Computer hot ?

[Cranfield]

How can you tell if your computer is getting hot, (prior to it bursting into flames ) ?

 

I was doing quite a bit of work on mine yesterday and became concerned that it had been on for a long time.

[chesters1]

when you bought it you may on the cd have a temperature monitoring software this will tell you the cpu temp and the system temp , also you probably have in your bios the same thing (although not a lot of good in windows ) the greatest maker of heat is a clogged cpu cooler switch off at the mains (but leave plug in) and take a look ,if the vanes are covered in dust then with a small paintbrush give thenm a clean ,DO NOT use a hoover nasty static electric lives in its nozzel

also the power supply fan gets very dusty clean this the same way (do not open the psu).

the vanes on the cpu cooler heatsink can get clogged ,you may (carefully) be able to get the fan off by unscrewing the four screws that hold it onto the heatsink and clean it

do not remove heatsink from cpu as it will need a thorough clean and then new heatsink compound and the cpu is very easily broken in clumsey hands

[Cranfield]

Thanks chesters1, I knew that small paintbrush I got for Christmas, would come in handy sometime.

[Lid]

quote:

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was doing quite a bit of work on mine yesterday and became concerned that it had been on for a long time.

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I rarely turn my PC off!! Last time I had mine apart I used a hoover and it still seems OK. I'll use an air duster next time though! I've got to find and replace the CMOS battery on the motherboard soon as it's run out, which is one of the main reasons I don't turn it off at the moment!

[chesters1]

quote:

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I've got to find and replace the CMOS battery on the motherboard soon as it's run out, which is one of the main reasons I don't turn it off at the moment!

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an old penny sized coin cell ,note its number before taking it out ,take a note of bios settings ,get a new one ,turn pc off at wall (leave plug in) put one hand on exposed metal case unpop the old one and pop in new one ,usually the bios will remain unchanged in its settings ,otherwise go through and check its ok

[Lid]

Thanks for tips on the CMOS battery chesters1. I think mine's fully run out and I do turn off the PC from time to time. Sometimes it starts up again fine, but other times it takes about three goes to start up cleanly, so I'm a little suspicious as to what's going on.