BleepingComputer.com: Reinstalled Windows, Now Computer Overheats

Hey all. I've been having this issue since I reinstalled Windows about two months ago- my CPU temps have gotten pretty hot. Normally this doesn't bother me until yesterday when I got the BSOD while playing Half-Life 2: Episode One because the computer got so hot. No permanent damage appears to have occurred but it's still frustrating.

I think it's worth noting that this is the second time I have had to reinstall Windows and both times the temps increased cumulatively, and I did not have this problem before my first reinstallation of Windows. Before the first reinstall, average CPU temp was about 75 while gaming for a while. After the first reinstall, my average temp while gaming went up to about 80. It now goes from 85-90. It also happened on an older computer I had a few years ago. Is there anything I can do to resolve this issue? Perhaps some older files are stored somewhere from the previous Windows install that are bogging down my system?

Thanks.

By the way, my computers specs are:

Alienware M11xR2
Windows 7 64-bit
Intel Core i5-520UM @ 1.07 GHz
4 gig RAM

Thanks again.

This post has been edited by moshpitdweller90: 23 December 2011 - 03:24 PM

Since this is a laptop did you install all the Alienware software and drivers? Was it a System recovery or a clean install from a windows disk?

Second question have you checked to be sure the heatsink(s) are clean? I've seen some pretty clogged heatsinks to the point the laptop overheated and shut of. I have also replaced the heatsink assemblies on an Acer & two Toshiba laptops because the Heat pipes had lost the ability to transfer the heat from the CPU to the heatsink fins.

My first stage of diagnosing that was there was plenty of airflow and it was at best lukewarm right up until it shut off and a hotspot on the base of the laptop.

Is it still under warranty?

This post has been edited by rotor123: 23 December 2011 - 04:29 PM

Thanks for the reply

Yes, I installed all the drivers and did the reinstall cleanly from my Windows 7 disk. And no, the warranty just expired.

No, I haven't checked the heatsinks. I'm not quite sure how to actually do that.

You feel the air coming out of it. Is the air very hot, is it not blowing very hard is a place to start.

It is blowing pretty hard. In fact the fan itself gets pretty loud when it gets real hot, so I know the fan works. And yeah, the air that does come out is ridiculously hot. Like, if I kept my finger there I would probably get burned...

There do seem to be reports of this model overheating. when you have it just sitting there doing nothing what does the Performance tab in Task Manager show for CPU?

High CPU will cause it to run hotter. It should be idling at 0 to 1% usage. I also saw reports that Speedfan was inaccurate on this model. (Reads Low)

When you run it, do you run it on a hard surface so as to not block airflow. Are there any rubber feet missing on the bottom that could be letting it suit closer to the surface?

For the time being when gaming can you set the game to be less demanding so as to not overheat the laptop. I have seen two Toshibas that killed their motherboard due to constant overheating for example.

The idle CPU reading varies between 1 and 4% typically. I usually run it about a quarter of an inch elevated over a cooling pad. And yeah, I've been setting the settings lower and actually underclocking the CPU to avoid it from getting too hot.

It's understandable that gaming laptops would get super hot while playing for extended periods of time, but I'm just not sure if it's a result from the Windows 7 reinstallation. As I said, it got progressively hotter each time I reinstalled it, which makes me wonder if it is really a hardware problem or if there is some (hopefully reversible/fixable) software issue here.

One other thought being very very very careful if you remove the bottom (Base cover in Dell speak) Put a towel down before you turn the laptop over to avoid an scratches.

Read this first Before You Begin http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/Alw_M11xR2/en/SM/before.htm#wp1435071

Alienware® M11x R2 Service Manual

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/Alw_M11xR2/en/SM/bottomco.htm#wp1435071
Does it look Dusty?
Being very careful not to short out anything what happens to temperatures if you put a cooling pad under there with the bottom cover off? being very careful that nothing metal touches any of the laptop innards. You will kill it if anything metal shorts out the motherboard.

A cooling pad blowing direct onto the motherboard should cool things off for now. If that works you might think about changing the heatsink assembly ( A big job most likely requiring a almost total dis-assembly). I do not recommend that since many of the connectors on a laptop are delicate and easy to break and very hard to replace if they can be replaced.

The progressive running hotter could, repeat could be the heat sink assembly heat pipes slowly failing although you report that the air coming out is very hot indicates otherwise.

This post has been edited by rotor123: 24 December 2011 - 02:56 PM

Hey sorry for the late response--was busy for the holidays. Anyway, the inside of the computer looks pretty clean-no dust. Are you sure I should use it without the bottom? I've read elsewhere that laptops are specifically designed to account for heat and that removing the bottom of it would probably worsen the overheating.

I'm not totally sure, That is why I suggested doing it with a cooling pad blowing air into it as a test.With it sitting on the cooling pad, make sure it is plastic, the bottom should be sealed and have a source of cool outside air. Prefer one with two or three fans blowing in. This is just a test to see what happens not long term.

As an example I ran my Toshiba with the top cover off which is how I was able to check the CPU temps vs the heat sink temps and determine that the Heat Pipes had failed. I did the same thing for someone else with a Acer that overheated and shut off. In those cases I did have to prop the keyboard up and make sure it didn't short out the works of the laptop. On those the heatsink was cool, the fan was racing and I darn near got a bad burn from the CPU.

You Dell is easier since the bottom plate uncovers so much of the motherboard. Another possibility is that the sensor itself or it's circuitry is going bad.

Whether it worsens the overheating depends on whether it channels air in specific directions. On yours it looks like the air is drawn in right under the CPU cooling fan and the bottom is solid?

See the encircled parts? Those are the CPU & Chipset(s) locations.  Dell MB2.JPG (22.07K)
Number of downloads: 1

That is where I'm hoping cooling air will help.

Good Luck
Roger

This post has been edited by rotor123: 27 December 2011 - 06:17 PM

Okay, I tried it on my laptop with my cooling pad. No noticeable change in the temps. The heat sink seems to be working alright, too.