On Tue, 2020-04-21 at 14:30 -0500, Ranjan Maitra wrote:
> is it safe to work now with the lid closed or will the laptop
> overheat? I have switched off the screen for the laptop using xrandr.
That is going to depend on the laptop design. It's not just the screen
that users power, generates heat, etc.
If the laptop relies on the lid being open for ventilation, then you
need to do so. i.e. Is all the cooling ventilation through the bottom
and sides, or are their some grilles around the keyboard?
Most laptops have cooling fans that blow air over heatsinks for CPU and
GPU. Over time, dust can collect and reduce cooling. At my former work
IT bought a large batch of Thinkpads that were particularly prone to
overheating (and crashing) on warm days due to accumulated dust.
Fortunately it was relatively easy to remove the keyboard to expose
the cooling fan and ducts. A few blasts of canned air would release a
cloud of dust and give you a month or two before a repeat was required.
Newer Thinkpads didn't suffer from this problem, so perhaps laptop
designers have found ways to prevent accumulation of dust.