Don’t let your computer overheat! 5 important warning signs

When was the last time your computer crashed? Did you get that sinking feeling in your stomach, knowing that there’s a chance your hard drive had failed? I ignored the signs that my computer was about to overheat, and saw it die in the middle of a major project.

Things started off great.

Life as a self-employed consultant tends to be stressful. But I had just landed a huge project with the potential to be a major turnaround for my one-man business.

I took my laptop with me to work during my time off. After all, I had to get a lot done.

Midway through my vacation, the temperature reached its peak. It was a staggeringly hot day, and I wanted to make the most of it, so I worked from the balcony.

I put my feet up on the railing and enjoyed the sun on my face while the laptop was sitting on my lap.

Ignoring the warning signs

At first, I wasn’t sure whether it was just me or whether my laptop was really getting hotter.

Yet pretty soon I could not stand it anymore – I had to get it off my lap; and before I knew it the screen went dark on me.

I hit the restart button over and again, but it was hopeless. It just would not turn back on anymore.

The hard drive had died on me with all of my precious work on it. And I didn’t have a backup anywhere.

5 Computer overheating symptoms and solutions

Had I not been so focused on my ideas I probably would have seen a few warning signs that were definitely pointing at where this whole thing was going.

Do any of them sound familiar to you too?

» 1. Too hot for your lap

I should have realized that having the laptop on my lap whilst sat outside was not an ideal situation for my computer’s ventilation.

Solution: Make sure your computer is well ventilated. To safely use laptops in your lap, think about getting a Lap Desk.

» 2. Fans running fast and making noise

Even before that day my laptop’s fans had been making lots of noise, meaning they were struggling to keep its insides cool.

Solution: Keep your computer out of direct sunlight. Check with your supplier for advice on keeping unwanted dust out of your computer, to ensure your fans are able to operate effectively.

» 3. Struggling to perform basic tasks

Programs were just not running as smoothly as they normally did, everything took longer to open.

Solution: Close all unused tabs in your browser. Collectively they can be a real drain on your computer’s processing power, and cause unnecessary heat.

Ensure your computer isn’t infected with Malware by performing regular system scans and continually updating your anti-malware solution.

» 4. Pixelated lines across your screen

My screen looked strange. It was like streaks or tears kept appearing on top of each window. Now I know that it was my graphics card overheating.

Solution: Make sure your graphics card is in working order, is getting enough ventilation, and isn’t overworked.

» 5. Crashing and powering off

Unfortunately for me, this symptom was ‘game over’. The dark screen and powering off meant my hard drive had already failed.

Solution: If you’re lucky, and your hard drive hasn’t completely failed, leave your computer turned off for a while, until it completely cools down. Then start up and find the cause for the overheating.

Prepare for the worst to happen

It’s all too easy to overlook these kinds of symptoms when you’re caught up working on something.

I now know that it’s better to prepare for the worst to happen so that when it does you can be back up and running with all your precious data as quick as a flash.

Luckily, SMB’s and solopreneurs alike can easily backup their data in all kinds of ways.

If you’re a TeamViewer user, you’ll be used to managing devices remotely.

And with backup you have an easy way to backup data from all of your PCs and Macs – even remotely.

But hey, don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself.