By INQUIRER newsdesk: Wednesday 21 June 2006, 13:22
AN INQUIRER READER attending a conference in Japan was sat just feet away from a laptop computer that suddenly exploded into flames, in what could have been a deadly accident.
Guilhem, our astonished reader reports: "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes".
Should you witness such an event, his advice is, "Don't try anything courageous/stupid, stay away, away, away!"
"For the record, this is a Dell machine," notes Guilhem. "It is only a matter of time until such an incident breaks out on a plane," he suggests.
Guilhem managed to catch all the action in these amazing pictures.
"Fire extinguishers leave a mess on your suit and belongings; pack your stuff (if you can) and leave, leave, leave!" he advises.
We don't have any further details of the model of the computer in question. In light of the evidence, however, we'd suggest you avoid actually using a laptop on your lap. Ouch.
*Boom*
GALEFORCE/BOTM member and all around forum lurker.
And to think I was actually eyeing a dell laptop recently. *Scratches that off list fo things to buy*
Brains! "I would ask if the irony of starting a war to spread democracy while ignoring public opinion polls at home would occur to George W. Bush, but then I check myself and realize that
I'm talking about a trained monkey."-Darth Wong "All I ever got was "evil liberal commie-nazi". Yes, he called me a communist nazi."-DPDarkPrimus
General Zod wrote:I await people proclaiming Dells to be good machines to start apologizing now.
Fuck yes I love my Dell, no hassle and every part works without any problems.
But I would just love to see a video of the exploding laptop
And my portable is a IBM, no one gets fired for buying IBM
[img=right]http://hem.bredband.net/b217293/warsaban.gif[/img] "Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to. ... If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. ... If, as they say, God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?" -Epicurus
Fear is the mother of all gods.
Nature does all things spontaneously, by herself, without the meddling of the gods. -Lucretius
InnocentBystander wrote:So what, the battery exploded or something?
It would almost certainly be the battery. There's a reason the box of lithium batteries my company ordered has an explosives warning sticker on the side of it.
Edit: Actually, its an unstable materials sticker. Still, they can ruin your day.
Must have been the battery. There isn't anything else volatile enough in a laptop computer to cause that. That's not something that happens all that often, though. Cell phone batteries are basically vary similar if not the same, and there haven't been all that many stories of those exploding despite there being vastly more cell phones than laptop computers.
Edi
Warwolf Urban Combat Specialist
Why is it so goddamned hard to get little assholes like you to admit it when you fuck up? Is it pride? What gives you the right to have any pride?
–Darth Wong to vivftp
GOP message? Why don't they just come out of the closet: FASCISTS R' US –Patrick Degan
The GOP has a problem with anyone coming out of the closet. –18-till-I-die
InnocentBystander wrote:Would a lithium battery produce 'several' explosions?
May have been two batteries, or just parts of the same battery cooking off?
Probably the individual cells within the battery pack.
Dell has a battery recall for certain models because of the risk of fire.
Maybe this guy didn't know about the recall program?
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Edi wrote:Must have been the battery. There isn't anything else volatile enough in a laptop computer to cause that. That's not something that happens all that often, though. Cell phone batteries are basically vary similar if not the same, and there haven't been all that many stories of those exploding despite there being vastly more cell phones than laptop computers.
Edi
I looked into this when I bought a 'Nokia' brand battery from an ebay seller and the damn thing got *real* hot when charging.
It turns out that almost all of the cellphone battery fire issues that I read about involve counterfeit branded batteries.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Laird wrote:If my dell explodes, I will sue dell for the many DVD's, exspensive desktop it sits next too, LCD projector, and pain/anguishment..
But if it did because the battery was one that was under recall you might lose because thanks to this thread, you are now aware of the Dell Battery Recall Program.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."- General Sir Charles Napier
Glocksman wrote:I looked into this when I bought a 'Nokia' brand battery from an ebay seller and the damn thing got *real* hot when charging.
It turns out that almost all of the cellphone battery fire issues that I read about involve counterfeit branded batteries.
That's correct. I've seen one near-explosion from a cell phone battery, and that was with a well-used one that had developed a fault. It started smoking and almost wrecked my friend's phone, but didn't blow up. Shoddy counterfeits on the other hand have been known to go boom.
Edi
Warwolf Urban Combat Specialist
Why is it so goddamned hard to get little assholes like you to admit it when you fuck up? Is it pride? What gives you the right to have any pride?
–Darth Wong to vivftp
GOP message? Why don't they just come out of the closet: FASCISTS R' US –Patrick Degan
The GOP has a problem with anyone coming out of the closet. –18-till-I-die
YT300000 wrote:So that's why you don't see commercials with the "Dude, you're getting a Dell" guy anymore...
IIRC, he was arrested for illegal drug use. I believe the correct term was, "Dude, you're getting a cell!"
Brains! "I would ask if the irony of starting a war to spread democracy while ignoring public opinion polls at home would occur to George W. Bush, but then I check myself and realize that
I'm talking about a trained monkey."-Darth Wong "All I ever got was "evil liberal commie-nazi". Yes, he called me a communist nazi."-DPDarkPrimus
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