Steps to control the temperature of a dell Inspiron laptop

I suggest running Dell diagnostics; they often include a thermal test that may help let you know if the system is getting too warm.  

If you haven’t already done so, try a can of compressed air and fully clean the fan ports out. If you have already opened the chassis, check and make sure that there isn’t any dust or debris caked on the heat sink / processor.  Once cleaned out verify if any cooling fans are functional.

Try these basic steps first before considering replacing any parts, it can save you time and money.

 

TB

Alright will try this out over the weekend. One more item which I observed. I have dual core 1.66Ghz CPU. However in the system properties the CPU core speeds is listed as 1.66Ghz and 996 MHz. Previously it used to be listed as 1.66Ghz speed for both the cores. Can this throttling be due to excess of heat buildup too? -------------------------- Have a great day.

I would check what your power settings are.  Go into windows, control panel, power options, power plans and choose "High Performance" (you may have to click on advanced to be able to select high performance). Make sure that you have the Ac adapter connected and then see if you are still getting different readings on the cores. 

With the system being as old as it is, clean out any dust and debris from the systems vents and I think that you will notice a big difference. After that, run diagnostics and see if you get any type of thermal warnings and then you can make a choice to replace the fan and clean up the processor or not. 

TB

Ran dell diagnostics, the one which comes as a part of the laptop, and no errors reported. In fact there were two problems with the dell diagnostics. One it passed my optical drive, but my optical drive is not working. Second there was no Thermal test that I could identify in the entire diagnostics. What I did was that I ran Core Temp in logging mode over a period of 6 hours or so. Over this period I observed that once the temperature increases to or crosses 60 degrees centigrade the CPU throttles. I mean all the cores of the CPU throttle. The max temperature that was seen was 65 degrees centigrade. I can hear the fan running. So it is not the case of the fan not running. Any suggestions guys? ------------------------------------------- Have a nice day

I take it that the system is getting hotter quicker now, or are you noticing this behavior still after six hours of use? Clean up the vents on the system, and if you open the chassis make sure all the debris is cleaned off and you may find a big difference. If you are still finding that the notebook is getting too hot you can make your decision then about the processor. 

TB

Yes the system is getting hotter quicker now. The only way for it to start operating optimally is for it to be shut down allowed it to be cooled, then reboot the laptop again. 

Today I disassembled the laptop. There was next to nothing in the form or debris or accumulated dust. What I have not done is unseat the heat sink and then apply the thermal paste. Planning to do that in the coming days when I get my thermal paste delivered by amazon.

I was just wondering do Dell laptops have active Thermoelectric cooling using Peltier cooling pads?

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Have a great day.