How to Keep Your Laptop From Overheating This Summer

 Heat can be damaging to laptops, so when temperatures are soaring, you need to take a few extra precautions to keep your system running quickly and your hard drive from frying. To avoid data loss and to give your machine a longer lifespan, follow these important tips.

1) Clean your laptop's interior. Never is dusting your computer more important than in warm temperatures. The dust that coats your computer's interior adds a layer of insulation to hot-running circuits. If you don't clean the dust, the circuits can overheat. This problem is exacerbated in high ambient temperatures when this heat can't diffuse through cold air. Open your laptop's casing (or bring it to a professional) to thoroughly remove dust that has entered through the vent and the keyboard.

2) Don't leave your laptop in the car. This is good advice at any time in the year, but it's especially crucial in the summer when your car becomes a greenhouse. Remember, your parked car will accumulate extremely high temperatures that will damage the hardware.

3) Leave your laptop far away from the window. Direct sunlight can also cause your laptop to overheat, so store your laptop somewhere cool and away from direct sunlight. 

4) Only run essential programs. The more programs you run, the more strained the circuits will be. On hot days, close all programs you are not using, and learn to differentiate between programs you want and programs you actually need. Heavy-use programs, such as video players and video games, will require you to take extra measures to keep the circuits cool. 

5) Only operate laptops on well-ventilated surfaces. Don't put your laptop on your lap, on the sofa, or on the carpeted floor. These surfaces will all smother your laptop with fabric and inhibit ventilation, leading to overheating. Only run your laptop on a cool, well ventilated surface. You can also purchase a ventilating laptop stand with a fan or holes to help cool your computer during heavy use. 

If your fan is humming loudly and your computer is hot to the touch, you are very likely causing damage to your machine and risking hard drive damage and data loss. Use these tips to keep your computer cool and running smoothly.