Your Computer's Worst Enemy (Cows, Bees, or...?)

Signs of Overheating - And What To Do

Electronic components in your computer and other devices generate heat. The harder they work, the more heat they generate. But heat is the mortal enemy of all things electronic. (Remember the "Exploding Samsung Note 7" debacle of 2016?) So it's important to be alert to temperature spikes in your laptop or desktop computer, and take steps to cool it down when necessary. Here's what you need to know.

Computers are remarkable machines capable of running complex tasks, but they share a common adversary with all electronics: heat. Excessive heat inside a computer can damage internal components, degrade performance, and shorten its lifespan. We'll look at the signs of overheating, how to monitor temperatures inside your computer, what temperature limits are safe, and what to do if things are getting too hot under the hood.

So how can you tell if your computer is overheating, and what can you do to keep it from frying itself, catching fire, or worse? Sudden, inexplicable shutdowns of your computer are often due to overheating. Other symptoms of overheating include declining performance after running processor-intensive tasks for several minutes or hours. Games may run sluggishly, video may skip, and response to mouse clicks may be delayed.

Unusual or excessively loud fan noise is another red flag, as cooling fans spin at high speeds to dissipate excess heat. More alarming are sudden software crashes, random reboots, the dreaded Blue (or Black) Screen of Death, and in extreme cases, a burning smell or visible smoke. These symptoms may have multiple causes, but overheating is one suspect that needs to be confirmed or eliminated.

The thermal sensors in your CPU, and the thermal management system built into the motherboard firmware (BIOS/UEFI) combine to detect when the CPU, motherboard, hard drive, or other components are approaching maximum operating temperature and can shut things down to avoid damaging those vital and expensive parts. If you are experiencing seemingly random shutdowns, measure your computer's temperatures and do something to lower them immediately.

Temperature sensors are built into many computer components; the trick is accessing these sensors to read temperatures. Unfortunately, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X do not have built-in utilities to let users read temperatures. You have to find third-party software. Fortunately, there are several free temperature-monitoring utilities. Some can not only monitor temperatures but also do something to lower them.

SpeedFAN is a long-standing favorite temperature monitoring utility. It also monitors voltages in various devices and the speed of the fan(s) which cool your CPU, power supply, and other components. Some motherboards allow users to control fan speeds while others do not; if fan speed can be controlled, SpeedFan will do it automatically to optimize the fan's cooling.

NOTE: Unfortunately, the download link on the SpeedFan website is hard to find. Be sure to click the Download link near the top of the page (next to Screenshots). You may see a full-page ad appear, if so click the "X" to dismiss it. On the next page, look for "The latest version is..." You'll find the download link there. Clicking other links on the site may not get the desired result.

Another tool to display temperature readings is Speccy. Speccy reads temperature sensors built into your motherboard, graphics adapter and hard drives. In addition to that, Speccy also gives you detailed information on every hardware component inside your Windows computer. (See also my article Should You X-Ray Your Computer?)

Open Hardware Monitor is a free system monitoring program for Windows and Linux computers. It monitors all of the voltage, temperature, fan speeds and other sensors built into your motherboard, including CPU temperature.

CoreTemp is designed for Intel and AMD multi-core CPUs. It can monitor the temperature in each core in each processor in your system. It also has a logging feature to record temperatures over variable periods of time.

Fanny is a similar utility for Mac computers which will show you system temps and fan speeds in your Mac.

If you use a fan-speed controller that works with your system, it will provide several benefits. First, it will keep the temperature of your CPU and other components under the critical level, protecting your hardware and preventing shutdowns. Second, it will extend the life of your fan by running it only when it's really needed. Third, it will minimize that irritating noise than cooling fans often make.

Other Overheating Solutions

How hot is too hot? Safe operating temperature ranges depend on the component and manufacturer but generally fall within these guidelines:

I recommend that you see my article Should You X-Ray Your Computer? to find out what hardware is under the hood, and then search for information on the maximum safe temperatures.

If adjusting the fan speed doesn't bring the problem under control, there are several other possible causes for overheating.

Dust is one common culprit that leads to overheating. You can buy cans of compressed air or use an electronics-safe vacuum to clean the dust out of heat sinks, fans and airflow vents. Crack open the system unit every few months and you'll be surprised at how much dust accumulates there, and how it affects your system temps.

Adequate air flow is important. A tower system should be placed so that its vents are not blocked by desk, wall, or other obstructions. A laptop can be elevated on a cooling pad to allow air to circulate under the machine. (In addition to cooling the laptop, this can keep your "human components" from overheating as well.) I've also seen stories of fires caused by laptops left under a blanket or pillow, or charging on a bed. If the air vents are blocked, heat can build up inside a laptop and create a fire hazard.

It's possible that the fans themselves may need to be replaced. If a fan is noisy, that's a sign that it's not working properly. Some components have built-in fans that can fail. This happened to the graphics adapter on one of my desktop computers. My computer was shutting down unexpectedly, and SpeedFan revealed that the temperature of that component was hitting 120 Celsius (about 250 degrees Fahrenheit). After opening the system unit case, I saw that the fan attached to the graphics card wasn't spinning, and was partially melted!

You may need to replace your thermal paste. Over time, thermal paste between the CPU/GPU and their heat sinks can dry out, reducing heat transfer efficiency. Reapplying high-quality thermal paste can lower temperatures significantly. Admittedly, this is a bit geeky, so you may want to have a qualified repair shop look at this option if nothing else works to solve your overheating problem. If you're the geeky type, YouTube is your friend for this activity.

What About the Cows and Bees?

One computer in my office would occasionally make a loud sound that I can best describe as a combination of a "moo" and a buzz. Fortunately, opening the case did not reveal any miniature cows or bees, but I did find a noisy fan with a bad bearing.

As a temporary workaround, I left the case open and cooled things down with a small clip-on electric fan, until I was able to replace the failing components. Ebay is a great place to find these parts at a good price, and the only tool you'll need is a screw driver for repairs of this type. If you're hesitant to go the do-it-yourself route, you can find YouTube tutorials on how to fix almost anything.

Do you have questions or tips on how to resolve computer overheating problems? Post a comment or question below...