Temperature Problem

[Wheeler Dealer]

I have a "standard" Dell 4600 machine, that has 2 Hard Drives, 2 DVD Drives and an AGP video card. Nothing is overclocked.

Last weekend, one of the hard drives started making noises, and I assumed it was about to die. I ran SeaTools on it, and it said that there was a temperature alarm, and that the drive was 253 degrees (is that even possible?)

Anyway, I backed up what I could, and the next day, both of my drives were completely dead...not recognizable by the BIOS.

So, I have a few questions:

1. How do I cool down the computer? Is there somewhere to put an additional fan in the case? Should I leave the case open and just use a desk fan? Should I take the computer out of the desk cabinet that it is in?

2. I went out and bought a new hard drive, but how do I know that the same thing won't happen? How can I monitor the temperature, and what are the limits that I should be aware of?

FYI, My computer sits in a desk in a side cabinet which is usually closed, and the room that the desk is in does get relatively warm (85-88 degrees) during the day.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Are the driveshot to the touch? If not the reporting is wrong. If you need cooling and dont have space try either

http://www.xoxide.com/slotcooler.html

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556058328.html

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

The drives are dead now, even after I left the machine off for 24+ hours, so whether or not they are hot to the touch is sort of a mute point, but thanks for the info; It'll give me a way to monitor my new drive.

And thanks for the links to the fans...I think those are exactly what I need.