Ever had an experience where you picked your laptop up and were surprised by how hot it was? It is completely understandable if it made you panic and scramble for ways to cool down your overheating laptop. 

A lot of people do not really understand why a laptop heats up and how to control the overheating before it can lead to even worse problems. 

If you are one of these people, keep reading. We've got a quick guide that can help you understand why your laptop heats up, what signs of overheating you have to look out for, and how to keep your laptop from heating up.

Why Does a Laptop Overheat? 

Let's start with the reason behind why a laptop overheats, to begin with. According to an article by Asurion, why a laptop heats up has a lot to do with its size. 

Per the article, "laptops are compact and have little space for all their components. So when you try and complete tasks that require a lot of computing power-such as loading a video game or streaming TV shows-the temperature of your device can rise significantly."

Other causes for overheating provided by Asurion in its article include the blocking of air vents, problems with the internal hardware, the fan being covered by dust, dirt, and other particles. 

An overheating laptop has risks both to you and its components as well. An overheating laptop can actually burn you, according to an article by Lifewire. It can also lead to the hardware components of your laptop, such as the motherboard and hard drives, failing. 

Related Article: Laptop Battery Myths Debunked: Disconnecting After a Full Charge, Overcharging, and More

Signs of an Overheating Laptop

There are actually a couple of signs that point to your laptop overheating. One of the most distinct and obvious signs is when certain parts of the laptop, like where the battery and RAM are, feel hot to the touch. 

Another distinct sign is when the fan of your laptop "is constantly running and making loud whirring noises," per Lifewire. 

An overheating laptop will also have difficulty performing basic tasks, flashes the dreaded blue screen, or can even shut down without warning. Applications can also suddenly freeze up, and error messages can appear when your laptop is overheating.

How to Keep Your Laptop From Overheating

An overheating laptop is a problem that can be easily avoided by not doing things that can destroy your laptop. 

One of the things you can do to keep your laptop from heating up is to make sure that the laptop's vents are clean and free from anything that can cause blockage. 

Another thing you can do to keep your laptop from heating up is to make sure that your laptop's fan and vents are clean. Not only is it something that you should do to spare you the headache of an overheating laptop, it is also a very sanitary thing to do. 

You should also avoid using applications and programs that "push your computer's CPU limits," according to the article by Asurion. 

"If your computer is frequently running programs that use a lot of CPU, its internal components will be forced to work in overdrive and it will begin to overheat," the article explains. 

You can also opt to use a cooling pad for your laptop to help keep it from overheating. 

Also Read: Top 5 Best Rated Amazon Laptop Cooling Pads and External Fans

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isabella James