# How do I prevent my Macbook from overheating so often? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436 "2012-04-01T03:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/1 "2012-04-01T03:10:53Z")
It’s a few years old 2.15 GHz Intel Core Due, 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM using Mac OSX version 10.6.8. It seems to overheat whenever I’m trying to do something interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/2 "2012-04-01T03:13:04Z")
My daughter’s macbook did that when the fan died. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/3 "2012-04-01T03:15:43Z")
Dead fan or vents clogged with dust. ---
**Author:** ![TurboNuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@TurboNuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TurboNuke)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/4 "2012-04-01T03:29:18Z")
Macs can have problems? 🙂 I ruined my first laptop by not cleaning the dust out of it. Get some canned air and spray into the vents against the normal flow of air (while the laptop is off). I recommend doing this once a year, twice a year if you have cats. Im not a Mac guy so Im not familiar with the fan problem. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/5 "2012-04-01T03:43:33Z")
You can also consider a laptop cooling pad like [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Ultra-Quiet-Notebook-Cooler-ZM-NC1000/dp/B000JSFT0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333251721&sr=8-1), but that’s secondary to clearing out the dust and making sure the fans are still blowing. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/6 "2012-04-01T03:49:07Z")
MacBook Pros are notorious for thigh-burning temps. Blow out the dust bunnies and make sure you don’t put it on a pillow or blanket. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/7 "2012-04-01T04:28:03Z")
Don’t know about MAC’s, but I had to replace the fan on my PC. Cost a whopping $24. Very easy to replace, but seemed daunting at the time–just buy a jeweler’s screwdriver set. On PC’s there are free app’s that you can download to monitor CPU temp. I would assume that MAC’s have similar app’s available–find one and determine what the CPU temp is when idling and when crunching at 100% CPU. If it is getting over 70\* [C] you have a fan/cooling issue. New fan dropped my PC from 80\* to 50\* when cranking at 100%. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/8 "2012-04-01T04:34:33Z")
> [@phxjcc](#): > > Don’t know about MAC’s, but I had to replace the fan on my PC. Cost a whopping $24. Very easy to replace, but seemed daunting at the time–just buy a jeweler’s screwdriver set. On PC’s there are free app’s that you can download to monitor CPU temp. I would assume that MAC’s have similar app’s available–find one and determine what the CPU temp is when idling and when crunching at 100% CPU. If it is getting over 70\* [C] you have a fan/cooling issue. New fan dropped my PC from 80\* to 50\* when cranking at 100%. Was it a desktop? Fan replacement on a MacBook laptop might not be so easy: [MacBook Pro 15" Core Duo Model A1150 Left Fan Replacement - iFixit Repair Guide](http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-Duo-Model-A1150-Left-Fan/501/1) (just an example, not necessarily the right instructions for the OP’s particular model) ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/9 "2012-04-01T04:38:26Z")
DO NOT try to take the screws out of your MacBook’s case unless you have the correct screwdriver size (a 00, I believe). I tried to do mine with a screwdriver that was the next size up, and almost all of the screws came out with no problem. But I wound up stripping the last one, and ultimately had to take it to the Apple store so they could get it out for me. (Which they did, and then I replaced the battery with no further issues, but still. Get the right size screwdriver.) This might be totally obvious to anyone with half a clue, but I wish someone had told me before I sat down to do what was supposed to be a really quick and easy battery replacement. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/10 "2012-04-01T04:44:13Z")
Correction: I was upgrading the RAM, not replacing the battery. This is what I get for late-night posting. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/11 "2012-04-01T20:08:12Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Was it a desktop? > > Fan replacement on a MacBook laptop might not be so easy: > [MacBook Pro 15" Core Duo Model A1150 Left Fan Replacement - iFixit Repair Guide](http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-Duo-Model-A1150-Left-Fan/501/1) (just an example, not necessarily the right instructions for the OP’s particular model) No, laptop. Old Dell Latitude D610. ---
**Author:** ![andyleonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@andyleonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyleonard)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/12 "2012-04-02T02:05:04Z")
Install Istat Pro into Widgets and see what the temps are actually. Then install [Download smcFanControl for Mac | MacUpdate](http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol) and cool it off. Then do all your diagnostics with Mackeeper or equivalent and blow out Safari and Firefox caches with a reset. Check Activity Monitor and find and kill any parasitic programs like HP Print Monitor that will automatically grow until the machine stops. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/13 "2012-04-02T14:40:05Z")
Get yourself a [lap desk](http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-344%7CLevel=2-3%7Cpageid=614), first of all. Then, I recommend a non-powered cooling pad that just raises the bottom of the laptop up so that air can flow all around it. I’ve used and loved [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Podium-Coolpad-Computers--Notebooks/dp/B000IGECDM/) and [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Targus-CoolPad-360-degree-Rotation-PA241U/dp/B00006LHPG/) from Targus. The pads lift the laptop to a comfortable typing angle and even allow you to rotate the laptop easily like a Lazy Susan, so you can pretend you’re Captain Picard. ---
**Author:** ![andyleonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@andyleonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyleonard)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-my-macbook-from-overheating-so-often/617436/14 "2012-04-02T16:02:16Z")
I think your machine is just new enough so you shouldn’t have this issue, but the earlier Macs have a situation where the heatsink paste loses it’s hold or something. These get really hot just above the #1 and #2 keys, right by the hinge. If it’s hotter there than anywhere else, do some Googling.