help with computer problem
Hi so recently, my computer started to restart itself after I start up games as well as videos (videos aren't big of a problem like 95% of the time). What happens is when I start up a game, my fan starts to speed up incredibly fast and then my computer would shut down as though i took out the plug or something. Then it would reboot itself and this only happens when i play games and the sometimes rarely videos cause it as well. It has never happened to me before. It's a gateway DX4850.
So does anyone know why this is happening and how I can fix it? I'm not good with computers btw so I'd appreciate any help!
Also I've tried shutting down my computer for a day, and then i opened a game up again and the same thing occurs
6 Comments • Newest first
[quote=BobR]@Kingzer Your fans are probably clogged with dust, which allows heat to build up instead of being blown away by the moving air.
Take the left side off the computer and lay it flat so the open side faces up.
Use a flashlight and look down between the fan blades on the CPU fan. The area below the fan should be shiny aluminum, NOT looking like a gray blanket.
If there's a gray dust blanket, go to a computer store or computer department in a store and buy a can of "compressed air" and use it to blow the dust out of that area.
Gently hold the fan blades so they don't spin when you blow the air through them to prevent the fan from being damaged.
Get as much of the dust out of there as you can.
Also, it appears your computer doesn't have a separate video card so you probably won't have to worry about dust in the video card fan, but here's a picture of a different Gateway motherboard showing where the CPU fan is located. Yours will look different of course, but the location should be similar:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26443090/Gateway%20Motherboard.jpg[/quote]
how do i clean it with compressed air though?
graphics card or cpu fan clogg up with dust
Its probably overheating. An easy fix would be to open it up and dust the fans out. Sometimes thats not the trick so you might need to get a new fan. Anything past that you should probably just consider a new laptop unless you paid 500+ in the last 2 years for it
If that is not the case and it isn't dirty, I suggest buying one of those laptop fans that are meant to cool the bottom of the laptop that you can plug into the Laptop Usb, i dont think it consumes alot of power.
@Kingzer Your fans are probably clogged with dust, which allows heat to build up instead of being blown away by the moving air.
Take the left side off the computer and lay it flat so the open side faces up.
Use a flashlight and look down between the fan blades on the CPU fan. The area below the fan should be shiny aluminum, NOT looking like a gray blanket.
If there's a gray dust blanket, go to a computer store or computer department in a store and buy a can of "compressed air" and use it to blow the dust out of that area.
Gently hold the fan blades so they don't spin when you blow the air through them to prevent the fan from being damaged.
Get as much of the dust out of there as you can.
Also, it appears your computer doesn't have a separate video card so you probably won't have to worry about dust in the video card fan, but here's a picture of a different Gateway motherboard showing where the CPU fan is located. Yours will look different of course, but the location should be similar:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26443090/Gateway%20Motherboard.jpg
It looks like your computer is overheating.
You can try cleaning the fan if that doesn't work I think you need to buy a new one