my laptop seems to be very hot, even on the mousepad, i hear the fan sometimes but dont always notice it. is there any way to check it is working properly, i,e coming on as often as it should?
Laptop is a misnomer - it should ideally be on a firm surface so air can get all around and underneath it. If you use it on a soft surface it will overheat
yeah i have it on a wooden tray and i have made some rubber blocks for the corners, so it sits about an inch off the surface, but it still gets very hot - much hotter than my old one which is why i was a bit worried.
Their performance bar shows lots of technical info -- perhaps fan speeds too?
I'm trying to find something similar to what I use, iStat Pro on the Mac. They themselves have some Vista Gadgets, but don't seem to include fan speeds. This monitors CPU usage though, which is usually a good indication that something intensive is going on, requiring lots of fans for lots of heat: http://www.islayer.com/index.php?op=item&id=59