Toshiba Satellite - Problem with the cooling system?

[Observing Trifles]

I received a popup while I was browsing the internet today saying that my computer had detected a problem in the cooling system, and that I should shut it down immediately. At the time, my CPU usage was fairly low (I was only running Google Chrome for E). RealTemp tells me that the CPU temperature was about 49C. The Toshiba Health Monitor says that the CPU temp was at about 48% and the fan speed averages about 70%.

I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. :( This is a fairly new laptop, no viruses, and it doesn't get pushed very hard in terms of performance. That popup is really worrying me, though. It's still covered under warranty if it needs repairs, but I'm wondering if this is something I should be pulling my hair out over.

[Finothing]

o dear.
check to see the source of the pop-up firstly. if it is from anywhere besides a software on your computer just forget all about it. some companies will send internet pop-ups like that basically so you will buy their software to "fix" the problem. i only know because my parents have fallen for it several times.
however, if it is a report from a software that you have on your computer then maybe look into it. though i've honestly never heard of that specific problem before and i had a Toshiba for a loooooong time. it got so old it basically died and that was never one of the problems.
do you have a software programmed to warn you about such things? i would take a look at all the maintenance software you have on your computer, anything that is programmed to warn you about bad performance or whatever, and see if that's where the pop-up came from. if not (and especially if it was just from the internet) don't worry yourself about it! also there are plenty others on here that are more computer-savvy than i but, like i said, i was a toshiba owner for years and i've seen my parents go thru this worry before too!
<3 Fi

[Observing Trifles]

I think the message did originate from my computer rather than an internet source. But it seems to be working alright for the moment. CPU usage is minimal, fan speed is normal, temp is fairly cool... I can probably have it looked at just in case, but I think it might just be an annoying fan issue rather than a dire hardware problem.

[Finothing]

yeah computers are like cars. we depend on them so much but they're so freakin' intricate it's amazing they work at all 

[Oniya]

I had to do the math - 49C is pretty dang hot!  I'm guessing that RealTemp is something you installed yourself as a trusted diagnostic program?

[Observing Trifles]

Yeah, I found RealTemp a while back when my old laptop was running hot and I wanted to know exactly how hot it was. It's fairly accurate. From what I understand, 40-50C is about normal, depending on how many processes are running. It's idling at about 40C right now. I'm not a computer expert, though, so I could be wrong about what the normal idling temp is.

I bought an external cooling pad for my laptop tonight, so here's hoping that that'll help a little.

[Izu]

60+ C is the real danger for computers. My old laptop used to get up to 80C xD but it was because the fan was not working properly.

Still, even when my laptop has been running dangerously hot and dangerously high - CPU 90-100% I've never got pop-ups says that - the laptop just switches off on its own if it has reached a too high temperature. So I'd vote for a site's pop-up. There are some really realistic ones that look like it comes from the Windows, but it's not.

You can try running some diagnostics to check if everything is running properly.

[Observing Trifles]

You might be right, Izu. It never shut off on its own, and it wasn't anywhere near that hot when I received the popup, so I'm hoping it's nothing. Thanks, dear. I'll just keep an eye on it and run some diagnostics when I have time tomorrow. :)

[Izu]

*nods and hugs* And run the antivirus program, just in case ;]

[Oniya]

One thing you can do until the cooling pad arrives is ensure that there's air circulation around the computer.  Don't use it on soft surfaces, and if you can, use a couple of rubber block erasers (non-slip) to prop up the back edge when it's on a hard surface.

[Nessy]

HWMonitor is a pretty good program to keep track of your temps, not just CPU. "Normal" temps are also pretty specific to a CPU line/model too in an addition to CPU load. I would think Toshiba's warning pop-up wouldn't look anything like a pop-up from the internet as well. Anyway if you run HW Monitor, it will keep track of your min and max so when you go from low load to heavy usage you should see the difference.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
You can also pick it up from CNET.

[setphaserstofun]

I'm always dubious about any software that reports problems, back to basics; does the laptop actually feel hot?

If you can hear the fans spinning and can hold your skin against the laptop without yelping in pain then it's a good sign.

If you're still worried then call up Toshiba support and ask for their opinion. If it's under warranty, and you said it is, then they'll take it back and check it if need be. Any over heating laptops I've supported as part of my day job have always been taken seriously and dealt with by the respective manufacturers responsibly - if there's a health/safety risk then they'll always check it.

[Oniya]

Alternatively, they make these little thermometer strips - should be able to get them in the health care aisle.  They're used to check temps on children who might be too young for an oral thermometer (and too squirmy for the other kind).  They also make them for aquariums, so check the pet stores.  It would probably be a cheap way of confirming what the software is telling you.

[Vekseid]

I received a popup while I was browsing the internet today saying that my computer had detected a problem in the cooling system, and that I should shut it down immediately. At the time, my CPU usage was fairly low (I was only running Google Chrome for E). RealTemp tells me that the CPU temperature was about 49C. The Toshiba Health Monitor says that the CPU temp was at about 48% and the fan speed averages about 70%.

I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. :( This is a fairly new laptop, no viruses, and it doesn't get pushed very hard in terms of performance. That popup is really worrying me, though. It's still covered under warranty if it needs repairs, but I'm wondering if this is something I should be pulling my hair out over.

It might have just been where you had your laptop. Was it on your bed or otherwise blocking the exhaust in some way?

Different CPUs start getting damaged at different temps. Some are rated in the 80C range. The lowest I know of is 55C, at least for personal computers. But 60-65C is typical as Izu said. And this is the degradation point - if you keep running it at that level it will cause damage (and most laptops auto-shutdown). The actual kill point is 10C higher.

[Oniya]

That's really interesting to know.  I look at something that equates to summer in Texas (120F) and it looks alarming.  55C comes to 131F and 80C is a scary 176F