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I've got an LG R500 Notebook that has started crashing. It usually crashes in Windows (Vista, all updates installed) when playing a game. The symptom is that the screen goes dark and then the notebook shuts down. I suspect Windows is forcing hibernation due to overheating.

The other day something similar happened in Linux: while playing a video the screen switched to console mode and displayed an error about an ACPI fan problem.

I suspect my video card is overheating.

The notebook is just out of warranty. Any tips on how I can resolve/further diagnose this? My usual approach with a desktop would be to replace parts, but that's harder here. I'd hate to have to buy a whole new computer because the video card is toast in the notebook.

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I had terrible overheating issue with Toshiba L20-182. It was off warranty, and paid service (sth about 100 USD) said, that it should be ok. So I have searched for disassembly manual and disassembled notebook. First thing I had to do was taking all copper heat sink and clean it with a vacuum cleaner. After 2 years of using there were two pieces of dirt hidden so deep, that compressed air cleaning did nothing. The next thing it was simply cleaning CPU from old thermal paste, and reapplying new one. And … it helped! My suspicion is that cheaper notebook do not have good thermal paste, and it simply becomes dry.

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  • I re-applied the thermal paste on the video card and it made a huge difference. Still crashes though, but not as often. Thanks for the tip.
    – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
    Commented Jul 21, 2009 at 14:26
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Are you sure you're not blocking the fan intake on the laptop? They're usually on the bottom and can easily get covered up.

Also, make sure your vents are clear of dust. Since you're out of warranty, pop that bastard open and use some compressed air to get out any dust that's collected on the cooling fans. DON'T HIT YOUR FAN WITH COMPRESSED AIR! It could screw it up.

You can also drop a couple bucks on a notebook cooler instead of buying a whole new laptop...

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  • I tried propping the notebook up on a coaster to increase the airflow under the desk. Also tried sitting the notebook on an icepack. No luck. I'll check for dust tonight.
    – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
    Commented Jul 15, 2009 at 19:57
  • I bought a notebook cooler and that, combined with the thermal paste change, seems to have totally fixed the problem.
    – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
    Commented Jul 27, 2009 at 13:58
  • 'grats, man .
    – user939
    Commented Jul 27, 2009 at 18:21

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