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Originally Posted by kid astronaut
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since the fan is on the bottom of the machine, it cooled down almost immediately and started running much smoother. i haven't paid much attention to the cpu usage in terms of stats since then but it's a very noticable difference. so, at least for me, that does seem to be a big part of the problem. i'm embarrassed i didn't think of that earlier.
typical of dell to design a computer that you can't put on a desk.
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The fans may be contaminated with debris. The "feet" may have come off or compressed with age. I've gained a 2nd life on several laptops by adding slightly taller rubber legs on the bottom to improve the airflow. If the gap between desk and laptop is only 2mm another 1mm makes a big difference. Most stores, certainly hardware stores, carry stick-on rubber feet.
<img src="http://www.surplussales.com/Images/RubberPlasticEtc/rubber%20feet/No156C.jpg">