Very dangerous please help

PHYTHIAN

Agree that leaving it in Hibernation/Standby shouldn't cause the battery to overheat however I'm sure I read in the specifications booklet when I got my laptop that it should NEVER be placed on anything like carpets/bedding etc for any length of time.
Maybe that is what HP are trying to pull on you.

I suggest you keep badgering them and take some initial advice from a solicitor.

adam.mt

In theory 'hibernation mode' is completely off and shouldn't be drawing power either from mains or the battery (system state is stored on the harddisk). 'Standby mode' stills draws power since the system state is stored in RAM and thus the laptop remains on and operating with a low power draw (from mains or battery). Are you sure it was definitely hibernate and the hibernation function appeared to be functioning properly previously (after a few seconds it should go completely silent and all but maybe one flickering light go out; when you open the lid it will have to reload the system state from harddisk and so will take up to about 30 secs)?

Since you don't have household insurance, and presumably your landlord would want compensation for the damaged carpet, then it's up to you to get an independent report and take the retailer you purchased from to the Small Claims Court. If you win then all sorted, if not then you may have to settle for just a replacement laptop or possibly nothing; so it's a gamble you have to decide upon.

Prior to that by all means write to the retailer and HP and see if you can politely push for a suitable settlement without having to proceed to court.

pulliptears

I think I can count on one hand how many times my MacBooks have been turned off. I leave mine on the sofa arm which is very wide and more like a desk but having read this I think it's time I started putting it on the table at night instead now.

baza52

so did the laptop actually catch fire or was it just the battery that leaked?

fluffnutter

* NB. Not actual laptop.

Mupette

the airways seem to have been blocked, hense the over heating..

did you have or use a docking station with it, if yes they there is a cause for concern as a docking station will lift the notebook (no one is allowed to sell laptops any more - due to people burning themselves on the laps when they overheat)

If no docking station then, yes they are going to question you leaving your laptop/notebook on the carpet overnight as you blocked the vents for circulation.

I have a dell latitude D620, although old, it serves it's purpose for me, it overheats big time when not docked, big tip for those who have over heating problems and are out of warranty, blue tack on the feet, (back2) so this lifts the notebook up enough for circulation.

Although OH is a dell engineer, he knows there are over heating problems with certain models and does advise customers what to do. And sorted mine out, i'm docked and no overheating.

rdpro

Mupette wrote: »

OH is a dell engineer

OH here

As stated above:

Standby - stored in RAM, so low power draw
Hibernate - stored on hard drive, zero draw

You haven't told us which model the laptop was, but;

a) lithium ion batteries don't contain any acid (although they can 'burst' through being overcharged/heated)

b) I'd bet you a pound its in the manual that the notebook should only be used on a hard, flat surface (it does in the Dell manuals)

c) HP's and Dells (as well as Macs, Acers, etc.) are all made by ONE company - Foxconn. Dell had an issue whereby the Nvidia graphics chip *didn't* have it's power supply cut during sleep/hibernation, and hence cooked itself to pieces. Possible that the same fault is in yours?

d) As an afterthought, the battery 'melting' doesn't seem related to a system overheat, because it's relatively far away from the 'hot bits' inside, you'd see much more localised damage to the underside/top plastics. I suspect your battery reacted to overcharging (yes, you can damage a fully charged battery by leaving it charging)

Addendum from HP:

Limitation of liability:

in no event will HP be liable for any damages caused by the product or the failure of the product or perform, including any lost profits or savings, business interruption, loss of use or any other commercial or economic loss of any kind, or special, incremental, or consequential damages.

Customer responsibilities:

you will be required to:

• Maintain a proper and adequate environment, and use the HP Hardware Product in accordance with the instructions furnished.

Equaliser123

Did it "leak" (i.e. acid spurting all over the place) or did it get really hot?

Mips

If the vents were blocked, the laptop would overheat and a good computer would shut down completely.

I have a Toshiba laptop which has never been switched off almost! Seriously.. it wouldn't get a restart for weeks!!

I have an Asus notebook always left on, my old HP laptop was always left on.. and an Acer before that!

This is a fault and I think HP should be taking this seriously.

rdpro

CrowdSurfing wrote: »

If the vents were blocked, the laptop would overheat and a good computer would shut down completely.

Very true, but 2 points on this:

1) the normal thermal event shutdown occurs around 95/100C, more than hot enough to melt/warp plastic and cause severe burns. The notebook wouldn't shut down in hibernation if this temp was reached, because to all intent, it's off already.

2) No vents are active or needed during hibernation