Boot Camp Special Report: MacBook Pros running hotter under Windows XP

MacBook Pros appear to run significantly hotter when booted into Windows XP than when booted into Mac OS X.

MacFixIt reader Charlie writes:

"My MacBook Pro gets so hot when running windows you almost can't keep you hand on the hottest spots."

Meanwhile, MacFixIt reader David Hannon took some surface temperature measurements. He writes:

"I can confirm that the MacBook Pro run much hotter under Windwos XP.

"After reading through MacFixIt, yesterday I did the Boot Camp install and installed Windows XP Home Edition.

"I have one of those infra-red thermometer guns that digitally reads surface temperatures.  My MacBook Pro 2.16 GHz was resting on an X-pad cooling pad, so there was some air circulation underneath.

"After the MacBook Pro had been running OS X for about an hour, I did a temp scan of the underside. Across the rear sections near the hinge, i recorded temperature readings varying from 109 degrees F to 112 degrees F. The hottest being in the center of the laptop.

"After doing the complete install of Windows XP and running that for about an hour I did another temperature scan of the underside. This time the readings varied from 118 degrees F to 121 degrees F. The hottest area again being under the central rear area. These readings are again with the MacBook Pro having sat on a X-pad cooling pad. I can assume that they would get even higher if the laptop was flat on a table surface. I also noticed that the cooling fans were working more than when booted into Mac OS X 10.4.6.

In order to reduce overall temperature, make sure your MacBook pro is seated on a hard surface with under-unit ventilation.

Index:

• Adjusting MacBook Pro screen brightness
• Benchmarks
• FAQ (Frequently asked questions)
• Getting AirPort-connected printers to work
• Installing from pre-SP2 Windows XP discs
• List of Drivers included on the Boot Camp Mac Windows XP drivers CD
• Mac OS X not booting properly after Windows installation
• MacBook Pro cannot right-click -- solutions
• MacBook Pros running hotter under Windows XP
• Problems installing -- even after successful firmware/OS update -- fix
• Problems installing over previous "Bootloader" hack -- solution
• Problems starting up Windows after driver installation
• Re-sizing partition after Windows XP installation
• Reader experiences
• Release Notes
• Reminder: Make a firmware restoration disc
• Slipstreaming a Windows XP SP2 disc
• USB keyboard not responding -- fix
• Use of Control-Alt-Delete
• Using a Windows XP upgrade CD
• What will not work in Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac

Resources