Powerbook heat problems

It's not normal for the 12" powerbook for sure; I almost never hear the fan. It would be great if we could get some actual values, try installing a temp monitor.

ricebag said:

Hi all, my Powerbook G4 1.33 with 1.25 Gb ram is running really hot. I know this is common. However, even with Energy Saver preferences turned down (Put hard disk to sleep whenever possible and Processor speed on *reduced*) and with minimal usage (Word, Mail - and I've checked, the CPU is only under normal load, mostly around 15-30%) the fans turn on within about 5 minutes, and just get louder from there. This is a two-year-old (almost) computer, and I've never had it this bad. I've checked the forums and they're all people saying that heat is normal for a powerbook, which I realize, but I really don't think it should be this bad.

Could a vent be blocked or something? If so, what should I take apart or do?
Thanks very much in advance.

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Do you have apple care? I sounds like your thermsat gone, are the fans comming on.

Don't forget it's summer mate, just generally higher temps within a house will make your computer to run hotter etc. But still get it checked out

Much cooler than the 12" is; that's perfectly normal other than the fans.

My 12" PowerBook with the same specs as the original poster's is having the same problem. I realize it's summer now (and one of the hotter ones at that), and it could be running hotter because of that, but this is ridiculous.

The lower left area, right below the keyboard, is so hot that I've actually taken the preposterous step of pasting a stack of paper cut to size on the case, on the left "rectangle" between the edge and the trackpad, as a pad of sorts to spare my poor palms.

I push my computer hard around 8-10 hours a day and my hands are getting roasted. Even if this is within Apple's specifications, it's still unacceptable.

I had the same issue about 6 months ago. I removed some of the photos I had saved on my DESKTOP and it did the trick (just drag the icon into the trash or move it somewhere else I suppose). I think the rational was that one of my photos was corrupt or something. Sounds strange but it worked for me.

Good Luck.

If that is hot then my computer must be ready to ignite.

My computer runs at I dont 55 C most of the time. aka 130 F.

Another powerbook here

The temperatures that you mention are identical to the readout I get with istat and all that I'm doing right now is browsing. I have a Powerbook 17inch at 1.5Ghz. The area that you refer to seems to be where the harddrive is for what its worth, This isn't where heat tends to collect on mine. That occurs between the screen and keyboard and under heavy use this area becomes almost burning temperature. I haven't been worried really as it does cool down when I ease my use, these temperatures seem to be very normal. If you rest your hand on your the hardrive area of a laptop and this has happened for me, you can build quite a lot of heat up in the metal (laptop harddrives have no cooling system the fans are meant for the processor). If you just allow a little lift in your hand that will allow airing of the area, anything that you stuck on the laptop will make temperatures worse.

If it makes you feel any better (it does me), the new macbooks are running at 20C higher temperatures at the moment according to other discussions.

Hmmm I like the heat its good for the lap and you blitz through work fast!

bwanac said:

If that is hot then my computer must be ready to ignite.

My computer runs at I dont 55 C most of the time. aka 130 F.

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Since Ive gotten a new battery (recall) and now that it is probably only 70 in my room, instead of 90, my powerbook has cooled down by about 15 C. So much better to use!