Pc sht down stating thermal error. suppose processr fan not working. can this be the cause of the eror?

Overheating When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermal overload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is the problem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are clogged with dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make sure the vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed air to do this.

The unit has more than one fan, but dust and such inside on a fan can cause this also, it does not take a lot on the fan blades to slow a fan down enough to trigger this kind of error.

"Computer unplugged from power, press the Power On button in, and hold it in. Hold it in for a count of 10 seconds. let go. Do this procedure two more times. (If the Power On LED lights up, do it again) What you are doing is clearing CMOS Error Codes. Check the Processor fan, check the Thermal Paste. Cheap as Thermal Paste is, and what it does for a job, best advice is to simply replace it. Need guidance post back in a Comment. Before beginning make sure the computer is unplugged from power, and you are FOLLOWING Anti-Static Precautions. Regards, joecoolvette"

Brian Packard;
"I cleared CMOS a few times (has jumper on board too) and even put new thermal grese on it....what finally did it was taking out the CMOS battery. As long as it's outl it works just fine, putting it back in causes an error again. Thank you all for your time however and I hope this post can help somebody else too."

Three causes of ovheating:
1) Dust. Dust inside the computer, Dust around the vents, fans, cpu and heat sink. Take a can of compressed air and clean the dust out of the computer.

2) A Fan not working. Make sure the fan inside the Power Supply where you plug the power cord in works. Also there is a fan that sits on top of the CPU and Heat Sink. Make sure it works. Normally the system will give you an error message if the fan is not working.

3) Thermal Paste - The Thermal Paste around the cpu and heat sink has dried up or is too thin to keep the unit cool. Apply a fresh coat of Thermal Paste on the CPU and Heat Sink.

When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermaloverload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is theproblem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make surethe vents are clear and dust free. Use a can of compressed air to do this.

A computer that shuts off unexpectedly is most of the time caused by heat. Check if the fan in the power supply is working fine by checking the back of the computer. You can take out the CPU too, clean it properly before adding a new layer of thermal paste. In this way, the heating issue will be eliminated.


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Yes, it probably is the processor over heating, the bios then shuts the system down to save the processor from damage.
The only way to cure this is by taking the heat sink and fan off the processor, wiping all the old coolent solution of the processor and fan then reapply new coolent, this should solve the shuting down issue.

This is typical of a overheating (thermal shut down) CPU problem.
When the CPU overheats and shuts down, it won't bootup again until the CPU cools down. If this is not fixed then the CPU will fail.
This problem is caused by either a faulty fan or the fan and heat assembly is clogged with dust.
Check the fan to see if it spins freely, replace if faulty and clean the dust off the fan and heatsink assembly.
Also apply fresh thermal paste to the heatsink/CPU.

Have you tried to access the self diagnosis feature to see if it will blink a two didgit error code/ Usually when a set says its going to shut down its due to the thermal fuse or the fans.

It could also be the CPU "heat sensor" causing a "thermal" shutdown.
Try a hairdryer on cold blow, and point it in where the CPU cooler is!

see does the laptop stay on longer. Thermal paste dosen't usualy "go" unless the heat sink has be detached from the CPU.

I think as you say either the fan or I think the heat sensor.