Keeping your computer cool during hot summer days can be hard, even when you’re inside. When computers do overheat, it can often lead to bigger problems down the road. Check out the tips below to help your computer cool down and save yourself a headache!

1. Air Flow

Computers need room to breathe! Whether you’re using a desktop or laptop, make sure your computer isn’t surrounded by objects that may prevent them from getting air. Anything right up against a computer can keep it from getting enough air, which is when the fans start to rev up and your computer is at risk for overheating.

For desktops, you might want to consider moving them out any enclosed cabinets, or at least open the cabinet door to allow some air circulation. And even though working on your couch with your laptop ontop of the blanket may be comfortable, it’s one of the leading causes of overheating. Try to put your laptop on a hard surface, like a coffee table or desk, when you’re using it to help air flow! There are even portable options available, like this lap desk – check it out by clicking here!

2. Dust and Debris

If you don’t dust out your computer occassionally, there’s a good chance that could be contributing to the computer overheating. Canned air or even using an air compressor are both great options for regularing maintaining your computers. Simply blow the air into vents on the computer — you can sometimes see dust come flying out of the other vents! Be careful not to stick anything inside the computer and always wear breathing protection to ensure you don’t accidentally inhale whatever debris just came out of your computer. 

3. Overworking 

Computers need breaks too! Working on them constantly with large, powerful programs running will undoubtedly take a toll on your device. Be sure to give it a second to catch up with you every so often. It’s easy to get frustrated with computers for getting louder, increasingly slow, and hot to the touch. Those can all be signs of overworking your computer, which often leads to overheating and crashing. So take a second, grab a cup of coffee, and take a break with your computer. You deserve it! 

4. Restart

If you’ve tried dusting out your computer, allowing it to breathe and take a break, but you’re still having issues, try restarting your computer. This step is often overlooked but you’d be surprised how frequently it resolves issues you may be having. Of course, save all of your work ahead of time so you don’t lose it! When you power it back on, you should see performance improvements. 

5. Hardware Failure

If you’ve tried all of the tips listed above and you’re still seeing major overheating issues, it might be time to consider the option of hardware failure. The most common culprit is a failing fan, though sometimes it can be other components. That’s when we need the computer here in our shop to test and diagnose it.