killivolt

I'm thinking a fan. But if he has put in more than one anti virus programs or if it came with Norton like most do it will bugger it up with software conflicts. you want them out. And that is the way to completely remove them including registry. Then install the desired program.

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Truthiness Monkeys : Obedience, Ignorance, Fear.

Roff

OK, here's my final report.
I checked the fan, and it was running while the computer was slow. I could feel the hot air coming out the exhaust port. I removed the keyboard anyway, and there was the fan. It seemed to spin freely, but it did have a little lint on it. I sucked air through the exhaust port with the vacuum cleaner. The fan spun up to about a zillion RPM! I put the keyboard back on, powered it up (this was last night before I went to bed). The computer is still working great this morning, after having been on all night.
I guess it was the lint. I'm not sure why turning it off a few days ago caused the problem. Maybe it was coincidental, or maybe picking it up and moving it caused the lint to shift.
Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions, especially the guys in my fan club. Forgive me for not answering everyone's questions. I was up to my ass in alligators, trying to get ready for an RV trip.
I'm just glad I didn't have to reformat the hard drive. I've done that a couple times in the past (on other computers). I would rather get a root canal.
My wife and I are both glad we don't have to share my other laptop.

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Ron

Krumlink

Suprisingly this computer which I am using had ALL the fans die in it, and the core/CPU temperature would heat all the way up to 172F and cause a thermal shutdown

It still works after putting in a new case, PSU, and some oversized high CFM output fans

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MechTronics

Roff

My wife's computer just went on strike again about an hour ago. Crap!
We shut it down. After it cools off, we'll see what happens.

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Ron

Pommie

The reason I asked about running it without the battery is in case allowing it to fully discharge somehow caused an internal short therefore causing excess heating.

Mike.

Krumlink

Is it perhaps time to upgrade? You can get a pretty good setup for under 1k.

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MechTronics

Roff

The battery died because I left it on the charger, before finding out that was a no-no.
I guess I should try your idea, to eliminate it as a possibility, or to verify that's the cause.

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Ron

Roff

I'm writing this on a Dell that's about a year old, and I think I paid about $650 for it. It works great. I can't justify buying another laptop. If the old one dies, we'll share this one.
Besides, I had a heckuva time finding one with XP on it. I read something about getting a business system with XP on it. Anybody know if it's possible?

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Ron

mneary

A lot of Vista systems come with an upgrade to XP included.

Torben

Yup. Dell sells 'em. You can get XP Home, Pro, etc. I'd go with Pro.

An operating system hasn't made me physically angry in a long, long time. Vista managed it within a week of normal usage. (Note: what I call "normal" may not, in fact, be normal).


Torben

shaneshane1

This might be a long shot Roff! but have you checked how much ram you have available?

and have you checked your bios to see if the CPU is running at its normal ghz and ram?

some computer have an overclocking option in the bios, that may have changed by itself some how?

just throwing it out there so it can be ruled out.

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If we were over 100 times the size we are now, then wouldn't what we already have be nanotechnology!!!

Torben

It's worth checking. One idea (perhaps it seems a bit out there, but what the hell): If a RAM chip has gone or become unseated, perhaps the thing is having to hit swap sooner than before. Have you tested the RAM?


Torben

[Edit: Shane also explained better than my earlier post about checking the BIOS.]

Bob Scott

I think the fan may just need a smidgen of oil. Pop the nameplate/sticker and rubber stopper off the rotor (if it is built that way) and lubricate with 3-in-1 or, even better, mineral oil.