In a time when you're not even allowed to say the word "bomb" in an airport (hey, it's for good reason), it's got to be like, really freaking embarrassing to have to run up the jetway at full speed, shoving other passengers out of the way as your flaming laptop explodes on the ground. (
Sound familiar?) According to an eyewitness report on the Awful Forums, passersby stared aghast or fled crying terrorist, the ThinkPad (which was quoted to be an IBM, not a Lenovo) apparently had a number of death throes as the fire went through various phases, until eventually a United employee busted out the fire extinguisher and laid the laptop to rest. Apparently the machine's owner already checked its battery against the recalls and it was not listed -- and why would it be? IBM and Lenovo aren't
flagged for
bad batteries -- yet. (Sony, we're
looking your direction.) But the coup de grâce at LAX: onlookers apparently mumbling that "too many viruses on your computer" can lead to this horrendous fate. How true, indeed.
[Thanks, Peter]
posted September 16th 2006 1:31PM
I hope that my laptop never explodes lol. I leave him on 24/24 and while I'm in bed my notebook is only a few meters away from me. It could easily put my whole bedroom on fire before I wake up :P
All these exploding batteries make me paranoid about using my laptop now. It's a fairly old Dell, from before all the recalls started, but it runs effin' hot and now I'm afraid it's going to go boom. Sigh.
@ Rick
You try taking 15 minutes to order a pizza...
They can't ban laptops if they want to stay in business. Business travel would plummet and so would the airlines' earnings.
This is a standard 14.1" T4x thinkpad (either IBM or Lenovo, can't tell between the T42 and T43), and yes, Sony does make the batteries for it (one of mine is Sony, the other is a Sanyo).
So, why does it seem that all this has never happened before, then within a few months, a Dell explodes, an Apple, an IBM, etc.
What's the deal?
Every time I read one of these articles, I think it's bullcrap, as it's like the "latest trend" to have exploding laptops.
Is all of this legit? And if so, why does this all occur within a relatively short period of time?
Strange...
According to Lenovo/IBM docs, the T4x laptops do ship with Sony batteries (in addition to Panasonic and Sayno):
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-58420.html
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-46474.html
I'm virtually positive that's a T4x, with a 6 cell battery of some time. I can still see the beveled shape of the back, so I'm pretty sure it's a 6 cell.
Following this incident Airport Authorities have decided to put laptops under Combustible Material and hence banned :P
Robert: It would be very obvious if it were a 9-cell. This is a 6er for sure.
The real question is whether it's a genuine IBM battery that blew. A lot of outfits sell IBM casings with generic cells installed (often with higher MaH ratings than the official batteries). That would go a long way toward explaining why there hasn't been a recall already.
Awesom-o: It's legit. How do I know? Because it's mine (I was wondering how long it would take before someone posted this on engadget). The thing went up like a firecracker when the fire hit each of the cells. It was pretty crazy.
And yes, it's a ThinkPad T43. I don't know if it was a Sony battery - I can't tell now that it's a charred mess, but my guess is that it was if they made them for IBM. I was using it 30 minutes before and it had no problems. It was even turned off and in my bag when it caught fire. So even if the computer is off, there's still a risk of a fire - now that's scary.
It's going to be an interesting Monday morning when I take the thing into the office for a replacement. One thing for sure, I'm always going to disconnect the battery from the computer whenever I fly. At least I have a good excuse for not working when I'm flying :-)
Everyone please check your computer battery, and just because it isn't on the list doesn't mean that it's not at risk. If anything, just disconnect the thing when you fly.
I say just ban all batteries period. They should give us all little crank handles like the $100 MIT laptop. Then people who use laptops will be easy to spot due to our enourmous muscly right arms.
Just noticed that the battery on my MBP is literally directly over a very important area. I am worried now.
This is the reason laptops come with REMOVABLE batteries and power cords.
AL, thanks for the confirmation. An our sympathy for what must have been a mighty scare.
One thing, though: I don't see how taking the battery out of the computer would make it any safer if the fire is caused by an internal short in the battery, as reports seem to indicate for the other incidents involving Lithium-Ion batteries -- see http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/2006/PhiladelphiaPA/iic_opening_text.htm
BTW, for reader wondering about "IBM or Lenovo?", my laptop is a brand new Lenovo T60 but it has the IBM logo on both top and bottom. There is just a tiny fine print mention of "Manufactured by Lenovo" on a separate sticker. Lenovo has been building the ThinkPads for IBM for years before buying the product line from IBM, and when it did so it also got the right to use IBM brand on the ThinkPads for a while.
It does cause a bit of confusion when registering the thing for insurance purposes.
"But the coup de grâce at LAX: onlookers apparently mumbling that "too many viruses on your computer" can lead to this horrendous fate. How true, indeed."
All kidding aside, in theory is it really entirely improbable that a piece of malware could be written to alter your mobo and fan settings and in effect "overclock" the battery, which would cause it to overheat and become volatile?
AL, I think there's still a way to check whether exploded battery was made by Sony or not.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=HOME-LENOVO
On the left side is link "Parts information". If you know machine's type & serial, you can see original parts shipped in it. Then you can compare battery FRU number with those in
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-62330
Not that it really matters, of course, but folks here & there are dying from curiosity. ;-)
Enough is enough! I have had it with these motha fuckin exploding laptop batteries on this motha fuckin plane!
If these sorts of cells are shorting out internally (as per the news reports about metal particles getting between the foil layers and causing an internal short circuit), then what in Goodness Gracious could be the possible purpose or benefit in removing the battery pack from laptop?
I mean, if the cell is about to short out and explode, then the cell is about to short out and explode even if the battery pack is removing and held above one's head while standing on one leg, jumping up and down while chanting some ancient prayer (has about as much to do with it...).
It's pretty much along the same lines as other airline security where they can't really prevent suicidal maniacs, but they can take away nail clippers from little old ladies.
"Well, we do what we can..."
its not the batteries its the intel dual core...
remember how they had problems with battery drain when usb connected and then the ypatched it...
well they must of patched it just quick and that energy trying to get out is blowing the batteries up.
remember they never blew up until intel added the patch..
and from what i read no amd based laptops have blown up....
its intel not the batteries.. they tried to blame microsoft first.. that didnt work... now they blame the batterie makers...
Does anyone know for sure that the battery is completely safe when disconnected and removed? If it is an internal short, surely it could go up anytime. If that is the case, they are probably more dangerous packed away in the hold, as the fire could be amongst flammable material and close to the exterior skin or near flight control or hydraulic lines.
Battery = large amounts of energy confined in a samll a space as possible.
Large amount of energy quickly released from a confined space = bomb.
What does a lithium battery fire look like ? Ask RC enthusiasts, they have been dealing with those ( carefully ) for a while now:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3690260570423705609&q=lithium+fire
Damn. Well, if your laptop's battery pops, I'd throw it.
AL
As the person that pays for your laptops, ouch. As the guy that is sitting in London waiting for you, and your laptop, to arrive and get the work done, damn your eyes.
SW
Anyone else notice the one letter difference between "Sony" and "Sanyo" , y'know - Snyo - Sony?
Maybe its just all a big Sony conspiracy - Have any Sony laptops gone bang yet?
I think this is a common trend involving battery cells in production. They
need to inspect to see if the battery was a Sony, and if not, they need to
trace it further back to who made the cells.
Anyway, the AID alliance is coming together (Apple, IBM and Dell). I'm glad
i'm using a desktop Mac and a PowerBook with a Sanyo battery right about
now.
If this is the one incident that gets all laptops banned from planes then I will be a very very upset traveller.
How interesting. Did anyone catch the model of the notebook (thinkpad) that went up? There are two thinkpads in this house and I am typing on one now. Just hoping ours are not affected. -Sebastian of www.sebrt.com
Hi.
This is a long time since IBM do not build computer. They just putted their sticker on it for a long time now... But it proove that their batteries did not have passed any tests before to be sold with the laptops. Plus maybe there is something wrong with the current drawn sensor and the heat sensor. Unless it has been disabled in the BIOS settings by the user himself. It also make no doubt that these companies don't give a shit about security. The battery which without being from MIT level studying is a potential bomb STILL stand in front of the computer, while it would be logical to put it in the back. The same opposite goes for the usb but i am venting away... Hey what if they made a laptop which is running on AA size energy cells like brave old sound blaster. At least it was blasting the right way... Haha.
There was obviously a short circuit in the battery pack for that to explode. For it to be heat related,there would have to be an intense amount of heat generated to the equivalent of sticking a hot soldering iron on 1 of the AA's inside the battery compartment for about 1 - 2 minutes (maybe less). Class 101: Run a wire directly from the + to the - side of any battery and at some point the batteries gonna blow ! (And please don't be dumb enough to try it)
its the fault of SONY
I have a gut feeling that very soon its going to be very hard to find an airline that will let you carry-on your laptops.
http://www.laptopbatteryclub.com/