# [SOLVED] HP Pavilion dv6-3020em overheating



## Melkijad (Sep 20, 2009)

OK, I got this computer 3 months ago and this is the situation:

If I turn it on when cold and run only Pokerstars (without anything else) it is ok. If I run multiple programs (or even only Firefox or only uTorrent) it starts getting warm and after an hour or less of working, the vent is running at top speed (very noisy) and the computer is very hot (I can hardly have my left hand there) on the left side, where the palm of the hand rests when typing (this is where the hard drive is).

I have cleaned it with compressed air as much as I could without taking it apart (because you literally have to take the whole thing apart to get to the cooling system and it is still under warranty, so I don't want to play with that). I have also upgraded the BIOS.

I have read that these models can heat a lot, but this is too much. The computer is just about to turn off because of the temperature, it is very uncomfortable to work with and this doesn't happen when the computer is under heavy load (I mean, only a few webpages in firefox and it almost melts). It also has a particular Samsung hard drive that is known for its problems with overheating, but when I checked the temperatures, HDD had around 45 degrees, but everything else (motherboard, CPU and graphics card) were at almost 80 degrees.

So, does anyone have any experience with this, could the hard drive be the one making the most heat inside, which would then make CPU and others overheat also (because as I said, the computer is certainly the hottest where the HDD is) and what can be done to cool the computer down as much as possible (maybe some components to change, that would not cost half the price of the whole thing). I have a cooling pad, which helps, but it's not very handy carrying it around everywhere.

And also, how much airflow can I feel on the "exhaust" when vent is at top speed, because i can hardly feel anything. Is this okay, or is it a sign that something is blocking air coming out?

Thanks in advance!


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## SPOKESnHUBS (Jan 29, 2011)

*Re: HP Pavilion dv6-3020em overheating*

i am familiar with the overheating, im gonna assume your smart with the laptop but will throw out the fact that you might have the laptops power plan set to high performance, and this system will get hot immediately on that setting... also maybe you have alot of stuff running in the background.


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## GeorgeKS (Jun 6, 2009)

*Re: HP Pavilion dv6-3020em overheating*

*Melkijad *you may have some lint clogging the ventilator, so it won't be so easy to clean it up with just compressed air.

The Maintenance and Service Guide for your Notebook can be found here.

Removing just the Keyboard will give you more access to the CPU fan, so you can check if blokage is the cause.


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## Melkijad (Sep 20, 2009)

*Re: HP Pavilion dv6-3020em overheating*

@SPOKESnHUBS I too thought that power settings are the cause and even made my own power plan (also tried with the power saving one), but the change was minimal, and would only delay things for a little bit. As for stuff in the background, no, nothing that would make any other computer overheat.

@GeorgeKS Yeah, thats what I'm afraid of, and I will probably try to open the computer when I will have time to do it carefully, since any slightest clue that I have opened it would void the warranty.

I really liked my old Acer's maintenance part, where I would just unscrew and open the bottom plastic cover and the whole cooling system would be right there to clean :smile: 

Also, what is your experience, how fast does the computer get so clogged that it would affect its temperatures this much?

Thanks to both of you for advice


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## GeorgeKS (Jun 6, 2009)

*Re: HP Pavilion dv6-3020em overheating*

I work with -dozens-of those systems every day (guess what I do for a living?..)

How long it takes depends usually on the environment a system operates in.
If something is stuck within the CPU fan blades, it can greatly impact on performance.

Is your SC adapter also getting unusually hot? It is often the case when the system overheats, as it tries to draw more power in order to speed the CPU fan up.

Maybe the thermal compund/pad is in need of replacement.

It is not such a difficult system to disassemble, just remember to apply equal force when screwing the system back-one can always tell from that....


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## Melkijad (Sep 20, 2009)

*Re: HP Pavilion dv6-3020em overheating*

Ok, I took it apart and well, there was quite some dust in there. So I cleaned it up with compressed air and it has now been running for several hours with many programs running and its not even warm! Excellent!

The weird thing is, that it actually runs cooler than when it was bought, since it started (over)heating the day I bought it (but it wasn't so bad and I've read that these models can get very hot and have that hard drive with overheating problems so I didn't give that too much attention). I might have gotten a returned one...

So, to everyone who have problems with HP overheating, open the laptop and clean it up (you can try with compressed air through vent openings first, might help) even if you bought it recently.

Thanks!


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## Rich.H (Feb 21, 2011)

I just finished tearing apart my Pavilion dv7, which was having a similar heat problem, and found several interesting things.

First, I cleaned out an impressive wad of dust / lint / hair from behind the heat exchanger. This wad was _not_ visible from outside, and it did _not_ blow out with repeated hits from a can of duster. This is a rather serious issue beyond the obvious; see third item.

Second, the heatpipe plates (covering the cpu, gpu, northbridge, and another component I couldn't identify) were doped with the cheapest thermal compound I have ever seen on a PC. It looked like foam tape - seriously - and with the exception of the cpu, the tape simply peeled off, dry. The cpu tape looked like conventional thermal tape. Cleaned and buffed everything, and replaced the tape with Arctic MX-3.

Third, this procedure is not for the timid - you have to literally strip the entire laptop down and pull the motherboard to get at the heatsink / heatpipes. Given that you can't reliably / verifiably blow out the heat exchanger and fan from outside, this is a serious design issue. One of the few virtues of my old Dell laptop was that you merely had to pop the bottom cover off to get at the heatsinks.

Sum of topic, all this turned out to be well worth the effort. Benchmarking with Civilization V, which pushes this box pretty close to its limit, gpu temps went from 80-95 deg. C to 50-60 (still warm, but not critically so), and cpu from 60-65 to 40-45. Amazing what a little brushing and a dab of good thermal compound will do.


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