Laptop overheating problem.

[Henrik W Lund]

Laszlo Antal wrote:

> Hi,
>
> So my laptop was working just fine but after a whole day of usage
> everything slowed down, my physical memory was 89% full, and the
> openoffice did not want to start at all.As soon as it happend I knew
> the problem is I did not hear the cooling fan.
> After shutdown about a hour I turned back on and everything was
> working again very fast.I hope I didn't brake anything!
> Here are the spec about the laptop::
> Toshiba Satellit A15-S157, 2.2ghz proc, 512mb ram.
> I installed FreeBSD 4.10 on it, adn I use KDE desktop.
>
> Is there any built in or third party program I can install to turn on
> the cooling fan when is necessary??
> Or do I need to make some change in my installation??
>
> Thank you soo much for all the answers.
>
> Laszlo 

Greetings!

I'm pretty sure the cooling fan is hardware controlled (at least for 
laptops), and that no change you do to the system will affect the 
cooling fan in any way. I know that if you put your laptop in your lap, 
it can overheat (your thighs certainly do after a while!), especially if 
you place it on a pillow or some other soft object that prevents air 
from circulating properly around your laptop. Another thing, leave your 
laptop plugged in (i.e. to the power grid) whenever possible, as things 
like fans and such usually run at lower speeds or in shorter intervals 
when the laptop is running off of the battery.

Have you checked the BIOS for any cooling fan settings? Switch them on 
if they're off or not at full speed. Try placing the laptop flat on a 
table and leave it running. If the laptop still overheats, my guess is 
that it's a hardware problem.

Hope this helps!
-Henrik W Lund