old laptop

xsix · Post by **xsix** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:31 am

hello, my friend just gave me one old laptop, it weights about 3-5kg and has a lot of useless slots on it. the problem is that, when i've switched it on, i smell a smoke. leds were blinking. i've done the same for a few times but no smoke after them. can i have any hopes about it?

jerryleecooper · Post by **jerryleecooper** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:21 am

Remove the battery! If it still smell, then well, it's kind of kaput. I tried my OS on an old laptop once, and it didn't want to shutdown. I tought the battery was dead, but no, to my surprise it relived. And for ten minutes I was afraid the laptop was going to explode. So, be cautious with laptops, they are not your average computer.

piranha · Post by **piranha** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:31 am

My computer smoked, and it's still OK. I did a systems check and it all fine...

jerryleecooper · Post by **jerryleecooper** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:50 am

When it smell "burned" or smoked, or there is smoke coming from the computer, it's not good sign. If it's a problem with the dust, remove the dust, but not with an air can, because they splash water. I had a problem once or twice with a powersupply, can't remember exactly. I think it smelled, but cannot remember. I changed it and the computer worked. But if it's the pcb that's smelling, then the problem is serious.

xsix · Post by **xsix** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:24 pm

oh, that's not so cool

. tomorrow i'm going to take it part by part ant to clean the trash out of it, then i'll try it again. one thing i saw was that the cooler didn't spin. but laptop was turned on for about 2-3 second, for a few times(2 or 3). and about safety, it can explode or what?

jerryleecooper · Post by **jerryleecooper** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:47 pm

I don't know if your laptop can explose, but it's true that some laptops have exploded already, principaly of Dell brand. They say it's because of the battery, but it could be also from the heat generated from the dust that make the laptop too hot -> heat the battery -> make it explose. Remember the safety caution about not heating the batteries they say, and about disposing them. My laptop is still on guarantee ( waranty? ) and as Im using it primarily as my main machine, I removed the battery so as not having it receiving the heat from the laptop. It's also something they say to do in the documentation.

JamesM · Post by **JamesM** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:08 am

WARNING your laptop CAN explode.

Li-ion and nickel-cadmium batteries are volatile and if they ignite, will cause a fire that cannot be put out by normal fire extinguishers. Do not screw around with batteries. Just remove it if it smells. The rest of the laptop can't self-ignite, just the battery.

JamesM

Solar · Post by **Solar** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:40 am

jerryleecooper wrote:I removed the battery so as not having it receiving the heat from the laptop. It's also something they say to do in the documentation.

Keeping a battery in the laptop hooked to AC after it's fully charged is a bad idea indeed. Not only does the heat affect the battery: Every so often, once the battery has lost some capacity, it will get recharged for the few % it lost. As this happens at maximum voltage, it tires the battery about as much as a full discharge - recharge cycle (which happens at reduced voltage for most of the recharge).

Bottom end, keep your battery in, and you'll have a next-to-zero-capacity battery after a couple of weeks.

From personal experience. Cost me ~200 USD to replace the bugger.

xsix · Post by **xsix** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:18 am

eh. **** that laptop. it still smells like a smoked chips inside it. Maybe the problems was that the cooler in the main supply doesn't spin, it just trys and stops trys and stops, maybe because that it burned and the whole board inside too. Now i'll search information about how to connect that monochrome lcd display to somewhere