Thermal System Board Thermal Trip DELL XPS 13

[aleks94]

I apologize in advance if this is the wrong section to be asking.

I understand there are some threads already available for this issue, but none that seemed to be for laptops from what i could find. Either way i wanted to get some up to date answers to my specific issue, so please be kind and dont bombard me with old threads haha.

So, i have a dell xps 13 and ive been having random shut downs in the passed two months or so. Just unexpectedly. I ran a full diagnostics test and everything passed, once i checked the logs i had found that there were a few errors titled "Thermal System Board Thermal Trip" From what i can tell, my laptop does run a little hot sometimes so im wondering if this is just being caused by old dried up thermal paste. I've had the laptop for about a year and a half now and im running an upgraded version of windows 10. In the bios settings when the tests were being ran, the cpu would reach close to 90C temps.

I'm not sure if i have any other information to include but i hope this is enough to at least give you an idea and if you know what the issue is, i would greatly appreciate feedback.

 

[t53186]

Yep pretty warm and a thermal trip was exceeded so it shut down to prevent damage. A laptop has many cooling slots/ports that need to be clear so maximum airflow is allowed through the case. Doubt you are going to open that up and swap thermal compound, it not quite like a desktop and neither are the tools, but if you do open your case make sure it's clean. All the info you would every want is available for free from DELL support. Just put in your service tag and download everything, including instructions.. http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04

 

[aleks94]

Yep pretty warm and a thermal trip was exceeded so it shut down to prevent damage. A laptop has many cooling slots/ports that need to be clear so maximum airflow is allowed through the case. Doubt you are going to open that up and swap thermal compound, it not quite like a desktop and neither are the tools, but if you do open your case make sure it's clean. All the info you would every want is available for free from DELL support. Just put in your service tag and download everything, including instructions.. http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04

Hey buddy, thank you for your input. Fortunately, i do have the tools needed to crack open and remove parts on my laptop as ive done it in the passed. This is just my first laptop since 2004-ish, always been building my own desktops since then. Although, im not very sure what it means when you say a thermal trip was exceeded. Would you mind giving me a little explanation?

 

[t53186]

CPU gets too hot sends a signal to the OS, OS shuts down. Thermal trip is just a description for an event of combination of events. Didn't mean to diminish your skill when working on a laptop just a heads up if you had never been inside.

 

[aleks94]

CPU gets too hot sends a signal to the OS, OS shuts down. Thermal trip is just a description for an event of combination of events. Didn't mean to diminish your skill when working on a laptop just a heads up if you had never been inside.

No worries man, i didnt think you were Laptops are quite tricky to work with, thank you for the heads up ! Anyways, Would a change of thermal paste solve this issue? as well as a cleaning?

 

[t53186]

It's worth a shot and I would do it, Anything to get away from 90C. And keep those vents clear, I've seen something as simple as a couple sheets of paper under a laptop cause a shut down.