Update your video card driver by going directly to Nvidia site and find your card.
Install Piriform Speccy to watch temp readings.
If heat is really the cause, used canned air, or an oil-free air compressor at very low pressure to gently blow out and clean air intakes/outflow vents on your laptop. I have a nearly identical machine, it's heat management is criminal, so keep the vents clean. My Dv7 has never over-heated but has hit 201F when rendering. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Thank you for the advice and quick respose. I work at a woodworking company, so there could be a build up of saw dust in the fan area. I will try to blow out the fan and see if that helps the temp issue.

I just installed Speccy, and while surfing the net only, my CPU and graphics card are running at 186-190 degrees.

google: hp pavilion dv7 notebook overheating

yikes!




OMG!

I would be lazy and use a whole can of compressed air myself. Blow it the reverse-direction of normal air-flow, back and forth. Good luck

"OMG" is right! If I was gonna do THAT, I would just bring it to a service center. That being said, your machine is running way too hot. You may also wish to update the bios, as it may have new operating parameters. Note your video card update is only for better performance, not heat. At the end of the day (cliche), you might need a pro to look at it if it continues to run so hot. Oh, a woodworking shop is not the best place for a laptop, I bet you'll be shocked at the cloud of dust that shoots out of the fans when you clean them. Do it outside. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Barry: Looking at other videos the problem is mainly the design of the cooling. The heat-sink heat-exchanger blades are prone to becoming blocked with lint.



Look at 36 seconds.
This isn't the exact same laptop, but I'm betting very similar design.

It also looks like there is not much room for airflow even perfectly clean from dust as it sits so low to the desk. I would buy one of these for desk use:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Notepal-Notebook-R9-NBC-8PBK-GP/dp/B002NU5V4A/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_ex

Or something like this for lap use:
http://www.amazon.com/Xpad-Non-slip-Laptop-Cooler-Heatshield/dp/B001RQ2HWK/ref=sr_1_13?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1332432430&sr=1-13

Thank you for all your help. I blew out the fan, and a mushroom cloud came out of the the other vent on the computer. Now computer running at 125 - 130 under normal operations. I was able to produce the video, and the cpu went up to the 170 range, but didn't overheat.

Thanks again.

Get a lap top cooling pad from ebay. Both of mine have 3 fans in them, you sie the laptop on top of it... about 20 bucks... runs off USB or transformer depending on what you get. Mine even give you 3 more USB ports..

BIG DIFFERENCE in cooling....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Notebook-Laptop-Cooler-Cooling-Pad-3-Fan-Blue-Led-/370597430945?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56495406a1 __________________________________________
Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Tutorials
PDtoots PowerDirector Tutorials

**NOTICE**
When you are asked to provide a DXDIAG you go the following link and do part "B". Your posted specs are NOT what we are looking for as they tell us nothing. The specs on the box of your computer mean nothing. The DXDIAG shows us how your computer is configured as it runs.

DXDIAG Link

Don't forget to occasionally blow out the cooling fans in your laptop cooling pad... HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Occasionally..... we have to do it all the time here...

I drag in the air hose from the garage and use 120 psi air pressure... Then the house fogs up from all the dust.... very dusty here... you have to do it about every two months.... and the fan in the pic blows into the side of my computer (the side cover has about 300 small holes in it, came that way, its a HP) and it has been about two months and time to do it again. It is a very fine powdery dust. We call it "poof" dirt... just touch it and it goes "poof"....

I actually take the computer out to the garage and blow it out as you really would not believe how much dust come out of it. One of the hazards of desert living in a place that never rains.... I used to put a air filter in front of the side panel but it would clog up in two weeks...


__________________________________________
Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Tutorials
PDtoots PowerDirector Tutorials

**NOTICE**
When you are asked to provide a DXDIAG you go the following link and do part "B". Your posted specs are NOT what we are looking for as they tell us nothing. The specs on the box of your computer mean nothing. The DXDIAG shows us how your computer is configured as it runs.

DXDIAG Link

For Bubba:
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-Long-Life-QuietCare-Purifier-17000/dp/B000050AQ5/ref=pd_sim_hg_1

Outer filter is washable.

Of course, if you keep your windows open it's all for not.

We have bigger ones than those in every room..... have to clean the outer filters every week...windows are never open, best windows Pella sells... You need to live here to understand it... during the summer when we run the swamp cooler it helps some but not much...

Our humidity here runs about 8 percent, which means more particulates in the air all the time... nothing to weigh them down (as in moisture) __________________________________________
Windows 8 Pro 64 bit

CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Tutorials
PDtoots PowerDirector Tutorials

**NOTICE**
When you are asked to provide a DXDIAG you go the following link and do part "B". Your posted specs are NOT what we are looking for as they tell us nothing. The specs on the box of your computer mean nothing. The DXDIAG shows us how your computer is configured as it runs.

DXDIAG Link

On my recent trip to the Philippines I had to use some of these - but they made my i5 laptop not very portable and also reduced it's normal 8 hour battery life to 0.3ms. Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

How did you manage to get them into the over-head compartments? HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Don't be silly, Barry - they are waaaay too large and heavy to take as hand baggage.

They go in the hold as part of my dive gear - I get an extra 10kg free if I show them my dive card - although my excess baggage bill still came to $23,248 from the UK to the Philippines (each way)

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.