Warm laptop screen

[ShadowBall]

I'd like to ask about this here since, after looking for info in other sources, I can't tell if it's a problem or not since the results of searching seem to say both that it is and isn't.

Basically, the bottom middle part of my laptop screen gets really warm. Not "owwie it burns" hot...more like holding a kinda warm coffee mug. It's a Dell Inspiron 9300 (Windows XP) and it gets hot right where the Dell logo is at the bottom. The screen itself is not warm, nor is the keyboard.

It's just as warm under the laptop too. I blew some air into the vents and got a couple poofs of dust out, so I think the vents are clean. Fans are working and not making any weird noise, things appear normal on the screen, and overall the laptop is functioning the exact same as it has been the last five years.

Some sources say as long as it's not OMG scalding hot or not hotter than the underside of the laptop, it's okay. Others say the cooling system might be clogged and it needs to be cleaned a la dissecting the whole thing. I'm not sure if it's a problem or not since it's not affecting the machine's performance. Honestly, I don't remember if it's been this warm in the past...I think it may have been, but I just never noticed it since I never use my laptop on my lap.

I guess I just don't want to spend $100 getting the damn thing cleaned professionally if I don't really really need to. What say the tech folks here? I know maybe no one can say with 100 percent certainty what the issue is without seeing my obsolete brick, but any suggestions*, guesses, or advice* would be welcome.

* Advice and suggestions besides getting a new laptop. I know I probably need one since this one's six years old, but need $$$ first.

[SteeleDragon78]

personally i wouldnt worry too much, most laptops get warm on the underside, cant recall one ever getting warm on the back of the lid, but odder things have happened. what you may try is lowering the backlight levels and see if it cools down.

i am curious, how often do you dust it? canned air or otherwise. as i have seen my fair share of dust elephants in some computers that had heat issues. im not saying you need to drop a c bill on getting it cleaned but depending on the dust levels in your area the regularity of your dusting may need to looked at.

[ShadowBall]

Oops, sorry if I was confusing about where the heat was coming from. It's not the back of the lid that gets hot - it's right under the screen. Here's a pic of the model I have:



Right where the "Dell" logo is below the screen is where the warmth is centered. The screen itself isn't hot, and neither is the lid on either side of that logo. Just right there.

Honestly, I should dust my laptop more often than I do now, especially since I have three cats and I'm sure there's a bunch of hair that's been sucked into the vents. I dusted it the first time last year when the fan was being extra loud. I simply blew into all the vents until no more dust poured forth. Fans were perfect after that. Recently, I blew into the vents again with my mouth and a hair dryer (on a cool setting) and nothing came out.

I'll try lowering the backlight to see if that helps too. I guess I'm just not sure how hot a laptop can get before it's considered abnormal. Considering all the bad things I've heard about Dell laptops (like the batteries spontaneously combusting), I'm gobsmacked my baby has lived for over six years with only a few minor problems (one of which was my own dumbass fault).

Thanks very much for the help.

[SteeleDragon78]

i would have to research it more but the processor may be located there, as far as heat levels i would check them with a sensor log program like everest or speedfan. i dont have links for everest as they charge for their product but you can get speed fan here. you want to keep them below about 140F if possible, though some machines do run hotter ie gaming rigs. as for dusting a cheap can of air would do the trick, or if you have an air compressor setting it to about 15psi and using a blower nozzle works great for me.

[suburbandecay]

The warmth on your screen is definitely the backlight and I wouldn't worry to much about it. at 6+ years old it's going to be warm no matter what you do. As for getting it professionally cleaned... While that is an option, you can probably do a good job of cleaning it yourself. Dell provides manuals online for the dis-assembly of all their machines. Often times, on a machine that old, you end up with a "dust sponge" choked in there that you need to remove. If you do decide to take it apart yourself, make sure you use the appropriate sized phillips head screwdriver (00, 0, 1) to take it apart to avoid stripping the heads

[ShadowBall]

Thanks very much for the temperature-charting link - I have it installed and my computer seems to maintain a core temperature of 49-50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), so I guess it's not too hot yet.

I don't think I trust myself to dismantle my laptop myself - if it was something more easily replaceable like a VCR, then sure, I'd do it. But I don't want to fuck up my computer. I will get some compressed air and give my lappy a nice blowjob soon and see if anything shoots out.

I've also heard if you use compressed air wrong, it comes out as a liquid and that can fuck up a computer, so I gotta learn how to use it properly. I'm losing faith in my common sense lately, especially when I got outsmarted by iron-on transfer paper yesterday.

ETA: I figured out how to turn down the backlight a little, and the hot spot feels considerably cooler now (now at 47 degrees Celsius). SteeleDragon78 gets cookies. Don't want to leave out suburbandecay, though, so cookies for you too.

[Andara Bledin]

I've also heard if you use compressed air wrong, it comes out as a liquid and that can fuck up a computer, so I gotta learn how to use it properly.

It's fairly simple: Keep the can upright and don't keep the nozzle held.

It's when you turn the can sideways or upside down or keep the nozzle open for too long that you have issues with condensation build up.

^-.-^