Reader Janet Ybarra wrote: “I have a laptop which intermittently shuts down on its own, apparently from overheating. What would be the problem and what can I do?”
For conventional, fan-cooled laptops: Visually check the fan blades for encrusted dust and debris; use a cotton swab and a blast of dry, compressed air from a can (examples) to get the junk off the fan blades; and out of any laptop ducting, air passages, or grillwork. For some related how-to, see an old, still-relevant article I wrote for InformationWeek: Langa Letter: Curing Laptop Overheating. It contains text and photos that show how to de-dust a laptop’s fans and internal passages.
If your laptop has no fan or visible openings for airflow, then it relies on conduction for cooling. If such a device routinely overheats, it suggests a fundamental, and maybe non-user-correctable problem. You best bet — especially if a warranty is involved — probably is to bring the device to a good repair shop.
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