How to Keep Your Laptop Cool

Keeping your laptop cool is essential to lengthening the machine's life. Laptops may overheat for several reasons, the most prevalent being because it is dirty or the fan has malfunctioned. Overheating frequently can cause internal damage to your laptop's motherboard and prevent the computer from functioning properly or at all. Implement these techniques to keep your laptop cool.

Things You'll Need

• Large towel
• Desktop fan
• Screwdriver
• Computer pressurized air duster or hair dryer

Instructions

1. Place your laptop on a towel on a solid surface when it is on.

2. Alternatively, clean out any dust inside. Start by carefully removing the screws from the bottom of the laptop and setting them aside. Do not lose or drop them.

3. Remove the face cover from the unit's CPU (central processing unit). Set aside.

4. Using your pressurized computer air duster (or hair dryer), clean and blow out all of the dust inside the laptop. Make sure you get in between the blades of the fan and other hard-to-reach places. Screw the bottom of the laptop back on.

5. A third option is turning your computer on and setting a desktop fan next to the side of the computer with the vents and the internal computer fan. This helps keep the entire system cool.

Tips & Warnings

• Shut off your laptop when not using it. This will keep the system running cool.

• Keep your laptop free of dust and debris.

• When using your laptop, make sure the vents and fan area are not blocked.

• Do not attempt to remove parts of the laptop if you are unsure of what you are doing. You could cause the laptop to malfunction or break.

• If your computer is not working or the fan no longer functions, take the laptop to a professional computer repair business. Do not try to fix it yourself.