- The Satellite A-75 line of laptops may overheat from time to time, but so do many other brands and models of laptops. Unlike a desktop computer, which has a lot of open space for air to move around and dedicated fans for both the CPU and the power supply, a laptop's hardware is condensed and tightly packed. The base of any laptop has vents for air to escape and the guts of the computer include a heat sink over the CPU and a cooling fan, but these pieces of hardware are all close together and prone to heating up quickly.
- When your computer feels hot to the touch, you know something is wrong. Most computers will get a bit warm during use, but a hot plastic interface is always a sign of overheating. Sometimes this is the result of using the computer on a soft surface (such as your lap). Fabric from your clothes can clog the vents on the system temporarily, causing the hot air to get stuck inside. With no natural exit, the hot air moves upwards and the top of the system gets hot to the touch. But even on a hard surface, you might feel your A-75 and think it's too hot; this is often a sign that the hardware is failing.
- If the CPU on your A-75 reaches a certain internal temperature, the computer will freeze or shut off. There's no set maximum temperature, but you'll know when you reach it because your system will become unresponsive. This can damage the CPU, so you should contact a computer service agent as soon as you notice this behavior.
- You'll find stories online about clogged heatsinks on the A-75, a common cause of overheating. A heatsink's job is to carry heat upwards from the CPU, heat which the cooling fan then blows out of the system. On the A-75, reports one computer technician writing for UserBytes.com, both heatsinks on a system he service were substantially clogged with dust: one heatsink was about 40 percent full and the other, he reports, almost completely clogged. You can clean the heatsinks, but you need to open and disassemble the A-75 to do so.
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