So, after overheating my laptop six times in the past week due to continuous school work, I've decided to ask for a cooling pad for my laptop for Christmas. I was wondering would be a good pad to ask for. I have a Toshiba Satellite L505D. Just for clarity, this is my main computer for a while, so I would appreciate any suggestions for dealing with this problem beyond the cooling pad.

GPFontaine wrote:

What kind of laptop is it? Vendor/Model Name What surface is the laptop on when it is overheating? What specific activities are you doing when it is overheating? Do you own pets? Do you smoke?

1) It's a Toshiba Satellite L505D-S5983. Not really sure what type it is.

2) I tend to have the laptop on relatively soft surfaces, such as carpet and couches, but I tend to avoid beds. I'm aware is not good for ventilation, but tend not to have much of a choice as many of the hard surfaces scare me more than the soft surfaces.

3) Mostly, it happens when I'm just typing in word or using Google chrome, but I've usually been at for some time when it finally happens. Also, another important point is that my laptop has become the main computer for the house due to the age of the desktop downstairs, so everyone wants to use my laptop for every little thing, so that's probably a nasty addition to the problem.

4) The only pet in my house anymore is a turtle, but up to august, we had a dog.

5) No one smokes.

Another point I should add is that the laptop will be a year old soon.
I hope this is enough information

GPFontaine wrote:

Before we begin, you should read this: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(10)02689-0/abstract

The link doesn't work, but I can assume that's it's some sort of study on how the heat produced by laptops causes decreased sperm count. I'm many levels of stupid my friend, but I'm not quite at the level of stupid to put a HOT object, perhaps burningly so, anywhere near my crotch, if not for protecting my reproductive genetic material then to keep third degree burns away from that part of my body. I like to keep at least a two (2) feet distance between my crotch and my laptop for the above stated reasons.

But to get back on topic, thank you for the advice and the suggested pads. I'll be trying them out here soon enough.

Greg the White wrote:

What type of antivirus do you have on it? I have a Toshiba satellite, and it used to shutdown all of the time for no reason (would just instantly turn off). I found out that it was the free version of McAfee that came with the computer that was doing it. I uninstalled McAfee, then installed Avast! and haven't had the problem again in about three years.

Ah, this was the question I was afraid of seeing because of the ridicule I will get for the answer. I'm using Norton antivirus (I know, I know), but don't have much choice about it for another three months. When this time is up, I will again impress upon my male parental unit to get Avast!, which he actually wanted but didn't like having to pay over the internet to get.