# [SOLVED] Laptop Burning Smell?



## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

Hi,

Recently i noticed a burning smell coming from my laptop, i opened it up and checked it out and seen not physical sign of any burned components so i decided to replace the fan thinking that maybe the motor was on its way out. But after the fan was replaced i can still smell it, just wondering if anyone could help me figure out what is causing the smell?

Could it be a CPU thermal compound problem??


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

Is the laptop overheating? What are the temps?


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

I am not sure of the temps.

How do i find out??


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

you can download "speedfan" and it will give you the temps for your system, hard drive, and cpu. Run the program, and take a screen shot (print screen) and then attach to this thread.


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

OK, i will post it in a few hours


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## Techie19 (Feb 10, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

Also, please post some info on the laptop (make, model, etc...)


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

The laptop is an ASUS X58L, i have had it for about 2 years.

CPU - Celeron Single Core 2GHz
RAM - 2GB
Video - Some rubbish intergrated thing
HD - 160GB
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit

Here is the screenshot from Speedfan:


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

speedfan isn't accurate for temperatures. download CPUID hardware monitor.

Also how often do you blow dust out of the vents with compressed air? Laptops get hot and they attract dust, the vents will get clogged with dust so blow them out with compressed air. you can get compressed ait from any computer shop or diy place.


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

I cleaned it out when i first noticed the burning smell.

Here is the CPUID Screenshot:


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

does the burnin smell happen where ever you have the laptop or is it in a certain place?


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## failkitty (May 22, 2011)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

Matthew,

I can't really tell you what is causing your problem, but I can share my experience and hope it's helpful to you.

I've had a Lenovo T61p for a few years now, and the past year and a half it started getting hotter and hotter. I took it in for repair a few times, and they replaced the fan every time, cleaned it out, etc. When I noticed a burning smell I took it apart and saw that the protective coating on a lot of the components was partially burned away and peeling. There was a scorch mark under the CPU. They replaced the motherboard (twice; the first was faulty) and the fan... again.

I no longer smell my laptop cooking, but it still runs consistently at 35-50+ degrees Celsius, 95-120+ degrees Fahrenheit with an external fan underneath. (I use RealTemp to monitor the temperatures.) When playing my game (MMORPG Final Fantasy XI) I sometimes have to place a (wrapped) ice pack on my lap underneath the fan, or shut it off and turn it over for a while to cool.

I mentioned that the loaner computer I was given (an R model with an integrated graphics card) ran cooler than my T61p and was told that mine runs hotter because of my Nvidia graphics card (which wouldn't be your problem).

As it's no longer burning Lenovo won't do anything else about the laptop running so hot. I happen to be in the market for a new computer...

Maybe you can check where exactly inside your computer is getting the hottest. If it's around the CPU, ask Asus to try replacing the motherboard.

Hope you have better luck than I did!
Lauren


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

@greenbrucelee I have had the laptop on for some time now and when i first started it up it was smelling and then it went away and then the smell came back about an hour later and now its gone again, so really it keeps going on and off and yes this does happen everywhere i take the laptop.

@Lauren I would check to see if around the CPU is scorched but i cant because the heatsink is like screwed into the laptop frame and i would have to take apart the whole laptop just to have a look and i dont really know how to fully take apart a laptop.


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## failkitty (May 22, 2011)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

Sorry Matthew, my post was unclear.

The scorch mark under the CPU was actually on the outside of the computer casing. My laptop is black, so I was only able to see it because the white Microsoft sticker on the underside of the laptop was right under the cooking CPU. The Certificate of Authenticity sticker is now mostly melted, illegible, and has an impressive black burn in the middle of it. Thankfully I don't need the information, as I took Vista off the machine the moment I got it.

If you notice an irregularity in the coloration or texture of the laptop casing anywhere, see if that's where the heat is most noticeable. If you're "lucky" it may help pinpoint the source of the problem. Even if it's not connected to an obvious component (CPU, hard drive, RAM, optical drive, or what have you), malfunctioning wiring, soldering, etc. could be the culprit.

*Wanders off muttering about evil operating systems.*


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

haha i will open it up tomorrow and have a proper look and post the results on here.


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

I opened the laptop and i cannot see anything that looks burned. The smell is only coming from the fan but it is a brand new fan so it cant be broke and the fan before it also had the smell coming from it

I have put a square around where the burning smell is coming from:


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## failkitty (May 22, 2011)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

When you replaced the fan was the wiring around it also replaced? If not, check for faults in the wire covers and surrounding connections. Double-check to make sure the moving parts aren't coming into contact with anything, etc. Not questioning your intelligence, but everyone forgets to check obvious stuff sometimes, and friction is not your friend when it comes to laptop parts. Also could try replacing the tape holding the wires to the fan. The tape commonly used inside laptops can get brittle with prolonged heat and could potentially make some funky smells (maybe?). Dislodge any roasted bugs or year-old McDonald's fries' crumbs, etc.  (Yes, sadly, I've seen that. No, I didn't cry or gag, but it was a close thing. No, I did not touch the 'buggy' laptop ever again. It was foisted off on a male coworker as an easy fix.)

Other than that I don't know what to tell you. Looks clean, and, well, looks like the fan. Or the immediate area above or below it. The square was helpful. 

Good luck!
Lauren


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

haha your posts are funny.

Yes the wires were also replaced when the fan was.

I will have one last look inside and around the fan and then if i cant find anything then i dont know what i am going to do.

I will post back the results.


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

*Re: Laptop Burning Smell?*

Last update: I cannot for the life of me see what the problem is. I managed to get the heatsink off the CPU and the thermal compound looks a little dried up, so i am going to replace the compound and see if that works.

Thanks for all the help everyone.


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## huggies12345 (Oct 12, 2008)

The thermal compund change seems to have worked.

Thank for the help everyone.


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