i have a just over 1 year old Dell inspiron 1525 which is beginning to play up.

A few months ago the laptop was overheating and switching itself off. I purchased a usb fan cooler and this appeared to do the job until recently.

The charger stopped working and when i felt it it was very hot.

I bought a replacement charger and this overheated and stopped working after about a week!

I plugged a colleagues charger in and the light on the charger switched off when it was plugged in.

Does anybody have an idea of what the problem might be and how easy it is to have rectified.

Lee C, October 2009

The overheating laptop is probably a bung of dust between the fan and the processor heatsink. Easily fixed.

Just remove the bottom pannel, undo the 5 screws that hold the heat sink on and lift it out.

Blow out any dust in the radiator BUT the main problem will be fans exit, I bet it's blocked with a bung of dust. Pull all the dust out.

The re-assemble and enjoy your new, cool, laptop.

Paul

Paul Millen, February 2010