Mac Book Pro running very hot!

Well, it's pretty normal. In fact there's a warning in the User Guide about using it on your lap.

Be sure you use the computer in a well ventilated environment. Use it on a stand that elevates it off the desktop to allow better air circulation. Lower the room temperature if you can.

If you believe the computer is running abnormally then take it to an Apple service center. Unless you purchased the extended warranty your original warranty has by now expired.

There are a couple of things you could check yourself. You could run the Apple Hardware Test and see if anything shows up in the form of an error code. If so, take it to Apple.

Are your fans working normally, speeding up when the Mac gets hot?

You can also open Activity Monitor and set the top block to "All Processes". Check down the CPU column and see if any process is hogging the CPU. If so, quit it and see if this helps. A runaway process in the background can cause extra heat. I've had this happen with mine from time to time, especially with printer processes.

You could also use iStatPro to post some actual temperatures, which might help determine if it is just running normally hot or excessively hot. And there does have to be good air circulation or the heat can build up very quickly.

Good luck!

The word 'Laptop' has been discontinued with major companies, if not all. The reason is that a customer purchased a 'laptop' a few years back now, and it got very hot and actually burnt her legs, she sued the company, because the product that was sold to her, was to be used on your lap. So now laptops are being renamed to notebooks or portable pcs, etc.

Unfortunately, its the nature of notebooks to become very hot.

My MBP purchased in Jan '07 (thus not much newer than yours) also gets rather hot if I just sit it on my lap. It's fine if I have it sitting in such a way that air can flow freely underneath.

If you do sit it on your lap, maybe make sure you're keeping your knees apart a bit so air can get up underneath the computer. Try not to let it get so hot its uncomfortable to the touch...not good. 😉

it seems that all of the Intel machines run a lot hotter than the previous Power PC machines. Remember that one of the reasons apple switched to Intel chips was that Power PC chips could not deal with the heat at higher speeds. I use SMC Fan Control. It helps since my machine does get way too hot when doing a lot of the audio work that I do. It helps, it just runs on the menu bar and shows the temp and the speed of the fans, plus you can control how fast the fans run so that you can cool it if you would like to.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049

I've had the same problem with mine. Like the previous posters have said, Laptops aren't very lap-friendly, and will warm up- something that can actually be very nice on cold days!

One thing that will help it run at somewhat lower temperature is clear vents. The main venting for the MacBook Pro appears to be in the back, inside and under the hinge of the screen. If this has gotten dust in it, your PowerBook will run very hot. Get a 'Can Of Air' and carefully clean any openings in your computer, tilting it gently at angles to be thorough enough. (Do this a few inches over a soft bed in case you should drop the PowerBook!) Clean it like this at least once a month or so when you wipe the casing and keyboard off and do other maintenance. Should help!

SMC Fan control definitely helps, but it may reduce your fan life. I keep mine at around 2600 for regular idle. This keeps my machine at around 43C.