Hot Computer

For some time now I’ve been having trouble with my laptop. “Some time” probably means months rather than weeks, but it might even be a year. The primary symptom is that it gets really slooooow. There are so many links in the chain that it’s hard to say if the computer is slow or the internet is slow, but it has gotten to be a real hassle.

I tried running the Malwarebytes virus scan, and I tried doing the defrag analysis, and neither of those came up with anything. Now, I know I have a very messy system. I have no less than 3 pieces of anti-virus software in various stages of operability, and 2 different VPN products, neither of which actually work, as well as the usual complement of apps for printers, cameras, iPods, and the like (some of which I no longer actually have, but the supporting software is still there), so a reasonable person could be led to believe that I needed to just start over. This idea was strengthened by the fact that the computer seems to run fine when you first turn it on, but gets worse as you use it.

Now, you have probably figured it out by now, but for me it took the Red Alert before the light bulb came on over my head. That is, the computer would occasionally just shut down. No warning, no chance to “save your work,” nothing, just typing along or playing Text Twist 2 or whatever, and bang, computer turns off.

So, the other day, I finally put some of these pieces together, and suggested to Patti that I thought the computer was simply overheating. We normally have it just sitting on a wooden desk, and we know from the times we use it as a true “lap top” that it puts out a lot of heat.

Patti’s suggestion was immediate and brilliant (I’m so glad she married me); she handed me a wooden rack from the bottom of a breadbox. It’s made of wooden pieces about one half inch square, so it holds the computer about an inch off the desk surface, providing air flow underneath, and probably better airflow around the back.

The result: so far, so good. It’s only been a couple days, but no spontaneous shutdowns and no noticeable degradation in performance with continued use. Time will tell, but for now I’m taking myself back out of the new computer market.

Stay cool!