Well, I suppose it had to happen eventually. My trusty ‘weather station’ laptop started playing up. Its a 15 year old unit that just does one job and it just started to shut down.

A quick look at the ‘system event log’ indicated a ‘kernel error – 63’.  Oh dear.

A Google of Kernel error 63 gave multiple strands of gobbledegook.

One thing I had noticed, apart from it shutting down as I watched, was that the fan had been running flat out even though it was cool in the room.  Was that a clue? You bet it was. The bottom case was HOT, not just warm.

I Googled how to get the case open and found a great video by a young Russian guy with very detailed instructions on how to access the innards.

I removed the battery, back case and keyboard. This gave access to the fan and heat sink mechanism.  Both units were covered in dust and dirt.  After removal and a soft brushing and vacuum the units were replaced. Battery in and boot up. Bingo

Total time:  about 50 minutes.  Result : Success.  Running like a new machine.

So, the moral. Don’t just do the curtains and carpets. Spring clean the IT too.