Dell Laptops Still Exploding

bl8n8r writes "It 'looked like fireworks, which would have been cool had it not been in my house.' said Doug Brown of Columbus, Ohio. Brown, a Network Administrator, called 911 last week when the Dell 9200 laptop burst into flames in his house. Emergency response units included two pumpers, a ladder truck, a bamalance, the HAZMAT unit, and a battalion chief. When Doug phoned Dell to inquire about liability, he was asked if he had insurance. It's not clear if Doug's laptop is one of the earlier models recalled by Dell; a Macbook is cited in the article for allegedly burning down a house in Australia as well as another instance of a suspect Dell laptop burning out a pickup truck in Nevada. If the burning battery issues are going to continue to be a problem, who's going to be responsible for losses? Insurance companies, Laptop makers, Battery vendors, and consumer negligence could presumably be cited in all cases."

Editors?!?

[thehickcoder]

A) What is a bamalance?
2) This is Columbus, GA not Columbus, OH.

Re:Not just a macbook

[bkr1_2k]

Actually the enclosures were designed to specifically take the heat away from the components to a [metal] frame that had a larger surface area. It felt hotter to the user but kept the components inside cooler than a plastic case would have.

Re:Anecdote

[Anonymous Coward]

Two things to prevent overheating on your Dell laptop.

1 (easy) Make sure that the rubber feet have not fallen off. If they have, replace them. Don't use your machine on a soft surface - make sure there is adequate ventilation on the underneath.

2 (more difficult). Clean out the heat exchanger. Here's how. Turn machine upside down. Remove battery and ac adapter. Remove all screws underneath. Turn machine right way up. Flip off keyboard bezel. Remove keyboard. Remove lid assembly (take care unplugging antenna cables). Remove palm rest. Remove processor heatsink (don't handle copper bit). Clean out any fluff. Reverse procedure for re-assembly. Don't over-tignten screws.

Re:Editors?!?

[tomhudson]

You mean this one ... [dow-sniper.net]

Re:Insurance

[Achromatic1978]

It does. Apply for a new policy. You'll be asked how many claims you've made, regardless of fault. And that number will affect your premium.

Re:Fragmented Drives Contributing to the Overheat?

[Zaphod-AVA]

I'd be willing to bet it has more to do with the fan optimization then the 7200 drive. Granted, they produce more heat, but the cooling system in the laptop should be able to tolerate it.

This fellow has written some decent, small footprint software that lets a user directly manage the fans and Intel Speedstep settings on many Dell laptop models. Anyone using a Dell laptop that gets a bit warm should check it out.

http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html [diefer.de]