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Another Dell Laptop Catches Fire

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

July 28, 2006, 4:23 PM

It may be giving away 432 laptops as part of a back to school promotion, but Dell could have a hard time finding takers if it can't address battery problems that are plaguing the company in the media. Yet another Dell laptop spontaneously burst into flames this week.

"One of our IT guys put out the flames (yes, I said flames) and thusly covered the entire area with fire extinguisher ‘material’. The battery burned its way straight through the laptop," a user by the name of Henrik posted to the Tom's Hardware forums, appending pictures of the aftermath. A Dell laptop previously exploded on video during a conference, prompting the company to launch an investigation into the matter.

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By WhyDell

edited Aug 13, 2006 - 10:40 AM

Please follow this address:
http://www.reghardware.c.../21/overheating_laptops/

It shows that other companies as well have overheating batteries. We all hear that Dell laptops have to problem because Dell is indeed one of the top selling companies having more laptops out in our homes.

I'll just say that you should try to keep any pc in cool temperatures as they function better (as your brain does!). If you can't don't overheat them. This is our technology!

AND... Why are you all opposed to Dell? If you don't like them, don't buy them. You may say they are cheap, but how do you expect them to give you cheap products with expensive components. If you want to buy a cheap product from Dell, you will get a cheap performance etc. If you buy a product at a fair price, you will get a better performance etc. This goes for every company as they could go bankrupt.

I hope you understand from the article linked above...

Score: 0

By deminicus

posted Aug 1, 2006 - 8:47 AM

"AMERICAN COMPONENTS RUSSIAN COMPONENTS, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN"

Score: 0

By Black-Wolf

posted Jul 31, 2006 - 2:52 PM

Come on!
All DELLs are made in China by manufacturers like ECS.
And they use cheap components... to make their computer cheap.

That includes batteries as well.

Score: 0

By ebbaca

edited Jul 30, 2006 - 6:05 PM

Meanwhile I can't get a stright answer from Dell on a piece of tape I found in my new XPS | M1210 when I had to remove the battery when the MediaDirect button froze everything

Score: 0

By deminicus

posted Jul 31, 2006 - 8:42 AM

Hrmm well it's nice to know I have a means to make fire if I'm ever stranded on some island.

Wonder if some airport will begin to ban dells?

Score: 0

By ladylust

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 11:10 PM

All Lies! Its the new PCMCIA card James Bond card that explodes the laptop within 10 seconds if your finger print does not match :P

Score: 0

By RedBoar

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 2:17 PM

Get the kid back in with the commercials, and he can light his spliff with the flaming laptop! PERFECT ad campaign!!!

Score: 0

By imafurby

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 10:31 PM

Dude, you're gettin' a self lighting, barbeque er..laptop thing.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 31, 2006 - 9:11 AM

lmao..

Dude, you're getting 3rd degree burns!

Score: 0

By spongy-poo

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 12:38 PM

Next great accessory - USB fire extinguisher, included free with every Dell Laptop.

Score: 0

By sytanek

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 9:18 AM

https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx

I wonder if these people even bothered to check if their laptop was on the list of already known with battery issues. This site has been out quite a while, and Dell emailed and mailed letters to all of my customers who had these laptops letting them know about the issue. Which is even more than 300 customers....

Score: 0

By RedBoar

posted Jul 31, 2006 - 11:30 AM

Yeah sure, and of course all us corporate drones have the time to open a mail from Dell and not assume it's just more junk email! Dude get a grip not a Dell...

Score: 0

By mjm01010101

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 2:17 PM

No, at least in the previous case, it's not part of that program, as Dell themselves have asked the government for help in determining the cause.

Score: 0

By yokozuna

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 7:49 AM

"Dell's Balls of Fire"

I cut my nails and I quiver my thumb
I'm real nervous 'cause it sure is fun
Come on baba, you drive me crazy
Goodness gracious great balls of fire ;-)

Score: 0

By Natrunner

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 2:57 AM

I say just start using duracell batteries. Yeah, if only.....

Score: 0

By jackamus

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 11:38 AM

Stop using cheap parts! LOL

Score: 0

By billayala

edited Jul 29, 2006 - 3:06 AM

Let's see if Dell will acknowledge this problem, I purchased 5 smartstep 250n and they kept overheating they corrected the problem but never once issued a recall.

Score: 0

By ghammer

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 2:11 AM

And they won't let me carry my lighter on a plane...

Score: 0

By crashoverride

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 2:07 AM

Dude!! Your Dell's on fire!!

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 2:33 AM

Well done for reading the article.

/sarcasm

Score: 0

By crashoverride

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 2:34 PM

Well done for being a smarta**

Score: 0

By Axe56

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 6:46 PM

why the hell is this news? -bad plug for that bad dell promotion.

"yet another dell laptop spontaneously burst into flames this week" so has another laptop from dell burst into flames this week as well? wheres that news post? /sarcasm

-if theres research and something to learn about it (maybe a follow up on how many laptops have actually burst into flames..) I might have enjoyed the article.

Score: 0

By Skyfrog

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 10:58 PM

http://www.engadget.com/...de-your-dell-is-on-fire/

Score: 0

By Axe56

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 3:51 AM

bleehhhhh- lol. thanks.

Score: 0

By giwo

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 6:42 PM

Actually I've noticed that all of my Dell laptops (in previous years and the two I currently use) get quite hot during normal use (hot enough to burn unprotected skin). I can only imagine what would happen were one of these bad boys left on inside a laptop case for an extended amount of time.

I'm quite surprised there hasn't already been a McDonalds-Coffee-Esque lawsuit against Dell.

Score: 0

By smarterthanyou

edited Jul 29, 2006 - 2:38 AM

If you leave your laptop turned on inside a laptop case I'll bet it gets extremely hot. I would be surprised if it didn't overheat.

As for Dell laptops getting hot enough to burn unprotected skin during normal use, you probably have a major defect in your Dell. I have an older Dell Inspiron 5150 laptop. It has an Intel Mobile Pentium 4 processor running at 3.06 GHz. It also has discrete graphics in the form of an nVidia GeForce 5200 Go AGP 4x graphics adapter plus a 5400 rpm PATA hard drive. The battery is a 12-cell lithium battery.

Even though I leave my laptop turned on 95% of the time, it has never caused any physical injuries to my unprotected skin or anyone else's for that matter.

Score: 0

By ZenWarrior

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 11:19 AM

A defect? Then I have seen countless Dell laptops with that defect. I had one. My ex-girlfriend has one. I have at least 4 clients with hot as hell Dells. And that's not counting all those I've seen being used in the odd coffeehouse or two.

Nope, not a defect. This is a problem to which Dell has actually admitted. They went so far as to suggest [some of?] their laptops not be used on bare skin.

And to all I suggest the Targus Chill Pad. Problem band-aided. (Dell has to "fix" it.)

Score: 0

By smarterthanyou

edited Jul 29, 2006 - 2:42 PM

I guess Dell really does have a bunch of morons building their laptops if their computers using Intel Core processors are running that much hotter than laptops using Intel Mobile Pentium 4 processors.

As for the warning not to use laptops on bare skin, Apple has this warning on some of their Intel Mac laptops too.

Score: 0

By Hall9000

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:57 PM

Gives a new meaning to "burning" a CD or DVD. Oh! Look at the new button right next to "Escape", EXTINGUISH! Sorry but I simply couldn't resist. Now a serious question. Are those batteries based on the same technology that those infamous cell phone batteries are based on? Lots of people actually had physical injuries from them flaming up in their pockets.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 6:17 PM

actually, on phones, it's a feature.

Melts right into your ear....

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

edited Jul 28, 2006 - 5:52 PM

Dell sell so many laptops. One laptop catches fire.
I'd like to see the odds of you getting a laptop that catches fire.

It's got to be something in the region of 30,000,000:1. If not higher.

I really couldn't care less. Infact, count it as a bonus, you can get your money back off them, plus extortionate damages.

Why is it news?

You've probably got more chance of being struck by lightning.

It happens equally as much to Apple, and they sell less machines.

So, the moral of that is: You're more likely to die from Apple hardware than Dell*.

*Unless you count death from stress...

*Awaits Apple fanboy and Dell hating crowds to flame*

Pun intended.

Score: 0

By Kramy

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 7:22 PM

1:600,000 roughly, I'm guessing. Many people experience insanely hot Dell laptops. All they have to do is leave them running in a hot location, and they're screwed.

Recently it was over 40C here for a week. My Athlon XP briefly idled at 59C, which is insanely hot. I imagine if I had one of these Dell laptops in this weather, there's no chance it'd stay in one piece. It's at least something to consider.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited Jul 28, 2006 - 6:17 PM

Dude,

I don't know how you did it, but you worked an Apple troll into a story on an exploding Dell laptop.

You, sir, are the Zen Master of trolling. I applaud thee.

/sarcasm

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

edited Jul 28, 2006 - 7:08 PM

Erm...

"I really couldn't care less."

and

"I'd like to see the odds of you getting a laptop that catches fire.

It's got to be something in the region of 30,000,000:1. If not higher."

It's not trolling, it's English wit.

You aren't going to get a flaming laptop unless you are seriously unlucky.

I'm just pointing out that the article was quite biased to Dell considering Apple (and other companies) have also had their fair share of burning laptops. It'd be nice to have an unbiased article on BN for once.

I really don't give a toss who has the most; you still aren't going to get one.

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 3:13 PM

It'd be nice to have an unbiased article on BN for once.

There's no such thing on any news service. The question is: is their bias the same as yours? ;-)

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

edited Jul 30, 2006 - 7:00 PM

Flaming laptops have happened to more than one company. I don't give a toss if it was an HP, Toshiba, Apple, or in this case, Dell* creation that caught fire, BN should at least attempt to lessen its anti-Dell bias.

*Any company

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 31, 2006 - 9:14 AM

They are reporting on a web-site that is reporting a Dell laptop fire.

Why would they have to mention another make or model that caught fire? It's completely irrellevant to the story.

The story is about a Dell. Not an HP...or Compaq...or Macbook...

Score: 0

By Mark Gillespie

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:10 PM

Does make you wonder about airlines letting people use laptops on flights...

Score: 0

By ehn

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 10:30 PM

Dells On a Plane! Dells On a Plane!

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:14 PM

Ooh!

I sense a movie idea here! Terrorist hijacks airliner with Exploding Dell Laptop™!

Laptops on a Plane. (because snakes don't blow up)

Coming soon to a theater near you.

Score: 0

By Floodland

edited Jul 29, 2006 - 12:53 AM

Original idea: PC_Tool
Directed by Osama Bin Bush
FX by Worldcom

Sponsored by HP, Toshiba and Apple
Financed by Enron

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:29 PM

lmao

Score: 0

By Das mod

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:25 PM

yeah, and the next tech trend will be terrorists attaching belts with Dell batteries instead of explosives ....

( sorry, i've got nothing .... )

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:43 PM

A post on the Tom's Hardware forums is news?

Score: 0

By GCoder

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:45 PM

um, yeah if a laptop explodes in your face, you think that is news or not?

Score: 0

By Grazer

edited Jul 28, 2006 - 5:43 PM

I think Desides is calling into question the ability to verify someone's posting on a forum somewhere as truthful and accurate. For example, I could say I discovered an easy method to implement cold fusion. Would I get a news story?

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:32 PM

That and reporting on something that's so statistically insignificant that it might as well never happen is inane.

I'm pretty sure the thinking behind Betanews' posting this was "wow, look at those pictures--let's write it up!"

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 6:15 PM

Perhaps they need a 'Hey that's cool!' section?

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 7:32 PM

Probably. I wouldn't mind seeing something like that--a daily link or photo or something. But BetaNews is really a site about new versions of software, so it'd be out of place.

Score: 0

By Desides

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:14 PM

In a prior story on this stupid "crazy burning laptop" thing, it was said that about 40 laptops per year catch fire.

So this is just one of those 40. Except someone made a posting on a message board about it. With pictures. Big friggin' deal.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:48 PM

Uh...

If a laptop explodes in my face the only news I want to hear is where the hell that fscking ambulance is.

...just sayin'.

Score: 0

By GCoder

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:40 PM

BURN ON DELL! Literally.

thats why anyone with a brain doesnt buy dellcrap, duh.

(dons Dell fanboy flame suit)

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:32 PM

I wasn't aware Dell actually had fanboys.

Score: 0

By bourgeoisdude

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:52 PM

Newsflash: Dell doesn't make Lithium batteries! HP will have one hellova time when the same battery models will catch on fire in their systems later this year (okay I don't really know what model the bad batteries are, so I can't really say HP has them too...)

Point is: 90% of manufacturer defects in Laptops and PCs affect multiple PC vendors. Those unofficially faulty GX270 motherboard capacitors? HP A305n systems had em too...

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:58 PM

Gah!

Don't remind me. I've had Dell replace 3 of those GX270 mobo's in the past 2 months.

I've got about 7 systems left that I haven't had to take offline yet.

...just waiting....it'll happen.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:47 PM

Yeah, and ya might want to be a bit more specific, as well. Dell Consumer systems are crap. Their business class systems are untouchable. (And no, not because they're on fire)

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 5:32 PM

I think you're on fire in this thread.

Score: 0

By PhoenixPath

edited Jul 28, 2006 - 7:29 PM

*sniff*

Something burning?

'Cuz that pun stinks. ;)

Score: 0

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