Inspiron 5150 Overheating

Is overheating a problem also with Inspiron 5100 and 5160 besides 5150?

I also heard that it occurs in 600m.

Will anyone with those models respond their experience on overheating and under what conditions overheating is more likely to happen?

 

While I never had an overheating issue with 5150 when I owned it, I think the poor design of it (and the 5100) has lead to many people having overheating issues.

The 5150 (and 5100) has a poorly designed fan and heat sink, which leads it to easily collectly dust. If the fan intake is not cleaned regularly, dust can literally cover the heatsink causing the overheating problems, in which case the computer will shut itself down.

This condition happens when using processor dependent programs such as 3d games, design programs, etc.

I don't think overheating is a problem with the 600m, rather most complain that the computer feels hot to the touch.

 

Use a drop or two of machine oil on each of the fans of your puter, will allow the fans to run more efficiently and in the end your Computer will stay cooler. Don't use WD-40 use a product like 3 in 1 oil or sewing machine oil will do nicely every so often, just a drop or two on the shaft.

WD-40 stands for Water Drier 40th batch made up for problems with 1955 NASA Atlas rockets having condensation problems, that why it's good for the cars electrical systems, so they don't flood out going thru puddles. The company stopped when they hit on the right formula 49 years ago in the last century.

/Chaz

 

Hello All,
I have an Inspiron 5100, purchased around January 2000. Has P4 2.4Ghz. It started shuttung down intermittantly about 2 months ago. I thought the battery was shot, but it tested fine. I next suspected the HD (30G, 5400RPM) was getting ready to die so I did a complete rebuild. I installed a Hitachi 80G 7200RPM HD, upgraded the RAM to 1 Gig and removed the CDRW and replaced it with a DVD/CDRW. It still shuts down randomly. Of course I cleaned the fans and cooling vents when I had it apart. I have found If I prop the Back Right side up with a pen or something that allows better airflow, it helps but it still shuts off sometimes. Are these cooling pads I see advertised any good? Any other help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to all!

 

I had some of the same problems with my Inspiron 5100. After doing some searching I discovered that it was the heat sync. I also read multiple sources there was a lawsuit Dell lost over the issue. The result was an extended time you could call in and have the heat sync replaced. My 5100 was out of warranty, but I thought it was worth a shot. I called in and was able to get my 5100 serviced via depot and now it works great!

 

My 5100 regularly overheats, requiring me to physically reseat the memory chips in spite of my cleaning the fan and heat sinks, adding elevating feet to the underside, and installing some software to run the fan continuously.

 

Same problem, my inspiron 5150 overheats and just shuts off. I tried emailing support and dell chat and was having trouble and got annoyed with the automatic responses. Finally called 1-800-624-9896 and they are sending out a box in two business days and are hopefully fixing it. They said I will get it back in 8-10 business days. I believe it is all going to be free and I my warranty is already expired.

 

This, and the debacle with WM5 on the X50V PDA, are the main reasons I went with HP rather than Dell for my recent laptop purchase.