Solved burning laptop smell

L

larry burns

Member
So I have a compaq presario f700 laptop. I always use the laptop on a hard desk surface, without clothes or stuff like that in the way. Starting about 1-1.5 years ago, it sometimes heated so much that it would shut off in the middle of operating. It still does that now. I then made sure to stack some books on the table and place the laptop on it, or place in on my lap, to increase the heat transfer by convection. Sometimes, it STILL would shut off, if I leave it on for a few hours and run lots of programs

Anyways, I began noticing more recently (can't remember when, could be a few months or a year ago?) that it would sometimes give off a burning smell if I run a lot of programs. I was too lazy to do anything about it since other than it running slowly, there weren't any serious problems. But now, I've finally decided I may want to take some action

I dont know where the heating and burning smell come from. When the laptop gets hot, its like that everywhere when I touch the bottom

I tried disassembling the laptop and didn't notice any parts that seemed burnt, but I've only removed the cover on the bottom. I can see one of the fans, and it appears really dusty. I would have to continue disassembling to see all the other parts. But to continue working, I need to get remove the 2mm hex studs on one of the parts. I checked a few nearby stores, even Home Depot, but none of them has it. But a local computer repair store could remove it. Is it worth it? I don't feel comfortable with someone touching my laptop
 

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hi there

it sounds to me that the main cooling fan has become inefficient, usually due to build up of dust and hair etc, stopping it revolving to cool well enough or even stopping it completely

i would say that you need to at least get the fan out and clean it, then reassemble and ensure its kicking in as it should by listening for activity from it or leaving the cover off, booting up the machine and watching for the fan movement

however if you have any doubts about doing this yourself, i'd definitely get it looked at professionally, a reputable repair company should easily be able to find the issue and responsibly sort it, overheating is one of the most common laptop hardware faults and as such is likely to be their bread and butter :-)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Fujitsu Siemens
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Due T7250 2.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Amilo xi2528
    Memory
    2Gb DDR2
    Graphics card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8600M GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" TFT

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
1994F7PT said:
i would say that you need to at least get the fan out and clean it, then reassemble and ensure its kicking in as it should by listening for activity from it or leaving the cover off, booting up the machine and watching for the fan movement
Click to expand...

there is currently a small enough hole, after I've already partly disassembled the laptop, so that I could see part of the top side of the fan. I've already used a dust and air removal spray to get blow away some of the dust on the fan. I could also reach in there with say a q-tip, soak it in solution, and then rub on the fins of the fan to remove some of the dust. Would that suffice?
 

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it may help, but ideally it needs removing completely, including the heat sink as the vanes in the sink will no doubt be totally bunged up too, so even if the fan does blow again, it wont be able to shift the air through the blocked heat sink vanes

can you see the fan spinning through the hole when the laptops powered up? any obvious air movement out the vents on the side or suction on the vent underneath?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Fujitsu Siemens
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Due T7250 2.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Amilo xi2528
    Memory
    2Gb DDR2
    Graphics card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8600M GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" TFT
1994F7PT said:
it may help, but ideally it needs removing completely, including the heat sink as the vanes in the sink will no doubt be totally bunged up too, so even if the fan does blow again, it wont be able to shift the air through the blocked heat sink vanes

can you see the fan spinning through the hole when the laptops powered up? any obvious air movement out the vents on the side or suction on the vent underneath?
Click to expand...

Its hard to tell, but I think the fan does spin when the laptop powers up and operates. Before, when the laptop got really hot, I would feel obvious hot air movement out the vents.

After cleaning the fans a bit, I ran the laptop for 30 minutes or so and could smell the smoke fume again when I sniff close to the laptop. Both the bottom covers to the Memory and Hard Drive were hotter than the battery and cover below the fan.


I will try to dissemble the laptop again. To remove the hex stud, that is 5mm diameter and 2.5mm on each side of the hex, what kind of Nut driver will work? Do I look for a Nut driver of size 5mm or 2.5mm? I was looking for 2.5mm earlier instead of 5mm, which is maybe why I couldn't find it?
 
Last edited:

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larry burns said:
richc46 said:
To see if it is overheating download and try speedfan.
SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer
Since you smell burning, pretty good chance that is the problem.
Click to expand...

it varies from about 50-75 celsius, which is 120-160 Fahrenheit, depending on whether I choose Power Saver or High Performance for the laptop speed, and also depending on how many programs I'm running
Click to expand...

These Temps are extremly High and if it stays like that your Motherboard will Pretty much be like toast

Note   Note
Do not take off the Heat sinks unless you have Thermo Glue to Stick the Heat sink back on


Josh
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 2400 @ 3.10GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn H67MP-S/-V/H67MP
    Memory
    8.0GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (2GBx4)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD HD Radeon 6870
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SMB1930NW (1440x900@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    977GB Seagate ST31000524AS ATA Device (SATA) + 250GB WD iSCSI attached Drive
    Case
    Novatech Night
    Mouse
    Dell HID-compliant mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
you can get away without heatsink grease in most laptops as they don't use grease, tend to use thermal contact pads so they can be reused so long as you ensure the pad fits perfectly again

temps do sound excessive so it does need looking into fully, but the fact the thing keeps booting up means no massive damage as yet hopefully

does the hex stud you refer to look similar to the ones that sit either side of a monitor output socket on the pc/laptop?
circled red in this pic

TV-as-Monitor

if so you need a 5mm female hex d-sub tool, i have one built into my swiss army knife i use but you can get them seperate
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Fujitsu Siemens
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Due T7250 2.0GHz
    Motherboard
    Amilo xi2528
    Memory
    2Gb DDR2
    Graphics card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8600M GS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" TFT
So i took it to the local electronics shop. They charged $120 to do a stress test (which it failed) and then replaced the heat sink. It runs ALOT quieter now and the bottom isn't overheating now! The comp now runs from 35-55 degrees Celsius, or 95-135 degrees fahrenheit, instead of 50-75 celsius, which is 120-160 Fahrenheit previously
 

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System One

Glad you got it sorted ... Sorry for the amount you Paid :( Unfortunately this Community does not currently have a Stress test

I will now mark this Thread as solved

Josh
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 2400 @ 3.10GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn H67MP-S/-V/H67MP
    Memory
    8.0GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (2GBx4)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD HD Radeon 6870
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SMB1930NW (1440x900@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    977GB Seagate ST31000524AS ATA Device (SATA) + 250GB WD iSCSI attached Drive
    Case
    Novatech Night
    Mouse
    Dell HID-compliant mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
Actually I'm not sure they completely fixed it. After leaving this laptop running for an hour, its getting a little warmer on the bottom and I'm smelling a faint smoke (if I sniff carefully). But the battery is still alot cooler and the comp is still much quieter
 

My Computer

System One

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