Powerbook overheating

Yeah, you had five Powerbooks since 2004 and I am the King of America. Another cult member

Please stop posting if this the type of "contribution" you have to offer the rest of the users here.

I too have a 17" (first generation-1GHz) with overheating. It used to get pretty hot before, but not as hot as it does lately. I am using it with a new battery now, and wonder if that is the problem. It gets so hot the computer freezes up (ha ha...) Usually it's the typical overheated video card lock-up. I'm pretty sure what is overheating is the battery, as the battery itself is the hottest part. I can't touch it without burning myself (and by burn, I don't mean it just feels really hot, I mean it can leave a burn mark on my skin that lasts hours). I have this problem even though I have my computer on a stand that lets air circulate underneath it. The thing is, I don't think the fans come on as they should. They do when I run a hardware test, but I don't hear them during normal use. Some people complain about the loud fan, I WISH I could get be hearing that sound. I have to put my whole computer on top of a tilting room fan for a few minutes to get the temperature down enough to be able to use it again. It used to get uncomfortably hot with my old battery (which incidentally died after 1 1/2 years of very careful use--not a decent life for a battery if you ask me), but nothing like the raging temps it gets now. Unfortunately the first gen 17" don't have heat sensors for the battery itself.

So, today I got a recall notice for the battery in my 15"--and that one runs nowhere near as hot!!! I too think that Apple should seriously look into replacing 17" batteries. However, I doubt they'll go to that expense until they are forced to. They just don't care about their customers the way the used to. I'm sorry to say that after being a mac fan since 1988, but it's true. I just don't feel the love the way I used to. sigh

I've noticed mine runs warm when I am backing up or copying large amounts of data, or running big apps like photoshop and aperture together.

I have a cooling pad, used one for a while now. The one I liked best was the one I used to have which took a usb jack and, but had an adapter on it so you didn't lose a jack. I have to buy a new on in a pinch and didn't have a choice. In warmer weather, I have a fan lightly blowing on my external drives and computer. Also keeps me awake! ;-D

🙂 Sharon

I've been monitoring my temperature, and it does appear that the battery is the main culprit in the overheating. For example, the processor bottomside sensor reads 140-142˚F while using the battery, and then drops to 128-132˚F if I remove the battery (same programs, same activity). The strange thing is that even over 140˚F the fans don't come on at all! 0rpm. And yet they work when I run a hardware test. sigh