Duke has a problem with his Windows 10 computer, which is restarting suddenly out of nowhere after about 10 minutes. Leo says that processors heat up really quickly, and if the thermal paste that ties the fan to the processor has dried up, it can easily start to overheat within a few minutes. There's software that can help show you if the processor is overheating. HWMonitor is the one to get.
Jeanette bought an Asus ROG Laptop and it runs really, REALLY hot. Leo says that sounds like a defect. Although gaming laptops run a bit warm, they shouldn't run hot. Leo advises returning it and to have them check to see if there's a defective fan or a problem with cooling. Leo suspects the GPU is overheating, and that could mean poor thermal paste adhesion or a faulty fan. Also, make sure it's got free-flowing airflow. Maybe get a laptop stand to elevate it.
Alex has been clocking his DD4 RAM to 3200 Mhz for gaming. But his games keep crashing after about 10 minutes due to memory failure. Leo says that your RAM is either overheating or is defective. Get a temperature monitor program. See how hot they are running. Alex is also saying that at 3000 Mhz, he gets no crashing at all. That leaves Leo to wonder if the power supply is getting flakey.
Steve has a DOCSIS 3.1 modem and wants to know if there's anything faster. Leo says that DOCSIS 3.1 can handle up to 1GB down and DOCSIS 3.2 is coming. Should it run hot? Leo says no. If it's too hot to touch, that's a problem and could indicate the modem may be wearing out faster. But cable modems don't wear out as fast as your router does, so you may need a new router. But the main reason to update a router is to get a more secure system. Most consumer routers don't get updated and have unpatched vulnerabilities.
Look for a router that will offer automatic firmware updates.
Chrissy has an iPhone 6, and she had to replace the screen twice. She's also suffering from overheating with her car navigation, and her calendar keeps erasing. Leo says it may be a good idea to reset your phone to factory defaults and starting from scratch. It'll erase the storage memory and reinstall the iOS. But back it up first. Then use it for a few days before you restore your backup. As for overheating, that may be your case. Try doing the car Nav without the case on and see if it overheats. If not, then it's time to get a new case.
Chuck is using Firefox and recently he's been getting error messages. Leo says that may be due to keeping a lot of tabs open. Should he go back to Safari? Leo says that it's about as good, privacy-wise, as Firefox. But for search, he's currently using StartPage.com for searching anonymously. Use that, and it's just as private as Firefox.
Larry is having issues with his Windows 10 machine restarting. It physically shuts down and restarts. Leo says he has a hunch that the power supply is failing and it is causing a restart. It's definitely not a software issue. It may also be heat-related. If it happens under "load," and your fans aren't moving air enough, that could be it. Heat can also be caused if your computer's insides are blanketed with dust. That can cause the computer to overheat as well.
But the likely culprit is the power supply.
Matt's 4K Apple TV runs for an hour and then shuts down. Leo says that it's possible that the TV is overheating and it shuts down as a protective measure. So Matt should make sure there's plenty of airflow. He can also use canned air to blow out any dust accumulation. There could also be a memory leak that's causing it to crash. Leo really recommends making a Genius Bar appointment at the Apple store to tell them it's overheating after an hour. Since it's still under warranty, they could just give him another one.
Steve has an LG Stylo 2 and he's starting to lose his GPS lock. His Bluetooth also comes and goes. Leo says the Stylo has a weak antenna. That could mean a failing antenna or faulty GPS chip. This could be caused by heat too. That's the likely culprit because when the phone overheats, it's going to protect everything by shutting it off. Leo also thinks that the phone has just worn out and it's time to get a new one.
Bob is having problems with his computer becoming unresponsive. It suddenly freezes up until he reboots it. Leo says that it may not be crashing for freezing at all. It may be an unresponsive mouse or keyboard. If the clock continues ticking, then it hasn't crashed. But if the clock is stuck, then the processor has halted. Even then, the processor may just be busy and he may just have to wait. He'll want to be sure it's really halted, though. If he reboots the computer in the middle of reindexing the hard drive, it could corrupt his drive.
