New M2 Overheating - Please Help!!

Hi, I just got my first laptop today -- a Tecra M2-S730. I'm absolutely in love with it, except I'm very worried about one problem in particular. The left underside of the unit gets VERY hot. I know laptops do get very warm, but this is hot (almost at the point of burning my hand when I touch it). It gets so hot that it actually shuts itself off. It's not like I was using it 'heavily' - I had done nothing but browse the web, and for only 10 minutes at that. After letting it remain off, it did cool quickly and it did 'repower' (begin showing power and charging the battery again) after only two or three minutes. Do I maybe have a broken fan or is something else wrong? I'm nearly positive that this isn't normal...it shouldn't be getting that hot with such light use for such a short period of time. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

a system shutting down due to temperature overheating is a bad thing. make sure you don't have the laptop sitting with its fan vent covered (such as on a thick carpet, against a wall or something). try downloading this application that reports system temperature:

http://www.samurize.com/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=6

find out just how hot things are getting, and then call Toshiba tech support and report the temperature...tell them that you're not doing anything processor intensive and you can just about fry an egg on the M2.

 

There is a good possibility that your cooling fan is not turning. You may want to check the BIOS to see if you have an option to have the fan always on when connect to AC (my old Toshiba has this) and see if the fan turns. If not, you fan is busted and needs to be repaired. If you just got the laptop, I would recommend returning it and getting a new replacement unit. After your system heats up to a point of auto shutdown, it may have caused some damage to your system which may cause you more problems in the future.

-Vb-

 

I have a tecra m2 and it is the coolest laptop I have ever used. Your laptop should have absolutely no heat coming from it. If you are sitting it on a thick cotton surface or carpet then this could be your problem. If you are sitting it on a table or desk (hard surface) and it is overheating then something is wrong and you need to contact toshiba.

 

Thank you all very much for your comments and help. I did check the settings, and they appeared to be okay. I think the fan wasn't turning, because I notice it now (and never did before). I also don't feel the heat like I did yesterday, but I haven't been running it that hard or long yet. I actually began using battery power today (not realizing that it was unplugged). I wonder if that had something to do with it (although I dont understand why it would). I have it plugged into AC now and the fan is still going.

One question though. On AC power, should the fan be running the whole time? I'm not concerned and it doesnt bother me, I just wanted to make sure that this was okay. I hope I didn't damage any internal components from yesterday. Thanks again VERY much for your help and comments!! (I'll be d/l the utility to be monitoring the CPU temp over the next few days)!

 

The fan will run more often on battery because the processer isn't being throttled. It shouldn't be running 100% of the time.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Brian

 

More bad news- I tried the machine today (using AC power), and the fan didn't kick in...and the laptop overheated. I called tech support and was happy with the fact that I waited 5 seconds to talk to someone, although I'm uspset with their policies. I was told that the fan needs to be replaced. Well my options were:

1. Pay $60.95 to ship it back to Toshiba. I was told that they no longer pay for shipping.

2. Take it to an autorized retailer for fixing (the closest is over an hour away).

3. Mail it back to where I got it and pay for shipping both ways.

I think I'm just going to go with #2, but this is a real bummer. I'm guessing it must be a faulty sensor or a bad connection.

 

Hey Fly,

First off, sorry to hear this happening to you. Second, when and where did you get this unit? Is there a return policy (usually within 14-30days)? You may want to look into this before getting it repaired. Since this is the second time it happened, there could be some damage. You may want to talk to the support manager about this because it seems a bit unacceptable for a brand new unit to fail like this and require you to get it repaired rather than replaced. If left with no other options, I would recommend getting the fan replaced. I would also recommmend getting other parts like the CPU & systemboard replaced, but you nenver know if the new parts may cause you more headaches.

Good Luck!

-Vb-