Compaq Presario CQ61-429US Overheating Problems

[WolfLeader116]

I have a Compaq Presario CQ61-429US and I have seen suggestions to try using Open Hardware Monitor to see if a fan is listed. I do not see a fan listed and I have noticed that I never hear my fan running and my laptop overheats and shuts down. I currently have a fan blowing at the air vent which is keeping my laptop cool enough to run and be used, but I need to be able to take my laptop with me, so I need a working internal fan and possibly heatsink. When I first got the laptop, the fan was working, but I can now tell that it was dying slowly as I used it and wasn't going to last long. I am not sure what to do now. Should I just get a new fan, or a new fan/heatsink and how would I replace the fan/heatsink? The last time I tried opening my laptop, I could not figure out how to access the CPU, fan or heatsink. Compressed air did not solve my issue. Also, I am confused about how Open Hardware Manager says that my CPU's core temperature is 96 C. That converts to 204 F..... Thanks!

 

[Warukyure]

You should just take it in to get repaired, fans for laptops really aren't that expensive. Unless you love to DIY and don't mind trying to part hunt on Ebay or whatever, taking it into somewhere to get it repaired should only take a few days.

I think the average cost to fix something like this would be like a $20 part + 1 ~ 1.5 units of labour so might cost up to $50-$65 depending on what labour costs at a tech place would be. Also check to see where you're getting it fixed has a repair satisfaction guaranteed, i.e. some places have a 30 or 90 day guarantee that the work they did was good and that you should not experience that exact same issue again within that period.

 

[WolfLeader116]

You should just take it in to get repaired, fans for laptops really aren't that expensive. Unless you love to DIY and don't mind trying to part hunt on Ebay or whatever, taking it into somewhere to get it repaired should only take a few days.

I think the average cost to fix something like this would be like a $20 part + 1 ~ 1.5 units of labour so might cost up to $50-$65 depending on what labour costs at a tech place would be. Also check to see where you're getting it fixed has a repair satisfaction guaranteed, i.e. some places have a 30 or 90 day guarantee that the work they did was good and that you should not experience that exact same issue again within that period.

Unfortunately, I doubt many would bother to fix a Compaq Presario. They are very complex to take apart and hard to access the fan, heatsink and CPU. The last time I did anything to it, all I did was replace the hard drive. That was easy because it's right there, but getting to the cooling is hard. Do you have any suggestions of what I can maybe do? (I did find a manual online for my laptop so I can follow that to open it.) But I mean with testing to see exactly what I need. Thanks.

 

[nostall]

You should just take it in to get repaired, fans for laptops really aren't that expensive. Unless you love to DIY and don't mind trying to part hunt on Ebay or whatever, taking it into somewhere to get it repaired should only take a few days.

I think the average cost to fix something like this would be like a $20 part + 1 ~ 1.5 units of labour so might cost up to $50-$65 depending on what labour costs at a tech place would be. Also check to see where you're getting it fixed has a repair satisfaction guaranteed, i.e. some places have a 30 or 90 day guarantee that the work they did was good and that you should not experience that exact same issue again within that period.

Unfortunately, I doubt many would bother to fix a Compaq Presario. They are very complex to take apart and hard to access the fan, heatsink and CPU. The last time I did anything to it, all I did was replace the hard drive. That was easy because it's right there, but getting to the cooling is hard. Do you have any suggestions of what I can maybe do? (I did find a manual online for my laptop so I can follow that to open it.) But I mean with testing to see exactly what I need. Thanks.

You answered your own question, they are very difficult to work on. Warukyure is correct and knows what he/she is talking about; the repair shops have the tools and knowledge to fix your laptop. Might want to take the advise. 96C is beyond a safe temp for a processor or the laptop; think along the lines of melting.

 

[WolfLeader116]

You answered your own question, they are very difficult to work on. Warukyure is correct and knows what he/she is talking about; the repair shops have the tools and knowledge to fix your laptop. Might want to take the advise. 96C is beyond a safe temp for a processor or the laptop; think along the lines of melting.

96 C is WAY past melting. I am pretty sure by now that it's just a typo and it's supposed to say F not C. If my laptop reached that temperature, the BIOS would force shut it down. Do you know of any way I can see what is wrong without taking it to a shop though? The shops near Seattle were never reliable. 3 friends never got their computers fixed and they were very simple fixes that I could figure out in like 30 minutes.... That's why I'm trying to avoid bothering with them. But again, do you know of anything I can try to see if it's a driver issue that's making the fan not functional or if it's a mechanical problem with the fan? Thanks for helping though.

 

[Warukyure]

If you're very savvy, open it up, make sure all the fans are cleaned out, then try to see if you can remove the heat spreaders on the CPU. Remove/clean off the old thermal paste, get some newer stuff and try that. Reason it might be getting too hot is because of the cheap stuff they use. They could've a) not put enough or b) did a bad job applying it.

Not trying to shift blame from HP because of their bad cooling, but it is an AMD, and they always kinda run hot. I think last year at AMD's presentation when they were announcing new APUs and the new R7/R9 series video cards, they themselves said their products run hotter because its "optimal". Of course they could be batshit insane, but who knows.

AMD = Thermonuclear