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Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

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Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#81

Post by sniglom »

I remember back when Macbooks had issues with their temperature sensor. They would die due to the sensor cable being too short and everything expanding when the laptop got hot. Apple later resolved this with a firmware update.

Anyway, I got asked if I could fix a Macbook that was turning itself off. Sure, that's probably just performing the firmware update. But when I got the Macbook, it turned off just moments after starting OSX.

I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes and tried booting it again, yup, this time it took longer before it would turn itself off. I put it back in the freezer for a few hours. Booted it, started the firmware update, praying that it wouldn't turn itself off. Everything went successful and after that the laptop worked perfectly!

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#82

Post by dmos62 »

A friend would do this with his Apple M1 laptop when we would play something online. He'd take some frozen fresh cheese out of the freezer (in a plastic bag) and put it under the laptop. Otherwise, his framerate would crater. Sometimes, in winter, he'd put a coat on, open the window, and play with the laptop on the window sill. Apple laptops tend to be slim and silent, but their thermals always seem to pay the price.

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#83

Post by madrobot »

i once repaired a macbook pro, around 2011, which didnt boot anymore with a towel, blocking the vents and constantly powering it on until, it overheated. it must have been enough to bridge a broken solder point. Took 5 Mintues. Worked for some hours to get the important client data and project files off of it.

the idea came to me after the ibook gpu problems which i repaired with a manipulated tealight (3 flames) placing on the gpu, having the ibook upside down, and also turning it on all the time (it directly went off) until it worked for ever.

i was a broke student at that time and loved McGyver growing up when i was a kid.

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#84

Post by bArray »

umarniz wrote: post #67

I grew up in a city with temp reaching 48 Celsius in the summer Of course this wasn’t very good for electronic devices and hence every console I bought died with a year of over heating. For my PS2 I managed to extend the lifetime by placing big blocks of ice in a tray underneath it and the console sitting on top on a rack to avoid contact. I had to replace the ice every hour but the system worked well enough till the…

Even with a hot ambient temperature, you can still keep your devices at a safe temperature by increasing air flow with large external fans. You need larger air flow because you'll saturate the air quicker, and you have less thermal run-off (close to max temperatures).

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#85

Post by dacryn »

dmos62 wrote: post #82

A friend would do this with his Apple M1 laptop when we would play something online. He'd take some frozen fresh cheese out of the freezer (in a plastic bag) and put it under the laptop. Otherwise, his framerate would crater. Sometimes, in winter, he'd put a coat on, open the window, and play with the laptop on the window sill. Apple laptops tend to be slim and silent, but their thermals always seem to pay the price.

so I assume he has the M1 laptop with no cooling, the basic macbook?

Because I have a M1 max macbook pro, and it never gets hot ever. It also never really makes any noise.

My main game is cities skylines and civ 6. Don't know if those are not that intense since they are quite some years old. But I dont need to resort to crazy stuff like your comment.

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#86

Post by permo-w »

chrismorgan wrote: post #51

In 2020, I was doing a lot of video encoding on my Surface Book in India in ambient temperatures in the range 25–35°C, and I found that lying its heat source down on a marble floor sped it up by 60% within a minute or so, the floor acting as a large heatsink. (I also learned that the Surface Book has a dedicated “I have shut down because I overheated and must cool down before I will start up again” screen (an illustr…

where were you working that had a marble floor?

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#87

Post by lstodd »

speedgoose wrote: post #48
perakojotgenije wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was luckier, this method also resurrected my GTX 970 and it worked for two more years. It was still working when I sold it.

And this is why I don’t like to buy used hardware.

So that you get to bake it yourself?

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#88

Post by dacryn »

madrobot wrote: post #83

i once repaired a macbook pro, around 2011, which didnt boot anymore with a towel, blocking the vents and constantly powering it on until, it overheated. it must have been enough to bridge a broken solder point. Took 5 Mintues. Worked for some hours to get the important client data and project files off of it. the idea came to me after the ibook gpu problems which i repaired with a manipulated tealight (3 flames) pla…

yeah those had bad solder joints with the GPU.

I assume it had a discrete gpu in it, which caused issues with stability.

I fixed mine by putting the gpu in the oven for a few hours. Continued to work for a few months. Then i did it again, and it worked again for a few weeks. Couldnt fix it a third time though

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#89

Post by just-tom »

My laptop was once heated inside it's case, it was hard to touch it. I don't know how it didn't explode, it was so hot I decided to put it in THE FREEZER. I thought I'd leave it there for 5-6 minutes, but I fell asleep and forgot it THE ENTIRE NIGHT. 7-8 hours. In the morning I panicked as I remembered what I have done. It then had a black screen for a few minutes and I thought I was drowning in my stupidity, but later it worked like a charm. Conclusion - laptops are fine in the freezer.

Re: Adam? ... is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? (2006)

#90

Post by circuit10 »

DonHopkins wrote: post #76

My pre-M1 x86 Macbook Pro would overheat so badly and grind to a halt, that once I had a Zoom meeting scheduled that I could not miss, so I took a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer, and rubbed them on the bottom of the Mac until it cooled down enough to run Zoom. I made the meeting in time, but it ruined the peas, though.

I often make the bottom of my laptop slightly wet so it can evaporate and cool it. My parents think it’s a bad idea but I think if I don’t get it inside the laptop it should be fine?
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