eMachines debuts widescreen notebook

Q: Dose the newer version M5312 have the same over heating problem? I play games and watch DVDs and do spread sheets and word processing and photos for work. Will this system work for me and will it be capable of playing Half Life 2 when ever it is released lol.

yes, the M5312 also has the same overheating problem. You could buy it and send it in for repair, but that would be stupid, just as stupid as emachines is for selling broken laptops. Don't buy an emachines anything!!!

I have had no problem with overheating. I'm happily running linux on it just fine. The only annoyance I have had is not being able to turn the boot up beep off which can be worked around by jamming a dummy plug into the headphone jack. So, I'm basically really happy with the thing.

I was offered by office depot a demo unit for 1050 with 100 rebate. The unit looks like it's in perfect condition beside the fact that it's been sitting out there. Can't imagine that it's been there for long since the M5312 is relatively new. Should I hop on the deal? I love the way it looks and the feature it has seems very competitive to others in the price range.

I SUBMITED THIS LETTER TO EMACHINES...Do you think it could raise some eyebrows, or do think I'm just wasting my time???

My problem begins in August 2003 when I purchased my eMachines. I was walking through the laptop isle of Best Buy and this wide screen M5310 caught my attention. It price, it's specs, awesome! Little did I know what I was getting myself into. If only I had known, I would never had bought this machine.

My first problems began around October of 2003, when I installed (attempted to) install Linux. Ok, I know what you will say, "The emachines is designed for Microsoft Windows XP", but that is total crap. The only thing that could even possibly be considered designed for XP is the winmodem, and the windows keys and there are even ways to make them work. Linux, if configured correctly, has support for all the hardware in the machine, including the cpu's "powernow" feature. So, I attempted to make a duel boot system, Windows XP on 20GB's and Linux on the other 20GB's. The install was going great until the computer shut off unexpectedly. I noticed that the thing was very hot. Of course with the CPU running 100% full throttle, I expect it to get hot, but not overheat. So I gave up on that.

I then started getting shut offs in Windows, while gaming. As the weeks progressed the shut offs would happen sooner and sooner and eventually they would happing about 3 minutes into a game. I know what your going to say again, "try using riser to allow air to flow under the laptop and use a fan and point it toward the back of the laptop"..."blah blah blah" please, don't waste my time, I am not an idiot. You might also say “playing games puts high stress on the cpu and igp” Obviously, but I bought a system with 1.8GHz cpu, I want to use that 1.8GHz. I tried the riser, the fan, nothing helped.

The last time it shut off, around Jan 04', it damaged the hard drive. I took it into best buy, and told them about the problems with overheating, they sent it off, and it came back THREE WEEKS LATER "UNFIXED". So the guy at best buy said they can replace it with the m5309. I asked if the m5309 has the overheating problem, and they said I most likely just got a lemon. I asked if I could choose a laptop from a different manufacture, they said "NO". I took the m5309 feeling absolutely stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here I am, walking out of best buy with ANOTHER eMachines. So, I guess I have three months until my m5309 starts overheating again.

Typing in “eMachines overheat” in any search engine will give you hundreds of results. From my research, I have found that the overheating is due to it's poor design and dust build up, all things that are not under my control, all things that should NOT happen.

Hopefully, this will turn into a lawsuit when enough of us report it. These problems should not be happening, and emachines should be giving full refunds. Well, hopefully this thing will never overheat, if it does I will not be contacting emachines, I will be contacting someone that can actually help us get our money back.

My M5310 laptop began shutting down unexpectedly about 2 months ago. It usually only happens when it's on my lap and no air can flow through it. There are no problems when sitting it on a table though. It has become an inconvenience because I expect it to work as a laptop, not a desktop. I won't buy an emachines again.

Im an emachine tech- If you have a problem run the restore cd it fixes most issues if not call emachines, we take care of you.

My laptop looked great to, at the begginning...

Then the same thing happened, the fuckin thing over heats all the time, it a pain in the ass!!!

Any body know what I can do???
has anybody actually got any help for e-machines??

please e-mail me with info...thanx...reed

Yes, there IS an heating problem, and there is NOTHING that a user can do about it... 3D games and linux make this problem happen faster. This is merely a design problem. I had a M5310 laptop, they exchanged it with a M5312, but now I still have the same problem...

Here's the solution :

Buy one of those ice packs which have jelly inside which does not leak. Dry it with a piece of cloth after freezing, and place it to upper left part of the keyboard, right on the 'emachines' logo. It will let you play 3D for a couple of hours he he... :)

Well, I know what will happen next. They will first destroy whatever I had installed, by using the recovery CD. (It takes days and days for me to set up everything, including linux. I have to recompile the kernel, install numerical libraries, etc... But it takes for the technicians only minutes to overwrite everything with recovery CD) And only after then they are capable of understanding (!) that the heating problem is about the hardware, not the software or settings. Wise guys eh?

And they will send it to the center, leaving me away from my laptop for weeks (this is unbearable for a computer science PhD student like me!!!) And then replace it with a new one. WHICH WILL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!!! Infinite cycle, no real solution...

Well, emachines already missed the chance to sell tens of laptops more with my recommendation. Everyone around ask me about what to buy, and guess what I tell them :)

But I appreciate the price/performance ratio of this laptop, and if they can solve (and they have to, otherwise people will look for their rights) this problem, this is really the best deal around.

Regards...

Same problem guys. My M5312 just started overheating, it's been 4 months since I've bought it. I never had that problem at the beginning. But now I do. Bought a notebook cooler for the system...it seeems to work okay, but I shouldn't have to. Anyway, will probably send it in to get fixed pretty soon because this is pretty ridiculous. Overheating when using a simple SNES emulator? Damn!

Same problem guys. My M5312 just started overheating, it's been 4 months since I've bought it. I never had that problem at the beginning. But now I do. Bought a notebook cooler for the system...it seeems to work okay, but I shouldn't have to. Anyway, will probably send it in to get fixed pretty soon because this is pretty ridiculous. Overheating when using a simple SNES emulator? Damn!

I bought my emachines M5310 eight months ago and it worked fine (after Win XP Home crashed and I replaced it with Win XP Pro) until now that it continually overheats and shuts down. Also, I query the MP speed via right-clicking on Computer and it often is running at 448 MHZ (even when the fan is slow). Is there any solution to this lame, overheating crap? I say we file a class-action lawsuit.

My dad and brother bought the same emachines laptop. My dads laptop runs excellent but my brothers laptop shuts down all the time. Especially when running the NES emulator like IAN said.. hmm.. let's sue?

I have the same problem. Im on my second one already and it just got to the point my first one did. Basically at the exact same time my first one did. I guess i'll just bring it in again to frickin best buy, they'll send it off, and i'll get a new one. 3 months later, wash, rinse, repeat. Hopefully some time down the line they'll get things right and all will be good in the world.

I hate to say that I have the same problem that you all have. I've already had to restore my computer twice and I've also had it since August 2003. I got the thing from Best Buy and they convinced that some stupid thing used to raise the laptop would quit it from doing the overheating thing which was complete bull... it didn't cure the problem. This computer has created a lot of problems for me... a poor college student.

Wow, I'm shocked to see so many people having the same problem as I am, but psyched to see so many people running Linux! Go Linux! Anyhow, perhaps someone should start putting together a list of names for a class action. I'd sign on. I haven't even bothered to send mine back because I know it's a design problem and not a problem with my particular laptop (m5312). It is very frustrating to have to constantly restart the computer. I put ice cubes in a ziploc bag and that works wonders for a couple of hours when playing games or videos, but you have to deal with melting water in your lap... Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, they are really valuable.

PS, I forgot to say, everything about this laptop rocks except for this overheating problem! Unfortunately, it's a critical flaw. The price/features/performance can't be beat. So sad...

I have had mine for 2 months and no overheating problem at all. However, it feels a bit slow at times (even with power management at full)
and the battery tends to come out by accident (it is easy to hit the release latch below)
But these are very small flaws, overall I am very happy with this laptop, best feature is definitely the nice big screen. Battery life is good (about 2:30 with normal usage and wireless on)

Yeah... every else about the laptop is great. Mine just turned off on me right now because I tried to download one of my CDs on iTunes. I would definately sign on to take a class action because this is a very critical flaw with this particular computer. I mean... the consumer should not have to go through this and it's not just one consumer. It seems there is a fairly large amount of people that are getting fed up with this.

Our office bought about ten m5312s about three months ago. A couple of them were overheating right out of the box. We exchanged them for new ones and the problem seemingly went away.

However, as the fans get dusty they start to run hotter. I'm typing this on mine, and the fan is running almost all the time now, where before it would cycle on and off. One brave soul in our office opened up the case and cleaned the fan himself, and fixed his overheating problem. He found the instructions on the internet somewhere. If I can find out where they are I will post it here.

P.S. you will void the warranty if you try it yourself, so be warned!

It amazes me how many people have the same problem. Emachines' solution to use the restore disks is the most bougus thing I've ever heard. If we're all having the same problem, it's a hardware/design problem and not a software one. I love my Emachine until it SHUTS OFF in the middle of a class presentation, how embaressing. I support the Law Suit (Gateway can afford it)

Ditto, I bought a M5310 Emachine last August from Best Buy, and the fan runs almost constantly now, since this last month. Mine shuts off in the middle of printing most of the time. Also when ever it feels like at times. I tryed the ice bag under the laptop and the fan finally cools for a short time. Ice method only lasts for about 30 minutes and then it's melted, but then it cools enough for me to print simply documents. We need a solution for this!!

I bought mine from ebay, its 3rd hand. So when it started overheating on me and shutting off I thought it was because it was used and maybe the previous user overclocked the cpu or something. So I was cursing my self for buying a used laptop (my 1st one!) instead of a brand new one, I could of afforded it. But to my amaze (from reading your folks's complaints) its not because its used, its just fucking emachines lack of design/quality. Before I bought it my cousin warned me not to buy EMACHINES! But I read up on some reviews and everyone seemed to be pretty happy with it, so i went along and bought an m5310. I was so happy with it until the overheating; then- only when I played AVP 2 , now it sometimes shuts off when play mpeg files or when i've had it on for a while-theres even a new problem the male connector to the charger on the laptop is fucked up so it sometimes doesn't even power up but I think thats unique to my 3RD HAND LAPTOP and not an emachines thing. Other then that it is a super-great laptop (minus the sucky battery power.) Since I do know a lil bout computers I'm going to take the WHOLE fucking thing apart soak it in distilled water, let it dry, clean ALL the DUST off, maybe try to research and install a new cooling system and hope to GOD that solves all my problems and I can go back to loving my emachines m5310.

Sorry for the Novel, this probelm has been buggin the shit out of me and I thought I was the only one. Though I still don't hate EMACHINES......you get what you pay for!

I bought mine from ebay, its 3rd hand. So when it started overheating on me and shutting off I thought it was because it was used and maybe the previous user overclocked the cpu or something. So I was cursing my self for buying a used laptop (my 1st one!) instead of a brand new one, I could of afforded it. But to my amaze (from reading your folks's complaints) its not because its used, its just fucking emachines lack of design/quality. Before I bought it my cousin warned me not to buy EMACHINES! But I read up on some reviews and everyone seemed to be pretty happy with theirs, so i went along and bought an m5310. I was so happy with it until the overheating; then- only when I played AVP 2, now it sometimes shuts off when play mpeg files or when i've had it on for a while; theres even a new problem, the male connector to the charger on the laptop is fucked up so it sometimes doesn't even power up but I think thats unique to my 3RD HAND LAPTOP and not an emachines thing. Other then that it is a super-great laptop (minus the sucky battery power.) Since I do know a lil bout computers I'm going to take the WHOLE fucking thing apart soak it in distilled water, let it dry, clean ALL the DUST off, maybe try to research and install a new cooling system and hope to GOD that solves all my problems and I can go back to loving my emachines m5310.

Sorry for the Novel, this probelm has been buggin the shit out of me and I thought I was the only one. Though I still don't hate EMACHINES......you get what you pay for!

I had the same problem with my emachine shutting off, but i managed to fix it for about 10 and a steady hand. If you would like the instructions please email me at frankiemaurer@juno.com.

My laptop has no problems now, I've tested it with NFS Underground and the graphics all the way up and it never shuts down. This is 5 months after I did the fix. I can't garantee the fix, but I'm not charging, so it's worth a try.

Frankie

Did anybody get an overheating problem with eMachines M5309 ??
Peter

I have been using my M5305 non-stop since May of 2003 and adore the machine for the most part. I'm doing web development, graphic design, a bit of video editing, and the odd game of GTA VC.

Recently, I started feeling a "bounce" in the keys on the right side, giving me the impression that one of the screws that should hold the keyboard in place is coming loose.

Also new is the overheating problem, this has started last week and seems to be getting worse. After not having played GTA for almost 2 months, I decided to pick it up again... Only to have the laptop shut down on me after 15 minutes of play. Tried again the following day, another shutdown, but way earlier. Today, as I'm converting a video from one format to the other, I can feel the left side of the case getting progressively hotter.

The fan barely manages to pump any hot air out anymore, I'd be very grateful if Bill or anyone else could post instructions on cleaning the fan. Since I live in the Caribbean, my warranty is useless anyway!

Thanks in advance,

Norbert
norbert-at-infocatch-com

RE: M5310 Overheating - Possible Solution

My story is similar to many above. I bought the machine at Best Buy about 6 months ago. Our use is pretty "light weight" with just MS-Office stuff and we had no problems. About 3 months ago I tried downloading 6 CDs of Linux OS and writing them to disk. That is when I first noticed some overheating shutdowns. I just left a few hours between disks and put it behind me.

Recently I started having shutdowns when doing any multimedia - and tonight it got to the point where I couldn't restart the machine. As soon as it powered up the loud fan noise started and it would shut off before the boot sequence was complete.

This led me to search Google and find this forum. Lots of neat ideas and info!

What I just did now was to try something simple before venturing into some of the disassembly, etc. that some of the other tech types have tried.

-Compressed air.

That's right, I dug out a can of Fellowes Air Duster, put the tube in the nozzle and did some blasting. First I hit the back side in the fan opening. Lots of dust came out. Then I hit the little slots inside of the phone and network ports. Putting the tube into the (unused) PCMCIA slot brought a big puff of dust. I tried every other opening that I could find as well. Finally I went back to the fan port on the left rear (when looking at the screen). When I shot the tube into each slot I could hear the fan rev up and a little more dust came out. I was careful not to over-spin the fan, I just put a good puff into each slot.

After this treatment I powered the thing back up and voila! the fan sound was quiet! Furthermore, as the boot sequence was finishing the fan even slowed down more (like when it was new).

If anyone else wants to give it a try it should not void any warranty and may save you some trouble. Just don't spin the fan so fast that you ruin its bearings.

You may also want to wait for your laptop to cool down naturally first. A long blast of cold air on a hot board or chip could cause it to warp or crack.

Post your results here or email me @ sfreemire@netscape.net

Good Luck,

Scott

Update:

Some folks have done an even more thorough job with the air...

See:

http://www.dexplor.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=171
and
http://napps.nwfusion.com/weblogs/cool/archives/002741.html

-Scott

Just wanted to post that I am having the same problem as well.

It has been happening forever now, to the point that I cannot play a single game, even flash games. UT2004 overheated the system in about 8 minutes. (A perfectly cool, non used system in 12 degree celcius room. ...no heating. *sniff*)

And like I mentioned, now it is to the point where flash games cannot even play. To play one for even two minutes, I have to switch to a simple text application (To slow down the CPU, then fan it with two japanese fans for a minute or two, then play it for a minute, repeat.)

That lasted for about 30 minutes. It turned into a game just trying to keep the thing alive.

Even now, one IE browser open typing this message, and my fan is running hard.

The computer *is* great and powerful, it just cannot handle the power.

Oh, I tried the ice pack thing (Under the entire machine, and on top on the left part of the keyboard.) while setting the machine both elevated and on aluminum, but that only let me last about 2 minutes longer.)

...so there is a flaw there.

Me too. About three months into making the transition from my pc to M5310 I began experience the radical overheat shutoff dilemma. I'm writing technical doc mostly on my lap, back and forth between Word, IE, ftp, wordpad and SUDDENLY everything goes bye-bye. Not even a hiccup of a warning. Doing the ice pack thing. It helps, although I do sense the situation worsening. Of all the stupid things....

My 5312 is shutting down more and more frequently from things such as performing a virus scan. I called eMachines and they are having me send it in to have the heat spreader fixed. He doesn't think the problem will persist after it's fixed but we'll see...it's an awesome computer except for this growing problem. I think a class action lawsuit is in order.

Try to go to the gateway website and go to the news and information, we can find the name of the CEO of the emahcine. maybe we can send him an email and tell him about our problems? I just sent my M5310 to best buy today and they said they are going to replace it. Well, i hope they are going to replace it with another brand.

we do need to raise our voice so that our complaints are heard!

I too have the same problem with the Emachine crap. Overheats all the time. I sent it back to Emachine 3 times.. on the 3rd time they replaced the fans etc.. but 3 months later, it is back to the same shutting down. Is there a class action lawsuit yet? Is anyone here a lawyer? If so - please contact me and we can get one going!

-steve

OK i tried to start something - go here if you want to add your voice:

Your case number is 278982. You can track the status of your complaint at any time by visiting www.BigClassAction.com/mycase.html
and entering your case number.

If you know of anyone else with a similar complaint, please encourage them to register it at www.BigClassAction.com.

I was told that if it has to be sent back three times for the same problem then they will replace it. This is the second time I have sent it back for the overheating issue. If I have the same problem again I am definately contacting my lawyer. Lesson learned, go with a well known name. The attractive price turned out too good to be true. I spoke with someone at the place where it is being repaired and they said that it is a huge, widespread problem with this model. Not at all what emachines admits. I am absolutely fed up. I will get satisfaction on this or make it my mission to inform others about this company. I have also given the corporate office this and other URL's, they are well aware of the problem and the discussions concerning it.

Alan, can you give us contact info for the place where the repairs are done, so people can convince eMachines customer service that the problem is real/known?

Same nasty overheating problem... It started with the summer heat, so first I thought that it is due to the hot weather. Sure, it plays a role, but the real problem is in the machine... I am wondering if this can be repaired (I even do not have warranty any more...).

Do you have any experience with using the "resque CDs"? Does it help?

I noticed thet Explorer takes lots of the CPU power. Is this normal? Thanks for any advice!

My emachines M5312 started overheating after about 7 months of moderate to heavy use. I did not purchase an extended warranty and after reading the handling of cases by emachines determined this would not be productive. My notebook has been overheating for about three weeks now. I finally had enough and after reading all the posts decided to do some investigation. Realizing that it would VOID the warranty (but having a strong hardware background) I decided to disassemble the notebook (not for the weak of heart and more trouble than most people expect). I removed the hard drive, screen and keyboard to expose the CPU Heat Sink. ( A common case for AMD shutdown is Thermal overload. ) I removed the heat sink and the Heat Sink Compound (between the CPU and heat sink) appeared very thick. I have assembled a number of other computers and had some "Antec Silver Reference" heat sink compound around that I had purchased at CompUsa. It seemed reasonable that a poor grade of heat sink compound would degenerate over time leaving the heat sink ineffective.
I wiped off the old compound on the heat sink and the CPU core and replaced it with the "Silver Reference" compound. I then reassembled the laptop and all appears well. The CPU is running at peak levels and the fan cycles as expected. I certainly can't say this will fix other situations but it certainly solved mine.

It is unfortunate that a penny item can disable a $1000 laptop .... and yet it happened.

ciao and good luck.
ps.. all the standard disclaimer stuff about disassembling the notebook ("don't try this at home")

OH MY GOD am I glad I found this webpage! I am beyond fed up with my emachines M5312 laptop. It has shut down twice now today because of over heating. This is my SECOND M5312 laptop! The first one I bought in Oct of 2003 from BestBuy and it lasted all of 4 days. When I first began using it I noticed the fan was on maximum ALL THE TIME and the air coming out of the fan area in back was exceptionally hot...I mean REALLY hot. I thought it was unusal but kept using my laptop as I had no other option. Then suddenly I smelled smoke & then it died. Total death. Simply would NOT turn back on. Completely unresponsive. So...back to BB it went and the tech guy said the CPU basically overheated & melted. so they gave me another one that worked fine for several weeks. Then I loaded some 3D games (nothing cutting edge mind you) and the CPU & fan went nuts. The fan would be at MAX throttle (i could tell because the noise was VERY loud)..then total instant shutdown. Soooo frustrating!! Then recently when I HotSync my Sony Clie, CPU usage spikes at 100% and the fan goes haywire and halfway through a long HotSync the laptop shuts off.

Thing is now I have had this laptop for almost 9 months now and I'm afraid that if emachines does indeed have a fix for this involving a better fan or heatsink or whatever, it's so old they won't fix it. Does anyone know how long the original warranty on a M5312 is? And I will DEFINATELY participate in a lawsuit. I am a college student and I rely HEAVILY on this laptop. This is TOTALLY unacceptable. I, like a lot of you was attracted by the combo of price & features. Lesson learned. I will NEVER buy another emachines product ever again. I should have done my homework with this laptop...now I'm paying the price! :(

p.s. I am going to attempt the procedure described in the second post on the page posted by technpolis.

I just ordered a M5309 from tiger direct and i read reviews about it and it had nothing in it about overheating. All it said was it was a really good laptop. i notice all of ya'll with the overheating problem have the m5310 or m5312 so im hoping the m5309 doesent have the overheating problem. So can anyone tell me if they have the m5309 and if it overheats on them

just adding fuel to the fire.... spex are realy good (could have used a better graphix card but oh well it works)and i've gotten alot of comments about the lookS BUT, i have to keep it on two VCR tapes (see they still have their uses) with a fan going so the darn thing won't catch the desk on fire.... there it is my two cents worth.

AMAZING! I'm not the ONLY one! Overheating problem here too! Just when I thought my kids are animals and break everything! This time its not their fault! I blame them for virus and downloading stuff they shouldnt but this time I owe them an apology. I visited www.BigClassAction.com/mycase.html and submitted a report. Lets all do the same and end this nightmare!

I have owned the 5309 for about 5 months and have experienced the overheating shutdown 1 time. I think something with the 2500+ and a redesigned heat removal system makes it not as problematic with this model? Just a thought. The one time it did shut down on me was while watching a DVD with the unit on my bed, so air flow not so good.

Another unsatisfied customer.

Called emachine 1 week before end of waranty. They assigned me a number and gave me some things to try. I called back the following week for follow up. Guess what, they have no record of my call and no such case number and they now cant help me because it is now out of waranty. Shoddy service.

Last tech told me not to run as many applications, turn monitor brightness down, etc. Jeesh, I just bet if I didn't turn the damn thing on, it would not overheat.

Since I service computers for a living, I have done some things on my own to try to correct the problems including changing system settings, disassembly of the unit, upgrading the heatsink adhesive, etc. Nothing seems to work, or only just for a bit. It does seems okay under battery power.

Since I am involved in this industry, I know how frustrating things can be at times. I am quite used to debugging issues. Even though I am aggrevated with the laptop (M5310), I am more frustrated with emachines attitude of blowing me off. Needless to say, all emachine products are out of my shop and I will no longer recommend any of them.

Can I ask, for those that bought a notebook cooler, which one actually fits the 5310? I will be calling emachines to see if they will try to fix the overheating problem, at least, but if not, might as well get a head start.

My emachine M5305 was about to become a frisbee. Thanks to the posting above to shoot compressed air into the openings of the computer my e-machine is now cooling like new again. It's a poor design but the 3.99 can of air is well worth saving the aggravation of trying to repair, replace or reload the machine. I simply won't buy or recommend another e-machine to anyone because of this serious flaw.

I've been suffering from all the same problems as everyone else. Sent the notebook in for repair in March 2004 and got it back with 90-day extension of the warranty (thanks). Around July shut-down and overheat problem reoccured. Just sent it back to eMachines and they are claiming that something spilled on the keyboard and that this is causing the problem and, by the way, that this has voided the warranty. Bullpaties. Nothing has ever spilled onto it. Very dishonest of eMachines -- has anyone else been given a similar bogus excuse?

Has anyone had any success with eMachines by mentioning their familiarity with how widespread this problem is? Or with any other tactic? I'd even take a new replacement (to sell asap!) or even a credit for other eMachine hardware -- anything to get out of this hell hole.

So it seems we are all having this problem, overheat causing sudden shutdown -- not just me! wow! This is probably why I "thought" I got a good deal... doh!

So are we suing? please email me the info if we are, raymond dot diep at gmail dot com.

Thanks..

does this model have the same flaw?? It's an Australian reseller. Not sure which emachines model is corresponds to.
http://www.tpg.com.au/online/

btw the tpg laptop is a Arima W720-K7M rebranded, not an eMachines. So I'm not sure if these companies change much from the original arima.

Same deal here on an M5310 I got second-hand. Wasn't doing anything particularly intensive at the time, and the intervals between shutdowns kept getting shorter... and then it dawned on me, hey, my roommate's AMD-based system does the same thing up in the attic in the summer when you don't open the case and run a box fan next to it. So I typed in "emachines overheat" into Google and found this site. Aaargh.

I'll try the compressed air first and see how it goes. I'd also be interested in finding out which notebook coolers would be compatible.

OK, I ordered one of the Evercool notebook coolers with 4 fans instead of the standard 2, and I'll follow up here to let you all know how much it helps the stability issues. For now, placing a window fan sideways running on High up toward the bottom of the unit inside an open desk drawer allows me to work for a while. :P

Note to "emachine tech" above: I'm glad you're not my doctor. I'd go into your office complaining of asthma and come out with a lobotomy.

Do Emachines overheat north of the border???
well My emachines M5310 worked fine for about 10 months,till I installed sp2,then overheating,no support from the store(futureshop-canada)off course.online support was useless.had to use the 3 magic install disks.damn!!
still some problems with the wireless setting,anyway
buying cheap is buying twice...
next time ....a mac,done with microsmack

Same problem here. I bought an eMachines m5310 in September 2003, and in February 2004 it started overheating when I used graphics applications. Nowadays it can'e even handle a spybot scan or a fireplace screen saver. The fan steps up to high, and within a few minutes it crashes.

Post a comment