T400 Heat Problem

Hi guys, I've had a t400 for about 8 months now but 2 months ago it started randomly shutting down every once in a while but recently its become more frequent so I installed tpfancontrol to monitor the heat levels. I found that if im watching a movie or running a virus scar the cpu temperature goes up to 80-95 degrees C which seems way too hot. The random shutdowns happen when it is cool though sometimes but primarily when its hot, has this happened to anyone else or should I send it in while its under warranty? Thanks!

 

Is this under integrated or discrete graphics?

Part of the problem could be lots of dust bunnies in the heat exhaust vent - I would open up the laptop and clean out fan area with a compressed air can and some Q-tips. If you do so, be careful not to damage the fan by overspinning it. Always keep a finger on the fan to prevent it from spinning before blowing with the air canister.

Also, are you sure the fan is not dead? That could lead to overheating issues as well. Put your ear close to the upper left corner and see if you can hear it spinning when the laptop is hot. If the fan is indeed dead, that will be covered under warranty.

All in all, if you do not mind losing your laptop for a week or two, then I would send it in. It should be covered under warranty. Give Lenovo Support a call.

 

It has discrete graphics but all of my other temperatures are 50 degrees C at most. Also the fan is definitely working, I can hear it spinning. I'll try opening it up and seeing if there is dust build up thanks midnightsun

 

I have a t61 that did the exact same thing with overheating and shutdowns. now, 2 months out of warranty the motherbord appears to be dead. I made the mistake of opening a service ticket while it was still under warrenty, but did not follow through because thinkpad fan control seemed to work ok. All I can say now is, that was a huge mistake. If you have a warranty, I would make them fix it. They will not give you a break once its out of warranty even though they sold you a defective machine.

 

First off are all the vents free of blockage? what surface are you using the laptop on? and have you dusted the laptop recently?

 

The vents are clear and have been, yesterday I took it apart and blew compressed air through the vents and fan in every direction and next to no dust came out. It hasn't shut down on me since but it did run pretty hot (75-85 degrees at its peak on "maximum performance" while virus scanning) while i was charging it earlier today. I generally use it on a table of on my lap until it gets too hot. Does that seem similar to what happened to your t61?