Keyboard burning, fan screaming, or shutdowns under load? Usually dust in the heatsink, dried paste, or blocked airflow — not a “dead board”. Don’t random-unscrew it; here’s what you can check safely.
1. Quick checks (no teardown)
- Raise the laptop 1–2 cm so exhaust isn’t into a mattress or sofa.
- Don’t work on a bed or blanket — intake blocks and temps spike in minutes.
- Quit heavy apps and see if noise drops.
- Update OS and GPU driver — old drivers can pin the GPU.
- If grills are visibly dusty: short bursts of canned air from outside, not wet breath.
2. Dust, paste or the fan itself
- Clogged heatsink: most common after 1–3 years. Fan screams, CPU/GPU throttle.
- Dried paste: temps climb fast even after a surface blow-out.
- Worn fan: grinding, vibration, intermittent stop.
- After liquid: oxidation on the fan connector — see the liquid guide, not “just dust”.
- MacBook: paste + pads; teardown is model-specific.
3. What NOT to do
- Don’t rinse the board or vacuum the fan (static / broken blades).
- Don’t follow a generic paste video on a glued MacBook — display cables and battery risk.
- Don’t ignore sudden shutdowns at 90–100 °C.
- Don’t cover vents with stickers or a thick sleeve under load.
4. When to book diagnostics
- We clean the cooling path, check the fan and re-paste when needed.
- After liquid or a drop we also check the board.
- Estimate after inspection — no invented online price.
- WhatsApp: exact model + whether it screams from second one or only in games.
Sector 4, Calea Șerban Vodă 43. Overheating laptop — cleaning, paste, fan, diagnostics.
Still having the problem?
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Repairs in Bucharest, Sector 4 · Calea Șerban Vodă 43. Cost and timing are confirmed after inspection, before repair.
FAQ5
Is a hot laptop dangerous?
Throttling, sudden shutdowns, battery wear, long-term VRM/GPU stress. If it powers off on its own, bring it in.
Does a cooling pad help?
Maybe 3–8 °C if intake is free. It does not replace internal cleaning when the heatsink is packed.
How often to clean?
12–24 months for a desk setup; more often on a bed or near an open window.
MacBook warm while charging — normal?
A bit, yes. Too hot to keep a palm on the aluminium at idle — diagnostics.
What does cleaning cost?
Depends on access, paste and fan. We confirm after we see the machine.