Satellite X200-219 overheats while gaming and shuts down

Question

Ok I originally lived in the UK, where I bought a Toshiba X200-219.
Since then I moved to the States, and have the laptop plugged into a surge protected extension cord, attached to plug converter.
Once the warranty expired on the laptop, I upgraded to 4GB of RAM, and switched out both hard disks to Seagate 320GB 7200rpm drives.
Now ever since I moved to the States, the laptop has been overheating, more and more frequently even *before* I upgraded the components; this has usually been happening whilst gaming. I have been regularly blowing out any dust that might have settled inside the vents with compressed air
But this time it's different. I was playing Red Alert 3, and it did it 3 times. When the laptop over heats, I have to remove the power cord and then reinsert it before switching it on. Except the final time I tried that, the laptop didn't start. There are absolutely no signs of life from the thing, even after cooling down for the past 2 hours. There aren't even any lights acknowledging that the power cord is plugged in. Oh and I've replaced the fuse so it can't be that (the battery is in the back in this instance)
In the UK the laptop ran at a normal temperature. Over here it was running hot to touch, and the fan was screaming but it was manageable.
It ran even hotter on the odd game I was playing but not whilst en/decoding movies.
Please don't let this become one of *those* threads where everything fizzles out and I don't get an answer. Any ideas please?
Happy holidays folks
Aseel

Answer 1

Hi
Overheating is a serious issue because a high temperature can damage the internal parts.
The internal temperature increases to a higher level because all devices like CPU and GPU are running with high performance while gaming.
In such case the cooling module fans should rotate faster to ensure that the warm air would be blow away
In many cases the cooling modules cannot work properly because the dust and debris clog up the cooling grilles or there is not enough thermal grease between the cooling module and CPU or GPU.
Furthermore its not recommended using NON-Toshiba graphic drivers because such non Toshiba graphic drivers are not designed for the notebook usage and can lead to such overheating issues.
You should also ensure that there is enough free space around the notebook. This is important for properly fresh air circulation.
But of course an faulty cooling module could be also responsible for such overheating issues and in such case ONLY the ASP would be able to help you.
Greets