and performing heavy tasks. A laptop cooling pad provides additional cooling support to help the laptop run as it should. That said, you should keep in mind that the native cooling mechanism varies from device to device, so you’ll need to make sure the cooling pad you invest in supports your laptop

6. Keep the room cool

Sometimes the laptop is not to blame at all and just overheats because the ambient temperature is higher, especially in summer. In some cases, you can adjust things in your room and use an AC, cooler or fan to lower the ambient temperature and prevent the laptop from overheating.

7. Update the BIOS settings

One of the key functions of your laptop’s BIOS is to monitor its temperature and adjust operating conditions accordingly. To make sure your laptop isn’t overheating, try updating your laptop’s BIOS. An updated BIOS can help better manage the fan, reduce CPU load, and eliminate other processes that could adversely affect laptop performance and temperature.

8. Run The Power Troubleshooter Menu

If the overheating of the laptop is caused by faulty software, the root cause is at the software level. In such cases, running a power troubleshooter can sometimes help resolve the issue. To perform power troubleshooting, you must perform the following steps:

Press the Windows + I keys on your laptop keyboard.
Select Update & Security.
Click on Troubleshoot.
Click on Power.
Select Run Troubleshooter.

Most likely, a software-related bug causing the overheating problem will be fixed by performing power troubleshooting.

9. Change the laptop’s power plan

Sometimes changing your laptop’s power plan can help solve the overheating problem. Due to the high power consumption, the laptop can get extremely hot while charging, so tweaking your power plan may come in handy.

In the power plan settings, you can set your desired performance level and even tune the tone of your laptop’s power saving features. To create your own power plan, you need to do the following:

Click the Start icon and type Control Panel in the search box.
Select Control Panel.
Click on Hardware and Sound.
Select Power Options.
Select Create Power Plan.
This way, you can create your own power settings. Although this is not the most powerful and feasible solution to the laptop overheating problem, it will still help you save power and extend the life of your laptop battery.

10. Replace the CPU thermal paste

Every laptop has a CPU and uses thermal paste to transfer the heat generated by the CPU to the cooling solution (heat sink and cooling fans). Sometimes, if the laptop manufacturer uses poor quality thermal paste, it can wear out within a few years. It can wear even faster if you use the laptop in hot and humid conditions.

In this case, you may need to find an expert to help you open the laptop and replace the thermal paste with a better one. You can find good thermal paste from brands like the Arctic, Cooler Master, Noctua, and Thermal Grizzly. Before buying a thermal paste, read reviews and choose one that has received good reviews. Then ask a certified laptop service technician for help and replace the existing thermal paste with a newer, better quality one. This should solve a lot of your laptop overheating problems.

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