My dv7's fans were running constantly and it was getting hot,now it just shuts down or won't boot up at all.seems like something with the heat protection or something.any ideas?

sure it does all PCs do that, full of lint, all do.
we clean it.
it has fan and vents
all fans all vents and heatsinks must breath or it overheats.
all do that not cleaned, drive your car around with the radiator blocked, boom.
all PCs run slow overheated, by DESIGN.
this slow down , reduces heat, and saves CPU/GPU burn up.
just like my chevy, truck, it cuts cylinders to save the engine.
same deal both.

same deal; same reasons.

http://www.pcdied.com/overheated.html

No solution, but that is really hot. Hot enough to start frying other components. Eventually it will.

Overheating When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermal overload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is the problem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are clogged with dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make sure the vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed air to do this.

When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermaloverload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is theproblem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make surethe vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed airto do this.

OverheatingWhen the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermaloverload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is theproblem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make surethe vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed airto do this.

When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermaloverload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is theproblem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make surethe vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed airto do this.

OverheatingWhen the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermaloverload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is theproblem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make surethe vents are clear and dust free. Use a small brush and can of compressed airto do this.

When the CPU overheats then it will shut down (i.e. thermaloverload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down. If this is theproblem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes the problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan.
If the fan and heat sink is clogged with dust the remove the dust and make surethe vents are clear and dust free. Use a can of compressed air to do this.

When the CPU overheats then it will shutdown (i.e. thermal overload) and won't boot up again until it has cooled down.If this is the problem is not fixed then the CPU will eventually fail.
A faulty fan causes this problem or the fan and heat sink assembly are cloggedwith dust.
Check the CPU fan to see if it spins freely, if not replace the fan. If the fan and heat sink is clogged withdust the remove the dust and make sure the vents are clear and dust free. Use acan of compressed air to do this.

Hi,

I suggest try to call the manufacturer because if happens that its causing plastic burnt or dent due to overheating that means the hardware of the machine is failing, also the automatic shutdown is caused by overheating. If your going to call the manufacturer they have special support for those kind of issue.