My son is having a problem with his laptop, which I have asked him to describe, below. Any advice or help that you might offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Don

Here is the problem I'm having with my laptop.

First, some specs:

Dell Inspiron 5160
Windows XP Pro 2002 w/ SP2
Mobile Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.8GHz, 512MB of RAM

I frequently run with the Windows Task Manager window open to keep an eye on CPU usage and running processes, as I tend to get over-ambitious with my multi-tasking from time to time.

The problem that I've noticed over the last few months is a drastic increase in the running temperature of the physical computer. I used to frequently sit on the couch with the computer on my lap or on the couch next to me, and at those times, I knew that obstructing the air circulation fan on the bottom of the machine would cause a rise in temperature, but nothing drastic. Also, the running of the fan was directly related to processor usage. If I was working on an Excel or Word document (relatively little CPU usage) the fan would remain off, and the computer would run virtually silently. If I was multi-tasking, playing a video and surfing 5 web browsers, the CPU usage would rise, and the fan would come on for a period of time.

Now, the fan runs 100% all the time, and regardless of what surface I have the computer sitting on (fan obstruction or not), the machine is physically hot. Untouchable on the bottom of the machine, and uncomfortable to rest your hands on the keyboard for a long period of time (two breaks so far in this post). Along with this, I've noticed a drastic increase in CPU usage and a drop in performace, seemingly due to the higher temperatures. This is heat to the point where my stickers w/ serial numbers, etc., have been almost cooked off the bottom of the computer.

Now granted, at rest, the CPU usages drops to normal low levels (3% right now with a web browser and instant messaging program open, 433MB of PF usage) but the fan never turns off, and the machine never cools down.

For the first time ever, during a multi-tasking frenzy the other day, my computer completely shut off with no warning. When I re-booted, I recieved a message saying that my CPU was shut down due to high running temperatures to prevent hardware damage, a message I'd never seen before.

Ultimately, before I get TOO long winded, my question is this: Is my computer running hot because something is causing increased processor usage, OR am I noting a decline in processor performace because something is wrong with my temperature control causing the machine to run hot?? And what can be done to fix these problems?