HP laptop burning smell

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone came across a situation that was similar to that of my gf's. Her HP pav is just about 2 years old but recently she's noting that it has been overheating (fan runs extremely loud for long periods). Last week her and her roomates noted a burning smell. Turns out it was coming from her unit. The question is what could she do at this point since her warranty has expired? She's really concerned that the unit could ignite (although probably unlikely but still plausible). Do we have any recourse?

 

Logical option, hp >> bin. Time for a new laptop.

 

Open it up and clean out the dust. Hopefully the computer itself was not damaged.

HP has their service manuals available on their website if you need help to take the machine apart.

 

I can't help to feel that HP could be liable as this product is only 2 years old. I understand if there were gpu issues or if a drive failed, but this sounds potentially dangerous.

 

HP is liable as long your warranty is valid. After that, they could just turn around and blame it on user error.

 

The burning smell could also be simply... dust.

If the machine has not been serviced in 2 years (which it is sounding likely)

you probably have a nice collection of dustbunnies and other stuff clogging up the air way. Grab yourself an hour and get the service manual, or if you're not comfortable taking the machine apart, find someone/someplace to get it cleaned.

The fan will go to max if the airway is blocked, and there is no liability for users not keeping their machines clean.

Unlike khetiks really useful [/sarcasm] comments, all laptops over time collect dust, and they need to be cleaned, much like a carpet in your house.

The heat smell will be the heatpipe getting hot. but it will not ignite because the system will not get over 100c because it will shut down before that occurance. (due to heat protection in the computer)

Hope this helps, and just give her a clean!

Sio

 

Hello 4thehorde4,

I work for HP and would like to review with your girlfriend what is happening to her Notebook. If she could send me her contact and product information to [email protected] I would like to reach out to her. Please include in the subject line Attn: Veronica-NBR.

"The views expressed in my contributions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and strategy of HP"

 

Consumer crap. Have an HP Compaq nc6220 from 2005 or so & EliteBook 2530p from 2009. Both are great. The Compaq has been dropped too many times to count, worst thing that happened is the hard drive died (that's well expected.)

Next time get an HP EliteBook or Lenovo T- or X- series and it will last forever.

 

Oh yes and the counterfeit Compaq charger purchased on eBay that caught fire. Avoid chargers or batteries that aren't from an authorized reseller.