xterm wrotejadberro wroteyou don't need to take it apart, load a consuming app like an IDE and compile some big project , and check for the fan's distinctive hum , most probably the fan is gone . since you have wide spread heat and the components generally share one heat sink connected to the radiator( the fan circulates air in the radiator to dissipate heat ) if the fan is gone heat loss will become small .
More info on how to do this.
Are you kidding me ? :P just put your ear close to the laptop , look around it (and the bottom) you should find like a small serrated opening like a front end of a car , let your heavy app run for about 5 minutes then put your ear close to that vent , if you hear a motor hum then the fan is running , if you hear nothing then the fan is malfunctioning , if you hear creaking sounds then the fan is stuck . Don't confuse the sound of the HDD with the sound of the fan . listening is an art :P and also a known method of troubleshooting .
Edit : some laptops do a diagnostics run when you start them up ( including a run up for the fan at full speed). you can try turn the laptop off then on and listen while the computer bootstraps .
