# Gateway Laptop overheating ...



## Computer_Clueles (Oct 29, 2007)

I have a Gateway Laptop that I Loved so much but it started having problems with Overheating. I checked the fan and it had a little dust so I cleaned it and checked that it was spinning which it was. But it still continued to overheat and shut off automatically. I thought maybe it was a faulty fan assembly so I purchased another one and removed the old one. When I removed the old one I noticed there was some gray clay like material melted near the heat sink. I'm not sure if that was normal but I installed the New Fan Assembly and it still continued to overheat. I can leave it on for about 10-20 minutes til it shut off due to overheating. My Boyfriend helped me purchase a New Laptop and since I had such a good experience with my Gateway Laptop I went with another Gateway but this one has Vista and that's a whole different story altogether. I wanna know if any of you might be able to help me figure out what's causing my Laptop to overheat to the point where it shuts off automatically. I Miss my old Laptop and there would be nothing wrong with the New Laptop except for the fact that it has Vista and it's been giving me Problems with Vista issues. I really want my old laptop back cuz it was very reliable up til it started overheating. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanxs !


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I'm not sure how easy the cpu fan is to get to and clean, but, I have a Toshiba laptop that had to be pretty much disassembled in order to clean it correctly. I took it into the shop, it hasn't overheated since being thoroughly cleaned.


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## Computer_Clueles (Oct 29, 2007)

AcaCandy said:


> I'm not sure how easy the cpu fan is to get to and clean, but, I have a Toshiba laptop that had to be pretty much disassembled in order to clean it correctly. I took it into the shop, it hasn't overheated since being thoroughly cleaned.


Hmm ... you think it just need a good cleaning ? I did clean the fan off with a Q-Tip and Rubbing Alcohol but the rest of the computer I used a aerosol dust can. I guess I now have to laptops that need to be taken into the shop.  That's gonna cost me a pretty penny ! A pretty penny I dont exact have.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

You actually got to the cpu fan? As a side note, I paid $80 which I thought was kind of high, as I could have used someone else who would have taken a week, but, I wanted it back the next day, as I was leaving town.


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## Computer_Clueles (Oct 29, 2007)

AcaCandy said:


> You actually got to the cpu fan? As a side note, I paid $80 which I thought was kind of high, as I could have used someone else who would have taken a week, but, I wanted it back the next day, as I was leaving town.


OK, this is a very Computer N00B question but is there Two(2) Fans in a Laptop ? When I look underneath my Gateway Laptop there are several place to where you unscrew a cover to access the Memory Card, HardDrive, Fan Assembly, and Battery. I removed, cleaned, checked, and replaced the Fan Assembly. I dont think my Laptop has any other fan besides that. Gateway tends to place their fans always in the upper left corner with very little ventilation holes. My laptop can run a little longer if I placed a fan next to the ventilation holes but it sometimes still gets hot with a outside fan running cool air inside. My brother knows alot about computers and pretty knowledgeable. I wish he'd be a brother and fix them for me but he's been an -----*EDIT per Admin request : My Brother is a Meanie*---- since day one. So I guess I better save up at least $1000 to get these fixed. If I end up having to pay the price of a new laptop or desktop I am gonna be pissed. I'm guessing these problems should be fixed at under $100 bucks.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

My Toshiba laptop has 3 fans.

Without knowing your model number, I just googled for a picture of a Gateway cpu fan.

http://www.laptopking.com/partpicture_LK.asp?ref=20&category=fan

OH, AND PLEASE edit your post. There is no need to use an asterisk to get around a board censored word


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## Computer_Clueles (Oct 29, 2007)

AcaCandy said:


> My Toshiba laptop has 3 fans.
> 
> Without knowing your model number, I just googled for a picture of a Gateway cpu fan.
> 
> ...


Oh sorry about that. My Model Number for my Gateway Laptops is the 4026GZ and the MT3423. The 4026GZ is the one with the overheating issues and the MT3423 is the one with Vista issues.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

http://www.laptoprepairparts.com/partpicture_LRP.asp?ref=1011&category=fan

Looks like that model has a cpu cooling fan as well.


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## Computer_Clueles (Oct 29, 2007)

AcaCandy said:


> http://www.laptoprepairparts.com/partpicture_LRP.asp?ref=1011&category=fan
> 
> Looks like that model has a cpu cooling fan as well.


Yes, thats the thing I replaced. Also see that little gray block near that copper plate. I found that melted on my old one. Is that important or something ? When I took out my old fan to clean it I found that gray block melted into some gray goo kinda like what clay would look like melted.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Well, I am not that familiar with the inside of laptops, but, I would say that anything that was melted can't be a good sign. Why don't you call that 800 number on that link and find out what it is?


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## vacaloca (Jul 26, 2008)

You did everything correctly, except you forgot some thermal grease in between the CPU and the fan's copper plate when you installed the new fan assembly.

I had been experiencing a noisy fan for a while on my Gateway 4026GZ and ended up putting some new thermal grease so far and it did help a bit... not that noisy of a fan anymore.

That silver-ish goo/paste is really a conductor of heat between two different surfaces (the CPU and the heatsink). It basically acts as a heat exchanger between the two surfaces. In your case, without the thermal grease, there is very little or very poor heat exchange, and thus your overheating problems and/or your computer overheating and shutting down.

A good while ago while replacing a desktop CPU I bought a brand of thermal grease that was highly recommended by people at overclocking forums (hint: people that push their computer to the max) at my local computer shop: http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Same thing applies for a laptop like this. Enjoy!


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