Computer shuts down

C

crescere

Member
I have an HP Pavilion Slimline S3200N PC. For the past several months the fan has been running longer than usual, and now the whole computer actually shuts down after about 15 minutes. I opened the case and cleaned out some lint I could see behind the fan. I do not feel confident enough to take things apart so I just used a O-tip.



It has been hotter than normal in the house, but the Dell computers they use at work 24 hours a day are on the dirty floor with dust everywhere, and there is no air conditioning, yet they never shut down. They occasionally get viruses, but they do not do what my home compute is doing.

Thank in advance to all who help
 
Shutting down is basically from overheating. Get a can of compressed air and blow out the case. Especially in the cpu fan/heatsink, while holding the cpu fan so it doesn't over-rpm. Dust will kill a computer faster than anything.
 
I did use the compressed air on the internal works. Last night it cooled down so I turned the computer on again. The fan stayed on, and after about 20 minutes the computer shut down again.

Should I remove the fan to clean behind it? Where are the "heat sinks"?

Thanks.
 
The fan sits on the heatsink which sits on the processor. However, some systems have a fan duct that goes over the heatsink instead of the fan directing sitting on top of it.
 
HP laptops are a real pain when it comes to heat-management.

Like John suggested, you can blow out the laptop with compressed air. If that doesn't solve the problem, then you are looking at a full disassembly, which isn't easy.


On HP laptops, the heatsink is a little undersized, their thermal-transfer materials are substandard, and the laptop are generally hotter than they should be.

For best results, you would need to get to the heatsink, which sits right on top of the processor chip and is supposed to move the heat from the processor and graphics chips (and sometimes other chips as well) and move it over to a radiator where the fan blows air across it to dissipate said heat.

If you can't take the laptop apart yourself (which is not easy, even for a pro like me), then I suggest you take it to a laptop repair specialist (assuming your machine is not under warranty) and have them go over it. They will clean all the dust/debris out of it, remove your heatsink and reapply the thermal transfer compound with something a little better, and maybe even use copper shims for the graphics chip, which will help immensely.

When you get it back, remember to keep that laptop on a hard surface when running, maybe invest in a laptop cooling apparatus of some sort. Too many people seem to think it is okay to drop a laptop on the bed and run it that way, and what they are doing is blocking critical airflow and allowing the machine to get too hot.
 
Perkomate said:
The problem is that from what i've heard the laptop division of HP uses super cheap fans that don't really get the job done. Get Core Temp at http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
and tell us what the temperatures are if you can.
Click to expand...

Dngrsone said:
HP laptops are a real pain when it comes to heat-management.

Like John suggested, you can blow out the laptop with compressed air. If that doesn't solve the problem, then you are looking at a full disassembly, which isn't easy.


On HP laptops, the heatsink is a little undersized, their thermal-transfer materials are substandard, and the laptop are generally hotter than they should be.

For best results, you would need to get to the heatsink, which sits right on top of the processor chip and is supposed to move the heat from the processor and graphics chips (and sometimes other chips as well) and move it over to a radiator where the fan blows air across it to dissipate said heat.

If you can't take the laptop apart yourself (which is not easy, even for a pro like me), then I suggest you take it to a laptop repair specialist (assuming your machine is not under warranty) and have them go over it. They will clean all the dust/debris out of it, remove your heatsink and reapply the thermal transfer compound with something a little better, and maybe even use copper shims for the graphics chip, which will help immensely.

When you get it back, remember to keep that laptop on a hard surface when running, maybe invest in a laptop cooling apparatus of some sort. Too many people seem to think it is okay to drop a laptop on the bed and run it that way, and what they are doing is blocking critical airflow and allowing the machine to get too hot.
Click to expand...

Why are the both of you talking about laptops when his system is slimline desktop pc? So the advice you gave him is null. :rolleyes:
 
Because this dumbass didn't realize there was a Pavilion line of desktops.
doh.gif


Turn the computer on with the case open and make sure all the fans are actually running. If not, then you will have to replace the ones that are bad.

If they are running, then you might want to remove the heatsink, clean it and the processor thoroughly with some isopropyl alcohol ("rubbing alcohol"), and reapply some thermal compound-- I use Arctic Silver V but there are other products that are just as good (or better now, my tube if five years old). Just a rice-grain-sized dot of thermal compound will do the job-- too much will actually make things worse.
 
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Yes this is a slimline, not a laptop. There is only one fan that I can see. I removed the case and can see that the fan is running. The fan is attached to a silver thing with fins which I assume is the heat sink. It is going to be tight to get the fan off unless I remove the DVD drive. So your saying that I can remove the heat sink and then soak it in alcohol?
 
Well, I wouldn't say soak it.

The fan is probably attached to the heat sink with a few screws.

The heat sink is attached to the processor using some sort of spring-loaded mechanism-- maybe screws, a bail or locking tabs. Carefully unlock the heatsink and remove. If you have trouble getting it to let go, you might try a slight twisting motion.

Blow out any dust, dirt, debris from the fins of the heatsink, use a clean, lint-free cloth to remove all heat-transfer compound from the heat sink and the processor using 70% isopropyl alcohol (household rubbing alcohol) and make sure there are no residues left behind.

Apply a spot of heat-transfer compound (heat sink grease, Arctic Silver, what-have-you) to the processor (about the size of a grain of rice), reinstall the heat sink and lock it down.
 
This morning I spent a while blowing the air can through the fan and heat sinks. Afterwards the fan ran continually but the computer did not shut down. I ran a full scan using Norton and it shut down after about five minutes of scanning.

My wife told me that she just surfed the internet for two hours without a shut down. Could Norton be involved in this now?
 
Norton has stopped some viruses (or so it tells me) in the past. I have noticed that many people do not like Norton. Should I consider deleting it from my computer, and geting something else? Like what?
 
Hi, sorry to hear about your computer overheating issue which comes as a surprise for this model of desktop. One Forum expert advised you to take the temperature? Were you able to do this and if so what was the temperature? HP may be able to assist if there is serious overheating. John, thanks for clarifying the product type.
 
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