Odd computer problem

[Lady Muck]

So, we've had quite an interesting morning. Got up at Dawns crack again, to work before we set off. Now my laptop gets really hot, infact I've had to buy one of those risers with a fan in it. I downloaded some software so I can keep an eye on how hot it gets.

I've heard that this series of Vaio is prone to this due to the clever idea to have the heatsink air intake in the base. Doesn't help that at that corner, the little rubber 'foot' came off.

Anyway, just after we set off, I get a call for something urgent that needs doing, switch it on, work and I notice the 12v adaptor isn't working. We swap the fuse for a new one and nothing. It doesn't work. So I get out the 150w 'coke can' invertor, plug in that with the power pack and it seems to be working.

 

After an hour or two, I make a cuppa, come back and it's broken! My partner takes it apart and we discover it has blown a fuse. By which time I've plugged in the 300w invertor and it's broken that as well. Not the fuse this time, just dead and when I unplugged it, the plug itself was very hot. I just need to add that I don't think the 300w invertor is really 300w. Our neighbour gave us it with a missing cable, the one we've used instead we think is too long so there must be some voltage drop. The 12v adaptor I bought at the same time as the lappy and it's been fine until now. I did notice yesterday that both the 240v power pack and the 12v adaptor were really really hot.

 

So is my furnace-esque laptop blowing everything up? I backed up a week ago and I'm gonna take the hard drive out tonight (I've got a caddy) and get all the important bits off, then we thought we would plug it straight into the genny and test it with the multi tester to see if it's the laptop that's causing the problem.

 

A few weeks ago I found a service manual on t'internet, I bought some 'squirty air' and planned to take it apart and clean the heatsink, does anyone think it's drawing too much power as it's overheating? Am I talking rubbish? Should I chuck it int' Calder and Hebble?

[bag 'o' bones]

I took my own lappy apart a while back and cleaned out the crud. I was quite surprised just how fluff was blocking the heat sink elements so I reckon a clean up might be a good idea before you decide to sling it.

 

O ther than that it might be that the heat sink grease has dried up so its not transmitting the heat away from the processor.

 

To be fair though most lappys tend to crash if they get too hot.

Edited August 18, 2009 by bag 'o' bones

[Chris Pink]

Laptop running hot could be a sign of it working really hard, so i would check carefully for malware and virii.

 

Though it could be a fan problem.

 

There should be a utility somewhere (you can i tell i don't much Widnows) that tells you how hot the processor is running.

[Yoda]

I think that unless you take it apart and try to clean it, that it is terminal. It is drawing a large amount of current which is why its hot and all the fuses are blowing.

 

Take the hard drive out and throw the rest away, if it does the same after cleaning.

[Digipete]

I would suggest doing what you have already set out to do. Remove the drive and get all of the files you need off of it. Then clean the dust out of the computer. At this point reinstall the operating system. that way you have a fresh start with no chance of malware. You might want to do a virus scan on the files that you pulled out of the laptop, just in case. I would then try running the computer for a few days before installing your backup files, just to see what happens.

[RLWP]

What model Vaio do you have?

 

Richard

[smileypete]

Hi,

 

If it's running XP try installing 'Speedswitch XP' and set it to 'Max Battery'.

 

cheers,

Pete.

[Yoda]

It is f**ked

[Bobbybass]

Hi...

 

Shut down the computer.....start it up.....until its totally ready to go and all the usual software...ie virus scanners are running..goes quiet....but not internet.

Press and hold ...all at the same time... ctrl ( bottom left) alt (just to the right of it) and delete (top right)

This will bring up a new window that shows all programs running.

Click onto the 'performance' tab...and it should show a fairly stable and low percentage (varies per computer)

Make sure the graph is not hopping up and down around the 100% mark.

If it is...and is consistentaly so...you may have malware running.

If that's the case..I certainly wouldn't ever use the hard drive in another machine as it could carry virus to the new computer via systems control area on the disc and is impossible to remove. The only course is to burn your files ( not programs) onto CD/DVD and then transfer them via this way...but that is strictly data....as any executable program segments can carry malicious code...

There are viruses like this that get into the control segment on the hard drive.....which tells the drive where the tracks etc are...

Small though they are...they can fool the disc into cycling over and over and waste resources...It is sometimes possible to hear this happening..if you listen carefully and hear random clicks.

The systems control area is not scanned by any virus scanners as its theoretically untouchable (ha ha..so they say)...and hence it will never show up.

As I have said...its impossible to remove them and they will infect other drives...

Hope this helps.

 

Bob

Edited August 18, 2009 by Bobbybass

[twocvbloke]

And in steps a laptop engineer who knows something...

 

The heatsink is most likely caked up in dust, depending on your laptop, it may be easy to access, or ver much built in and inaccessible without taking the whole thing apart...

 

One option is to take a vacuum cleaner and it's hose and place it over the air INTAKE (not exhaust!!!) and hope it pulls out the dust cake. The second is the removal option (but as above, this depends on your laptop's design), then again using a vacuum and a paintbrush to clean out the dust. And the third, take it to a computer shop of reputable nature and have them give it a service, this will cost between £25 and £75 depending on the work needed...

 

If all else fails, as mentioned, take out the hard drive (purchase a USB 2.5 inch hard drive enclosure to use and access the drive) and dispose of the laptop on ebay, don't just throw it away as there are valuable parts on the laptop that people will pay good money for, in some cases, individual parts sold will actually cover the cost of a new laptop...

 

Hope this helps...

[Lady Muck]

Well.

 

We took the harddrive out and it doesn't fit in the caddy - grr! So we gotta get another one. This might take some time. We also noticed heaps of dust and gunk on the ram, squirted some air in the back and a ton of dust came out of that bit and also from the fan.

 

I'm going to download the service manual again on this laptop and clean it proper, soon as I've removed the data.

 

The model is VGNCR21Z, but I upgraded the RAM to 4gb, which I know would make it have to work harder.

 

Oh and our excuse for a handspike snapped in the last lock tonight .

 

But never mind eh, we are consoling ourselves via the 40 litre barrel of real ale a friend brought us last week.

 

Thanks for your help, oh geeky boaty ones.

[Mac of Cygnet]

Oh and our excuse for a handspike snapped in the last lock tonight .

 

Wasn't Cromwell Lock by any chance, was it? I've snapped two (homemade) handspikes and bent an iron bar on that. Good luck with the computer; I'm glad I don't have one on board.

[AjW]

Try it without the battery.

The laptop has to both recharge the battery and power itself so you need to work out which bit is giving you grief. Ditch the battery first and see how it runs.

[Neil.A]

Well.

 

We took the harddrive out and it doesn't fit in the caddy - grr! So we gotta get another one. This might take some time. We also noticed heaps of dust and gunk on the ram, squirted some air in the back and a ton of dust came out of that bit and also from the fan.

 

I'm going to download the service manual again on this laptop and clean it proper, soon as I've removed the data.

 

The model is VGNCR21Z, but I upgraded the RAM to 4gb, which I know would make it have to work harder.

 

Oh and our excuse for a handspike snapped in the last lock tonight .

 

But never mind eh, we are consoling ourselves via the 40 litre barrel of real ale a friend brought us last week.

 

Thanks for your help, oh geeky boaty ones.

 

Take it apart. Easy.

 

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/6929/a190hdd7zc.jpg

[Yoda]

I'm just off to make some dynamite. I can send you some but not with any fuses.

[Lady Muck]

Try it without the battery.

The laptop has to both recharge the battery and power itself so you need to work out which bit is giving you grief. Ditch the battery first and see how it runs.

 

I think it might've been the dust......

 

I've speedfan installed - the processors temps are both about 20 degrees less than what it was when it was full of dust (Unsurprisingly). I really don't think I've got a virus - the CPU is only running at 30 or 40% It doesn't feel boiling hot underneath anymore.

 

Still don't trust it though.

[OldGoldy]

I think it might've been the dust......

 

I've speedfan installed - the processors temps are both about 20 degrees less than what it was when it was full of dust (Unsurprisingly). I really don't think I've got a virus - the CPU is only running at 30 or 40% It doesn't feel boiling hot underneath anymore.

 

Still don't trust it though.

 

Laptops have increasingly been able to make one's legs very, very hot and uncomfortable.

 

Have you noticed that 'laptops' have now become 'notebooks' and some mfrs advise

'not to be used on one's lap' (or something to that effect) -

Some, I've found, are difficult to pick up because they're so bloomin' hot (or I've got sensitive hands 8^] )

[Lady Muck]

Laptops have increasingly been able to make one's legs very, very hot and uncomfortable.

 

Have you noticed that 'laptops' have now become 'notebooks' and some mfrs advise

'not to be used on one's lap' (or something to that effect) -

Some, I've found, are difficult to pick up because they're so bloomin' hot (or I've got sensitive hands 8^] )

 

Well this one got burning hot! We always use risers with our laptops (and monitors and keyboards, usually). If you sed them on your legs, you'd soon become a hunchback with scorch marks on your thighs!

[RLWP]

I think it might've been the dust......

 

I've speedfan installed - the processors temps are both about 20 degrees less than what it was when it was full of dust (Unsurprisingly). I really don't think I've got a virus - the CPU is only running at 30 or 40% It doesn't feel boiling hot underneath anymore.

 

Still don't trust it though.

 

And I don't think you have a virus either. How is a virus going to make a computer overheat? Does it use especially heavy binary with really big ones and noughts ?

 

Richard

[Lady Muck]

Just an update, laptop still going strong and the processors running at about 40 deg instead of the 70 or 80 deg before it blew the invertor. No problems with it at all now.

 

Any of you with laptops and solid fuel stoves onboard it's really worth cleaning the dust out (or getting someone to do it for you if you're not confident of what you are doing), on a regular basis, they can and do get full of dust from the stove.

[mayalld]

And I don't think you have a virus either. How is a virus going to make a computer overheat? Does it use especially heavy binary with really big ones and noughts ?

 

Richard

 

A virus can cause a computer to overheat.

 

Heat is a function of the amount of current flowing, and causing lots of memory writes, and lots of disk thrashing will heat it up.

[FadeToScarlet]

Try bleeding the skin tank to get rid of the air-lock.

 

[Arnot]

So is my furnace-esque laptop blowing everything up? I backed up a week ago and I'm gonna take the hard drive out tonight (I've got a caddy) and get all the important bits off, then we thought we would plug it straight into the genny and test it with the multi tester to see if it's the laptop that's causing the problem.

It may not be relevant but as part of my job I have to maintian a lot of vehicles with inverters and laptops (along with printers etc etc) and I have noticed that a lot of the newer ones are very fussy about mains quality, they only really like a nice smooth sine wave. On quasi sine and small generators they tend to get very warm, don't charge the batteries quickly and sometimes just won't play at all. Some of the printers won't fire up on quasi sines until another load is which tends to smooth the waveform a bit. In the worst cases we have changed to pure sine inverters and the problems have gone away.

 

What I am getting at is that part of the problem may be the mains quality. Have you tried the lappy on a land based mains system to compare it?

 

Regards

 

Arnot