A personal computer, laptop, and even a telephone are made up of many details. Some of them have the property of generating heat during operation. In turn, various cooling systems are installed on the devices, which must cool the components in order to avoid damage from overheating. But if the processor overheats, what should I do? How to determine overheating and correct the situation? Here we will talk about the main causes of high processor temperatures and how to eliminate them.
Symptoms of overheating are usually:
- Unintentional shutdown.
- Short or long freezes.
- Loud fan noise.
How to check the temperature of the processor through BIOS
You can check which elements are being heated in the computer using programs or through BIOS. In the second case, you can find out the temperature, and how much the processor overheats, if such a function is present in the BIOS firmware, of course. The disadvantage of this method is the inability to check whether there is overheating under load: when watching heavy HD-video, during games or a stress test.
- When you restart the computer, you must repeatedly press the Delete or F2, F10 key to enter the BIOS (the key may differ depending on the model).
- The period when the key works is very short, this can be done when checking the POST , usually the desired key will be displayed on the same screen with the manufacturer's logo in the form of a line: Press DEL to run Setup.
- The BIOS menu in different models is different, and in older versions of the motherboard it is mostly English. In more modern BIOS motherboards (only now it is UEFI) you can find the Russian interface, but if the BIOS of your motherboard is English, then look for the temperature sensor in the sections H / W Monitor, Status, PC Health.
CPU temperature monitoring
You can find out how much the computer processor is overheating using third-party software, and monitor the status of your PC in any conditions. There are a lot of similar software on the Internet, but there are several pretty good programs: AIDA64 and Everest - two programs that can rightly be called twin sisters. The programs were created by one developer, they have an almost identical menu and have almost the same functions. They are paid, but have a trial period of free use of 30 days, when the program can be used without restrictions.
- After downloading and installing on your computer one of the above programs, you should run it.
- In the window, select the "Computer" section, and in the sub-section - "Sensor". In the central part of the working window, the current temperature of the processor cores and some other parameters will be displayed, but we are interested in the temperature.
Each processor has its own temperature limit set by the manufacturer, at which the computer will turn off in case of overheating. Normally, for the processor in standby mode, the temperature should be about 35–45 ° C, and under load (during a game or stress test) up to 70 ° C. Exceeding these values can lead to irreparable consequences. In addition, when the processor overheats, the motherboard is also heated, along with other elements that may fail.
Another good free simple little program is the GPU-Z. The utility shows the temperature of the processor and other elements, as well as some other characteristics in real time.
Dust is the worst enemy of electronic devices
Initially, it is necessary to determine Why is the processor on the computer overheating. The main and primary cause of overheating of the processor and other components of a computer or laptop is dust. It is everywhere and everywhere, it enters the computer case through the slots in the system unit, which serve to circulate air for cooling. Fans, together with air, suck in dust, which then settles on all components, eventually growing into a pretty decent layer. Dust interferes with heat transfer and can even cause a short circuit. Therefore, the system unit of a personal computer and laptop must be cleaned periodically.
Cleaning your computer from dust
Cleaning your PC from dust is quite simple. The side cover of the system unit is mounted on the rear case with two bolts (in most cases). It is easy to remove. Opening the system, you can see how much it is dusty, but do not flatter yourself, even a very small layer of dust can trigger overheating. Therefore, you should arm yourself with a simple set of tools that includes a brush (there should be no metal elements on the brush in order to avoid short circuit from static electricity), a can of compressed air, wipes, a vacuum cleaner.
Before you open the system unit, you should remember, and it is better to draw up a diagram of where and what to connect, since improperly connecting the plugs can damage the computer. Having disconnected all the wires, before further actions, you need to remove static electricity from the body: for this, just wash your hands in running water. Static electricity when touching parts or the computer case can cause a short circuit and, as a result, damage the computer. After turning off the device, he needs to be allowed to stand for 5 minutes to leave the residual charge.
Now you can clean. The main dust is concentrated around rotating elements, on coolers and in radiators under them. Use a vacuum cleaner to carefully remove dust that has accumulated around the processor and other easily accessible places. It is worth noting that for a vacuum cleaner, you should use a nozzle with a narrowed nose (it is easier to collect dust with it). And it is also desirable that it be rubber. You need to remove dust with a vacuum cleaner very carefully around small parts on the system board, they can be accidentally broken off, and then the computer will not turn on at all. A can of compressed air should blow dust out of hard-to-reach places, where it is difficult to get with a brush and vacuum cleaner.
Thermal Paste Replacement
Having cleaned the system unit from dust, it is advisable to immediately change the thermal grease. If the computer is more than 2 years old and it has never been opened, then thermal grease that provides close contact between the processor and the cooling radiator is most likely dried up and does not provide proper cooling. Because of this, the processor overheats and the computer turns off.
- We remove the radiator along with the cooler (usually they are attached with several, easily detachable clips), the fan should also be disconnected from the motherboard.
- Remove the remnants of the old thermal grease from the processor and heatsink with tissues. And apply a new thin layer.
It is important not to overdo it - after all, the thermal conductivity of even the most expensive thermal paste is much worse than the thermal conductivity of the cheapest radiator, so a fairly solid layer of thermal paste will play a trick and make the processor heat up even more due to poor heat transfer. Thermal grease needs just a bit, literally with a match head. It should be applied evenly and spread on the processor platform (you can use the old plastic card).
Then tightly press the radiator, setting it in its original position, and snap fasteners. The radiator must not dangle or stagger. After dust removal and thermal paste replacement, connect all peripheral devices, as well as all I / O chips. After that, you can turn on the computer for verification.
Motherboard overheating
Not the processor itself, but the sensor may still warm in the computer. It looks like the processor is overheating. If the cleaning is done, the thermal grease is replaced, and the indicators are still too high, then you can install additional cooling in the system unit to blow the motherboard. Or install a more powerful cooler on the processor (the old one may not cope with the cooling task).
Cleaning your laptop from dust
When the processor on the laptop overheats due to heavy dustiness, everything is somewhat more complicated. And if you yourself have never taken apart a laptop for cleaning, then you should provide this to a service center. Because the bolts on the back cover of the laptop have different lengths, respectively, unscrewing them, you should simultaneously draw up a diagram. Inside the laptop, everything is much smaller and more compactly located than in the system unit and there is a chance to damage something. The cooling system also differs in different laptop models.
Tip: clean your laptop or computer at least once every two years. Thermal grease must be changed at the same frequency. If there are animals in the house, then cleaning should be carried out at least once a year, and preferably every six months, since along with dust, villi of animal hair also get into the system unit.
In the summer, it is usually hot, and sometimes due to external factors, the processor on the laptop overheats. What to do in this case, how to cool it? The cooling system draws in air from the outside, and if the room is already a hot, sultry summer day, then the heated air will not help much. To cool the laptop, you can use external stands with cooling elements. This will reduce the temperature of the motherboard and processor, avoiding the harmful effects of high temperatures on them.
Computer overheating due to virus infection
Overheating of the processor can cause a virus infection. It is worth scanning for viruses and it is advisable to do this either with a cloud antivirus, or install another one, having previously removed the stationary antivirus. The malicious code on the computer could already infect the antivirus program or disguise itself, which is why your antivirus will not see the infection.
Svchost.exe loads the system
You need to check if svchost.exe is loading the system - this is an auxiliary process for services loaded from dynamic libraries. But sometimes, under the guise of a system process, a virus or malicious code may be hiding, which continuously starts any system process, loading the CPU, leading to overheating.
- To determine if this infection is virus, you need to enter the "Task Manager" - Ctrl + alt + Del.
- Open the "Processes" tab and see if the svchost.exe process loads 100% with a single-core processor, 50% with a dual-core and 25% with 4 cores. If there is one, then this is the culprit. Because of it, the processor overheats, which means it should be turned off.
- The normal Svchost.exe process will be active under the username SYSTEM or Network Service. If this process is active under the name of the account, then most likely it is a virus. After disconnecting the loading process, you should scan and install a new stationary antivirus.
Driver conflict
The processor overheats due to software conflict, what should I do?
- Just as in the case of the Svchost.exe process, you need to enter the "Task Manager", in idle mode, the "System Inaction" process should occupy about 99%. If this is not the case, but some other process consumes part of the resources, it is most likely conflicting software. Perhaps the driver or some software is installed incorrectly.
- If the processor overheats and the computer turns off due to conflicting software, then what should I do? In this case, you need to determine which program this process belongs to and reinstall it. Very often, drivers installed along with the operating system in pirated assemblies conflict. Here is only one piece of advice - use licensed software and avoid various hacked, pirated programs and operating systems. When using unlicensed software, in particular, operating systems, there is a high probability of errors in downloading and installing automatic updates. As a result, there is a conflict and overheating.
The phone is warming up
You can often watch how the processor on the phone overheats. This is most often associated with a large number of simultaneously running processes, applications, during a long conversation or while charging. Overheating of the phone during charging most often occurs due to a poor-quality charger or battery that has already run out or is damaged, as well as if the contacts of the connector are dirty. To cool the phone, download applications that monitor the temperature of the CPU of the processor and timely warn of critical temperatures.
To summarize
Problems with overheating, although not always obvious, but often difficult to determine, are solved in most cases very quickly, with the exception of a breakdown of the cooling system, which requires the replacement of components or the entire system as a whole. Now you know why the processor is overheating, and how to fix it. Have a healthy PC, easy work and have a good time at your favorite computer!