If you have never cleaned it, that may be a big part of your problem. Even on a desk a laptop can get really dust clogged, my laptop accumulates dust over time. I thoroughly clean my laptop at least four times a year, and I give it a once-over every other week. You should clean it more than that if you life in a dusty, dirty environment or if you carry it with you a lot.
If your computer is newer and still under warranty, contact the manufacturer to be sure opening the case wont void the warranty. If it would void the warranty then ask them where you can take it for cleaning. They may want to take it somewhere, they may not mind you opening the case, or they may send someone out to you to clean it.
- You never said the make/model of the laptop, so I will have to approach this from a general standpoint.
Look at the laptop's main air intake/exhaust ports for the fan. Some laptops have been built with the intake port directly next to the exhaust port. This can cause a problem of hot-gas-ingestion for the laptop. If the air ports are too close together the air exiting the exhaust port may be pulled into the intake port. This situation can build into a major overheating issue as the re-circulated air gets hotter and hotter. Within minutes the laptop can loose its ability to cool efficiently and will most likely overheat.
If you have this type of intake/exhaust design then, at a minimum, make sure that you do not have anything blocking the air path to/from the intake/exhaust ports. I like to leave a clean, unblocked 9inch area around the intake/exhaust port area to allow for an unobstructed air flow.
If you have a laptop where the intake port is underneath the laptop and the exhaust port on the side or on the back of the laptop, then there is a different situation to be careful of. With an intake port on the underside you need to be sure there is adequate space between the intake grille and any surface on which the laptop is sitting. There is also the exhaust port on the side (or back) which also need room for hot air to exit properly and unobstructed.
Be sure that the intake port has room for air flow. The best way to do this is to simply raise the laptop off the surface the laptop is on. Even a simple bakers cooling rack (or if on the road, coke bottle screw caps) will do the job as long as the laptop is secure. I like to provide a 1inch air space for the underneath intake port. The exhaust port requires space to vent the hot air. Leave a bare space around the exhaust port. This is so that the hot air has an exit area; and also so that an obstruction(s) can't route hot air back under the laptop.
- If you have had this issue, as you said, since you bought the laptop then you need to contact the manufacturer. Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in you being declared negligent and your warranty voided.
- If the room/area you use the laptop in is always hot, this may also be the issue. Other than A/C or going somewhere cooler, you may not have a fix if this is the case. If the room/area is hot, try to minimize time doing strenuous tasks on the PC.
