Thread: Will 6 hour slideshow damage laptop?

Could a 6 hour slideshow of pictures cause a 4 year old laptop to overheat? It will be plugged into a wall outlet for power, and there will be an external monitor.

I am thinking a desktop computer can perform this task better. Anyone experience a notebook or laptop meltdown from prolonged use?

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Originally Posted by John Kogel

Could a 6 hour slideshow of pictures cause a 4 year old laptop to overheat? It will be plugged into a wall outlet for power, and there will be an external monitor.

I am thinking a desktop computer can perform this task better. Anyone experience a notebook or laptop meltdown from prolonged use?

...........dunno about the equipment, but 6 hours of slides could be murder on the audience.....Greg

It should not be a problem after all screen savers are slides and if you leave your laptop on all day as I do it does not seem to be a problem.

One thing you may want to do is raise the laptop off the table so that air can circulate under it.

I have put felt self sticking pads on the bottom of my MacBook Pro so it helps keep the bottom cool which can become quite warm at some times.

Originally Posted by Gregory Booth

...........dunno about the equipment, but 6 hours of slides could be murder on the audience.....Greg

Good one, Greg. It's a trade show my wife talked me in to. The slides are to keep people from hanging around for too long.

Originally Posted by Raymond Wand

It should not be a problem after all screen savers are slides and if you leave your laptop on all day as I do it does not seem to be a problem.

One thing you may want to do is raise the laptop off the table so that air can circulate under it.

I have put felt self sticking pads on the bottom of my MacBook Pro so it helps keep the bottom cool which can become quite warm at some times.

Thanks, Raymond. While I often leave my laptop on, it goes into sleep mode, hibernation.

Originally Posted by John Kogel

Good one, Greg. It's a trade show my wife talked me in to. The slides are to keep people from hanging around for too long.

Thanks, Raymond. While I often leave my laptop on, it goes into sleep mode, hibernation.

You can set your notebook so it never shuts down, hibernates, goes to sleep, into standby, etc., just go to control panel, power options, and select 'never' for those things.

You could probably leave your notebook on all the time, just make sure there is plenty of ventilation, the vents are not blocked by being on a cloth table top, the fan is clear and no blockage for the air, etc.

If in doubt, place a small fan blowing fresh air in under the notebook and set the notebook up on something to raise it up by its four corners for increased air flow.

John, I have a cheap laptop cooler that I bought for about $10. It sits under the laptop, plugs into a USB port and has two small fans that keep air circulating through the bottom. Get one of those and it shouldn't be a problem.

Originally Posted by Harold Doughty

John, I have a cheap laptop cooler that I bought for about $10. It sits under the laptop, plugs into a USB port and has two small fans that keep air circulating through the bottom. Get one of those and it shouldn't be a problem.

Was going to suggest this as a solution---but Harold nailed it. Just make sure you don't put it in a cabinet. At some trade shows that I have attended I have even seen them on a box in the back of the display.

I have also seen them right out on a table where the "show" could be stopped to go to a specific section to answer a question. Good Luck.

The many comments about keeping it cool in some fashion apply but...have you actually cleaned out lately? 99% of laptop users I know never do this. You need to take some canned air and blow the dust and crap out of all the cooling vents every month or so. More often if you use it in an area where there are pets.

Dust inside is like wearing a fur coat in the summer. When laptops or any computer gets to hot, they will slow down or even BSOD or shut down.

Originally Posted by Harold Doughty

John, I have a cheap laptop cooler that I bought for about $10. It sits under the laptop, plugs into a USB port and has two small fans that keep air circulating through the bottom. Get one of those and it shouldn't be a problem.

Yep, ditto on the laptop cooling pad, plugs in and sits right under the laptop, i have one and it works great all day on the desk.

Thanks, all. Yes, Dana, good tip about dust and hair. Yes, I want the laptop on the table facing me.
My son suggested a wire cooling rack for baking and I was thinking a little fan from an old PC power supply would be cool.

I like to tinker with old junk, so I'll probably make time to make one, maybe not as sophisticated as this one, which can be had for $10.

As long as the laptop is working well and has no cooling issues, 6 hours or 60 hours should be no problem. I have used laptops as servers 24/7/365 multiple times.

Originally Posted by Jeff Bennett

As long as the laptop is working well and has no cooling issues, 6 hours or 60 hours should be no problem. I have used laptops as servers 24/7/365 multiple times.

Same here, we have in our company laptops that have been running for years 24/7 running intense applications (high CPU usage). Only problem is if they have been operating in dusty environment, the internal heat sink will slowly get clogged from all that dusty air getting passed through over the long run. But with a one time 6 hours, and slide show (ie really low cpu usage) laptop won't even break a sweat.

Originally Posted by John Kogel

Could a 6 hour slideshow of pictures cause a 4 year old laptop to overheat? It will be plugged into a wall outlet for power, and there will be an external monitor.

I am thinking a desktop computer can perform this task better. Anyone experience a notebook or laptop meltdown from prolonged use?

Check the cooling fan. make sure is working. Next if vent under the laptop were blocked because were the laptop was place. i.e on top of papers etc. That could had made the laptop overheat thus the mother board will react or even burn out. Hope this helps

The answer is most likely not. Computers have a self preservation means to prevent melt down due to over heating. The BIOS monitors the CPU temperature. It also controlls the CPU cooling fan speed. CPU's vary in temperature based on the usage at any given point in time. You can monitor that by opening the task manager and clicking on the performance tab. When the CPU is doing heavy calculations, such as it would working in a CAD program, the CPU would climb in temperature and at some point the BIOS would speed up the CPU cooling fan to compensate. If for any reason the CPU were to exceed its safe opperating temperature, The BIOS would shut the computer down before permenant dammage was done. This usually happens when the cooliong fan fails, cooling fins are dirty or blocked, or the hot air connot exit the conmputer (mainly lap tops). Running a slide show would not be considered high CPU usage and most likely would not effect CPU temperature. That being said, maintaining you computer is vital to ensure proper air flow. All the suggestions of adding an external cooling fan has its merrits provided your not blowing dusty / dirty air across the computer.

That is correct and just to add to what Mike kindly responded, CPUs (and now GPUs) have a thermostat to prevent permanent damage. When the temperature raises below a certain point, the CPU and motherboard, and therefore the whole system is powered off. This should never happen under normal conditions (even under high CPU usage). This normally happens when there is a cooling issue.

Originally Posted by Jeff Bennett

That is correct and just to add to what Mike kindly responded, CPUs (and now GPUs) have a thermostat to prevent permanent damage. When the temperature raises below a certain point, the CPU and motherboard, and therefore the whole system is powered off. This should never happen under normal conditions (even under high CPU usage). This normally happens when there is a cooling issue.

I agree with all the above post. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM!
I do a 10 hour power point for 6 to 10 days in a row, for American Home Inspectors Training Institute,(AHIT) I have done class training since 1991 with PP on a laptop and have "NEVER" experienced a failure. Yes, it is a long day to sit thru, even longer to teach, however the days fly by!!

BILL ROSS
SR. TECHNICAL TRAINER
AHIT