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I replaced my hard drive and now my computer keeps running hotter

umbrellabeach said:
That's great! I'm usually very unlucky when it comes to computer problems. As I said before, my laptop did not come with a CD for installing Windows 7; I only got the laptop, battery, power cord and paper, nothing else, so I will probably have to consult an expert for that (or buy it myself for about $100 :confused: ). And actually, ever since I put this hard drive in, every time the computer goes to sleep and wakes back up, a window pops up telling me that the Windows 7 activation key is invalid and I need to re-activate it. Today it told me to update it within 0 days if I want to keep using it. :oops: I wonder if that means it won't work tomorrow when I boot it back up, but there are other computers in the house I can use until I get this one all sorted out.
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Oh yeah, if the activation prompts came up, the O/S is toast. You'll need to purchase a new full copy of Windows 7 64-bit and then load those free Sony drivers.

The only time I ever circumvented that function was on Windows XP, having installed it originally on an almost identical computer I built. When I moved one drive to another computer it continued to update. But I suspect the sensitivity of the activation process has tightened up considerably over the years. It used to allow no more than I think three hardware changes. Any more than that and the activation function would cease to work. But switching to a whole new (and physically different) computer....nada.

You can reinstall the O/S as many times as you want, but only as long as it's the same Windows Installation Disk on only that one specific computer. One thing for sure, I'd never buy a computer that didn't have separate restore or O/S and motherboard disks. Having such critically required software permanently on a hidden partition of the hard drive is nuts IMO. The obvious concern being what if the hard drive completely fails? Yet manufacturers do this anyways, no doubt to control costs.
 
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Yeah, you make some good points. I didn't consider the separate disk thing when I bought my computer (only that it was the kind I wanted and at a good price), but I will in the future.
I've been a bit doubtful about buying a separate one because it costs so much, and you can only install it on one computer, and what if something else happens to mine, like how the graphics card in my last one died a month after replacing the hard drive? (Even though my current one is only a year old.) However, Amazon is selling Windows 7 for $95, and I've been saving my SwagBucks for a while so that now I have enough to get $65 in Amazon gift cards, lowering my price to $30, maybe even $25 since I earn SB every day. That's a pretty good deal.
 
umbrellabeach said:
Yeah, you make some good points. I didn't consider the separate disk thing when I bought my computer (only that it was the kind I wanted and at a good price), but I will in the future.
I've been a bit doubtful about buying a separate one because it costs so much, and you can only install it on one computer, and what if something else happens to mine, like how the graphics card in my last one died a month after replacing the hard drive? (Even though my current one is only a year old.) However, Amazon is selling Windows 7 for $95, and I've been saving my SwagBucks for a while so that now I have enough to get $65 in Amazon gift cards, lowering my price to $30, maybe even $25 since I earn SB every day. That's a pretty good deal.
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Most people don't make such considerations when buying a computer. They just assume the manufacturer has it all under control! They should, but they don't... :eek:

Buy it (Windows 7 64-bit) while you can. But once you have that disk, it's insurance. It's good though that in most cases motherboard or computer manufacturers do offer their motherboard/BIOS software for free off the Internet. Just be sure to download all those Sony drivers before you load the Windows 7 OS back onto your Sony laptop.

Unfortunately as long as anyone sticks with Windows, they're stuck with this Microsoft proprietary notion of one O/S disk per one computer.
 
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Yeah, I think that's a stupid rule. But I'll take extra good care of my laptop once I have it working properly so I can use it for the longest time possible.
 
My last gift card finally came in last night, so I finally ordered Win 7. I forgot that Amazon charges tax now so it cost me $21 instead of $15. But that's still a really good price; it would have been about $100 otherwise. I should have it within a week. I'm almost done downloading all the drivers.
Thank goodness for flash drives. I love flash drives so much. <3 And I'm really glad I bought a higher-capacity one last summer.
 
One (probably very noobish) question: When I format the hard drive, do I just go to Computer, right-click on Local Disk (C: ) and click Format? Or is it better to do something a bit more complicated?
 
umbrellabeach said:
One (probably very noobish) question: When I format the hard drive, do I just go to Computer, right-click on Local Disk (C: ) and click Format? Or is it better to do something a bit more complicated?
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Use the Windows 7 installation/boot CD you purchased, that will allow you to format the drive before you install the OS. It's pretty straight forward, allowing you to choose what kind of partitioning you want based on the total disk capacity. I liked it, as normally I'd be using third-party boot disks like Maxtor's Maxblast. Not as elegant or simple as I found the Windows 7 installation disk.

On a large hard drive it's always better to create multiple partitions-drives C,D,E,F, etc.. Faster to defrag and maintain, with only your OS and laptop software exclusively on the "C" partition with all other software on other partitions of your choice. If you run into problems, it's probably best to go Microsoft's website for troubleshooting tips.

You can see examples of the installation disk's format and partition features here:

How To Format C Drive (5 Easy & Completely Free Ways)
 
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Thanks for the link and thank you SO MUCH for ALL your advice. :) It really came in handy. The Win 7 disc came today so I spent a few hours working on my computer. The hard drive has been formatted and the OS and drivers installed. I tried saving a few picture files and it didn't heat up. :D The computer seems less glitchy overall now. Facebook is faster. I'll experiment some more on other sites I regularly visit.
Actually, I saved the first picture file just before being called down to dinner, so I didn't have a lot of time to watch the temperature. When I came back up after about 25 minutes my computer's display had turned off, so I shook the mouse, and then RealTemp said the computer was running hot, up to 90C, though it was cooling back down quickly. I was upset because I thought it had just waited a while to heat up, but a little later I saved another picture file just to be sure that was what had caused the heat, but this time (and several times after) it didn't do anything. So if it wasn't the picture that caused the heat, I wonder what was. The machine wasn't doing anything.
I've noticed that during normal use such as web browsing, the temperature goes up a little from its formerly normal 40-50 range to a 50-60 range. But the temperature stays pretty stable and pictures don't spike it to 90, so it's good enough for me. :) Finally I can resume my normal computer activities. Thank you!
 
As a side note, if you can afford it, solid state hard drives have come down alot in price, and are not only silent because of no moving parts but nearly heatless as well. Their power use is negligable compared to spinning discs as is their heat. They still cost a good deal more then moving part drives but are also a great deal faster in read and write speed on top of low heat and power usage.
 
umbrellabeach said:
Thanks for the link and thank you SO MUCH for ALL your advice. :) It really came in handy. The Win 7 disc came today so I spent a few hours working on my computer. The hard drive has been formatted and the OS and drivers installed. I tried saving a few picture files and it didn't heat up. :D The computer seems less glitchy overall now. Facebook is faster. I'll experiment some more on other sites I regularly visit.
Actually, I saved the first picture file just before being called down to dinner, so I didn't have a lot of time to watch the temperature. When I came back up after about 25 minutes my computer's display had turned off, so I shook the mouse, and then RealTemp said the computer was running hot, up to 90C, though it was cooling back down quickly. I was upset because I thought it had just waited a while to heat up, but a little later I saved another picture file just to be sure that was what had caused the heat, but this time (and several times after) it didn't do anything. So if it wasn't the picture that caused the heat, I wonder what was. The machine wasn't doing anything.
I've noticed that during normal use such as web browsing, the temperature goes up a little from its formerly normal 40-50 range to a 50-60 range. But the temperature stays pretty stable and pictures don't spike it to 90, so it's good enough for me. :) Finally I can resume my normal computer activities. Thank you!
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Thermodynamics is a big reason why I've stayed away from laptop computers. Just too many components that create a great deal of heat in a very confined space with relatively poor ventilation. Accumulations of dust and lint can easily drive up core cpu temperatures. Small wonder many of the latest laptops seem to be cloud-based without hard drives altogether, although as previously posted an SSD puts out very little heat- or noise.

Probably best to disassemble your laptop if possible to get at the CPU fan and clean it of any dust and debris. Also to check to see if your BIOS reads the proper RPM of the fan to make sure it is running as it should. (Seems Sony VAIO fans can fail and may need replacement.)

YouTube has many videos of showing how to take apart various laptop computers to clean them. But it can be an arduous job...very different from disassembling a desktop computer. Perhaps something best left to one who is experienced in such routine maintenance of laptop computers.
 
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I think my computer is okay for now. It's running a little warmer, but not much warmer, and not nearly as hot as my old HP one did. I think that one contributed to its death by frying itself over nothing.
Still, I should probably get a fresh supply of canned air.
 
umbrellabeach said:
I think my computer is okay for now. It's running a little warmer, but not much warmer, and not nearly as hot as my old HP one did. I think that one contributed to its death by frying itself over nothing.
Still, I should probably get a fresh supply of canned air.
Click to expand...

That often helps clear out the cooling fan, depends on how long you have cleaned the fan, the temperature could change to huge lot or not so much.

Sometimes, it could well be the sign that the laptop thermal paste that is in need of replacing and often that reduces the temperature quite a lot as it deals with the heat a whole lot better.

There are many tutorials on how to do that on YouTube but I would NOT recommend it if your laptop is still under warranty as doing so actually voids it.

I hope it helps?
 
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