x60 overheat problem?

[garysblim]

Hi all:

I installed windows 7 pro on my x60 and so far working fine. But yesterday, after it went to sleep and I put it in my bag for home, I found out (about 2 hrs later) that the computer was still somewhat on (but the sleep sign was on). It got quite warm as well. So, I turned it off by holding down the power button. I think it was caused by the hybrid sleep mode that was on. After turning this mode off, it hasn't happened and the computer seems fine so far. My question is that the heating/overheating?? would damage the computer. I have had heat damage on my T42 so I'm just a bit concerned.

Thanks,
Gary

[poderchang]

hi gary, i had a similar overheating issue a couple weeks ago. however after installing the newest intel wireless driver, i experienced a dramatic decrease in heat from that area. feels like a normal laptop again, very comfortable.

[paul*robertson]

hi gary, i had a similar overheating issue a couple weeks ago. however after installing the newest intel wireless driver, i experienced a dramatic decrease in heat from that area. feels like a normal laptop again, very comfortable.

Could you expand on that. RE. the wireless card, did you change the hardware, or software.

[poderchang]

i just grabbed the latest drivers (it's Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG i think on the x60) off the intel support site (http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support?iid=CorporateV3), then via device manager update drivers, select own driver, have disk, navigate to driver folder you extracted. didn't run the setup file at all. i've only noticed this heat decrease using windows 7 with said drivers.

[poderchang]

or perhaps it has something to do with the power manager i installed around the same time... while it charges, same areas get hotter when power source is optimized. maybe just a power feature then>? let me know how if it worked for you.

[SoftwareJock]

I observed overheating in a ThinkPad X61 when the computer was charging & connected to its X6 UltraBase docking station.

I believe this overheating is a design flaw.

The X61 is not my primary computer. I use it sporadically, & it is usually charging & connected to its UltraBase.

Occasionally the computer would shut down while running Windows Vista 64-bit. I didn’t worry about it too much—I attributed the problem to a operating system failure even though there was nothing logged in the Event Viewer at the time of the shut down.

I’ve now concluded, however, that overheating was the problem after upgrading the RAM from 3 GB to 4 GB.

My standard practice after adding or changing memory is to run the Memtest86 diagnostic program overnight. In this case Memtest86 stopped abruptly after one to two hours.

I reverted the RAM to the factory 3 GB & reran Memtest86. Again, it stopped abruptly after one to two hours.

After seeing several posts on this forum related to overheating, I decided to run Memtest86 in a ‘cooler’ environment. I reinstalled the 4 GB & ran Memtest86 overnight in an unheated garage where the temperature was 45 degrees F. In this setting, Memtest86 did not fail.

From this point on, I’ll try increasing the X61’s ventilation by flipping out the two legs at the rear of the UltraBase. Perhaps if the UltraBase is not flush with a desk surface, it will dissipate heat better.

[IvanAndreevich]

I’ve now concluded, however, that overheating was the problem after upgrading the RAM from 3 GB to 4 GB.

Very wrong conclusion

Memtest doesn't even stress the CPU that much. What temperature does your machine run under load? Maybe you've got some dust in the heat sink you need to blow out.

[SoftwareJock]

Ivan, thanks for the advice.

The overheating problem no longer occurs but I don’t know why.

Here’s what transgressed over the past day:

I loaded the CPUID Hardware Monitor application to measure the temperature, & it registered 123 degrees F (51 C) for the core at startup.

Then I ran ‘Control Panel/Performance Information and Tools/Windows Experience Index base score/Update my score’. The core temperature approached 173 F, & the computer suddenly shut down.

I removed the keyboard & the upper cover with the goal of removing the systemboard to get a good look at the heat sink to check for dust. After removing those components, however, I decided that removal of the systemboard would require too much time. Also, I saw no signs of significant dust. I did blow out the heat sink, though, & reassembled the computer.

I then loaded HeavyLoad from jam-software.com, & let it exercise the system for an hour during which the CPU was 100% utilized. Throughout the time of loading, the maximum temperature reported by CPUID was 181 F (83 C). And the exhaust of the fan was a steady stream of hot air like a mini hair-dryer.

I was puzzled that the X61 did not shutdown because of overheating during the load test given my previous experiences, so I restarted the system & launched Memtest86. I let it run for two hours, & it did not fail as I expected. I then lowered the two legs at the rear of the UltraBase thinking that perhaps heat dissipation would be degraded to the point of causing overheating if the UltraBase was flush with the desk surface, but after two additional hours Memtest86 continued with no errors.

In summary, perhaps disassembling & reassembling the computer did somehow affect its thermal characteristics. Even though I saw no dust, the computer is running without the sudden shutdowns I observed previously.

[ragingcaribou]

I solved the X60s overheating problem by disassembling it and putting some arctic silver Matrix thermal compound on the processor instead of the crappy IBM stuff it had on there. I went from idling at 65 and 85 load, to idling at 35 and 60 load. A huge difference and now my laptop works better than new. I must warn you though, disassembling this laptop was more of a pain in the rear than any other computer I've ever dealt with...

[fasteez]

Tell us if it lasts, I tried Artic Silver on a x32, it reduced heat for a week then settled on the same heat level as before (-_-);

[IvanAndreevich]

Tell us if it lasts, I tried Artic Silver on a x32, it reduced heat for a week then settled on the same heat level as before (-_-);

That's very strange. After a week it should actually set, and be even a couple of degrees better.

[fasteez]

Exactly, hence a doubled disappointment. I may retry ( even though I've been careful not to drop too ) but a real user review would be nice.