# Solved: Acer L100 shutdown/overheating? problem



## Vampiricwound (Aug 18, 2007)

several months ago i picked up an Acer L100 Desktop (ok, if you've seen this thing is more like a nintendo wii decided to try to be a computer considering its size) speedwise, it works great, i did have to upgrade the memory from 1gig to 2 gigs (came with vista home premium on it...and im addicted to world of warcraft ) i noticed right off the bat that the system runs hot, like, ive considered cracking an egg on it to cook breakfast while i check my email hot. when i do something that might use a bit more of the processor (AMD64 btw...) such as edit video, or even play a game (as i mentioned....im a WoW addict) it shuts down on me....not always...but sometimes (actually there are some videos i havent been able to finish editing for this very reason)

short of heading to acer and beating them senseless for this design flaw is there anything i can do to fix this, note, that the acer L100 is pretty much designed like a laptop in that the only thing that can be swapped out on it is memory and harddrive (so...no better fan would be available that would fit inside the case)

sorry for the "wall o text" but hey, im hoping someone might be able to help


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## npgall (Aug 19, 2007)

I've got the same PC - bought it for use as a media center PC.

This PC gets extremely hot for me too. It has just broken down for me actually - I think something got fried on the inside due to overheating. I'm gonna send it back for a replacement.

Anyway- you could try reducing the maximum CPU speed in Vista's power management. I think I saw an option to do that under 'Edit plan settings' or something, in power options.

I have looked on the market for a similar small PC but the L100 still looks the best to me so I'm not giving up on it just yet!


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## Vampiricwound (Aug 18, 2007)

unfortunately all those seem to adjust are when it blanks the screen and when it puts the pc to sleep after being idle

good luck with your replacement, im just hoping mine doesnt break down on me before i can get myself the parts to build myself a decent replacement of my own


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## npgall (Aug 19, 2007)

You can reduce the max CPU speed in Vista, it's just buried in advanced settings: http://blogs.msdn.com/richardt/archive/2007/07/11/vista-power-management-cpu-frequency.aspx

I'll definitely do this when I get my PC back!


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## gocrning (Apr 22, 2008)

I have an Acer L100 too and also expanded the RAM from 1 Gig to 2 Gigs as soon as I bought it. After a short period of time I began to have the same problems you described but I didn't act soon enough. My unit is a *refurbished* product with only 90 days warranty so once I became fed up with it and called Acer it was a little of 100 days old and they wouldn't budge, I was stuck.

I read another forum and found the following:

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

This program called Speed Fan is excellent. I have only been running my system for about a day with it but let me tell you I have done everything I can to get it to overheat, freeze, spontaneously restart, etc......everything you guys are experiencing. I ran a DVD movie, another movie off the hard drive simultaneously and surfed online by clicking new links every couple of seconds. The temperatures of the L100 go up but SPEED FAN adjusts the RPM and then the temperatures go down. Last night I played a movie on repeat and woke up without it having crashed. I have only been using it a short time but I think I found the solution and have already donated 5 euros to the guy that wrote this freeware program.

Before finding this program I did try to switch my CPU speed by using the settings in Vista the previous person mentioned. It may have reduced the overheating but I am not sure about this. My L100 certainly still overheated/crashed.


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## gocrning (Apr 22, 2008)

I installed that Speed Fan program and haven't had a problem since.


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## gocrning (Apr 22, 2008)

After several weeks of running multiple applications suddenly it crashed again. Now it is doing it infrequently even with the SpeedFan program running. I am going to try to reduce the CPU speed that was suggested earlier in this thread.


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## gocrning (Apr 22, 2008)

It didn't make sense that my L100 worked fine for a few months before the "problems" began. After watching the temperature profile I think the crashing isn't related to temperature. Insted I began to think that dust may be the problem. The top of the unit has tiny holes that probably become plugged quickly even after dusting the surface.

I used a vacuum and cleaned the top of the unit and the spaces of the two fans. I did this without taking the unit apart.

It is too early to say but I haven't had any crashes in the first few days following the clean. I will wait longer before responding again unless I get a crash.


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## sup2a (Oct 9, 2007)

if it was really that dusty maybe it would be worthwhile opening the thing up... if its out of warranty... and check the fan and heatsink (if it even has it) on the processor thats if you can even get to it, ive seen those things... that could be covered in dust and if it is that would cause overheating itself


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## Vampiricwound (Aug 18, 2007)

Just checked my email and saw a pm from you gocrning, i have passed the L100 to my brother in law, who has basically been keeping the lid off and using a fan at high speed sitting face down on top of it, the design for the L100 is really an issue that i hope acer has looked into (and if not...then i hope they lose money on the darn things ) 

thank you very much for looking into some options for me though, and may use speedfan with my current setup (built it myself about 6 months ago )

my advice to anyone considering an "out of the box" computer....stay away from Acer desktops (or at least the L series)


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## sup2a (Oct 9, 2007)

its quite odd that they have such a compact computer... surely someone in the design team would have reconsidered... its not that uncommon for things to overheat...


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## gocrning (Apr 22, 2008)

Okay so I waited quite some time before giving an update. So let me summarize that I bought this computer, had not problems whatsoever and then after a few months, suddenly it would crash. Sometimes shortly after being on and other times it would work for a half an hour and then it crashed. The type of crash or freezing was the same as others described.

I tried Speedfan that seemed to work but then after a few days/days the issue returned. I can't say that Speedfan solved the problem for even a short period of time.....results inconclusive.

Finally I used a vacuum and removed any dust. I didn't even open up the L100 although I have done it in the past many times while trying to figure this out. I vacuumed on the top (there are very small holes) and the two fan openings at the back. I used a basic, household vacuum. I haven't had a crash since using the dust to remove the vacuum.

I have let the system run hours at a time, multiple applications, etc., not one crash. I am even considering buying another L100 on ebay because they seem to go for real cheap......we know why don't we.

I will write back again after a few more weeks. Today I am going to use a vacuum again without opening up the unit. It only takes a second and seems to point as dust as the culprit.

Dust is not a bad explanation considering the small size of the unit and the time my unit first worked problem free.


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## gocrning (Apr 22, 2008)

Still workin fine, not a single crash or indication that there is a problem.


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## SeniorDad (Jul 23, 2008)

I have an Acer L310, which is essentially the same animal as the L100.

I purchased it for <$250 as a "Vista Ready" (yuck, yuck) computer about 20 months ago.

First thing I did was take out its Celeron processor and 160gb HDD and replace them with an E4300 dual core and a 250GB WD drive.

I was happily dual-booting Vista and XP for a few months then suddenly the beast started using 100% of one core which was occupying itself with hardware interrupts. So, I check every cable, reseat the processor, reload Vista and away I go, not. Turns out it was the heat. The MOBO in particular. Over 60C with no load.

So, I disassemble the box, completely. Not a single hole in this thing, aside from a mesh covered grill (stupid) on one side and fan holes in the back.

Seeing this, and realizing that my data, processor and possibly my office would go kablooey if this continued, I opted for something drastic.

I grabbed the ol' DeWalt 18v hammer drill, installed a 1/4" drill bit, and proceeded to drill several holes in the bottom of the box. I cleaned it up with a mini-grinder on my Dremel, then ran a magnet over the whole thing to pick up any stray metal.

Reinstalled the guts, and while it's still running hot, No hardware interrupts and the thing is back to the rapid little box I remember so fondly.

Of course, I used this opportunity to scare my loving wife into thinking that what we really needed was a quad-core rig with a TB HDD, etc, etc...


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