Smoke comes out of the laptop...

MetallicThor · 01-01-2009, 01:41 PM

Recently, I've been using my HP Compaq 6910p. My battery charge was around 55% so I thought of plugging in the charger. As I did so, the computer automatically shut down. When I say shut down, I mean as if the battery was dead. I tried pressing the power button but it wouldn't turn on. I tried taking of the battery and putting it in many times, vainly. The next day, I tried plugging in the charger. Yet, no sign of any circuit going in and of course the laptpop wouldn't work. I tried playing with the charger a bit, the charger has two parts: the plug that goes into the wall socket and the other cable that goes into the laptop. I would separate them and then put the latter in just in case there was something wrong with the charger. Then suddenly the button of the laptop lit up and some smoke came out from the fan area... Now whenever I plug in the charger, the ram area gets a bit hot and small amounts of smoke start coming out of the fan area.

Is the problem in the charger, battery or is something clogging the inside of the computer not letting the charge going in thus causing smoke?

dai · 01-01-2009, 02:48 PM

sounds like an expensive short
leave it off and check inside and see if you can see what it is cause and what is damaged

MetallicThor · 01-04-2009, 03:30 AM

You mean a short circuit? Well, I don't know how to open the laptop's carcass and I'm afraid of breaking it by mistake.

**wmorri** · 01-04-2009, 04:19 AM

Hi,

If you look on the bottom of the case you should see some screws. You can open the case by taking out the screws. I would be careful not to touch anything with the screw driver though as it might shot circuit, but that is the least of your problems right now.

Cheers!

ITJon · 07-08-2009, 12:58 PM

Before opening the case, verify if your laptop is still under warranty. If you're not under warranty, you may be out of luck. I had a client recently whose Compaq laptop started smoking. In the past, vendors would replace the computer because it was a safety concern, but HP has been useless in this case. The Middle Eastern "support" is sticking to the end of warranty status.

And people wonder why our city isn't switching to HP with their lower prices....

If you end up replacing your laptop, purchase a notebook hard drive enclosure so you can pull anything off you haven't already backed up. The enclosure will give you the added benefit of an external hard drive for making backups in the future.

I can't vouch for the safety of the site or file, but this appears to be the service manual for your laptop. You should be able to find what you need for opening up the case. Look for any signs that it was fried - discoloration, bulging resistors/capacitors, etc. MOST IMPORTANT STEP: Remove the battery(ies) and power, then hold the power button down for 10 seconds to make sure there's no residual power left in the system.

01-01-2009, 01:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
MetallicThor Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Windows Vista Business Edition	Smoke comes out of the laptop... Recently, I've been using my HP Compaq 6910p. My battery charge was around 55% so I thought of plugging in the charger. As I did so, the computer automatically shut down. When I say shut down, I mean as if the battery was dead. I tried pressing the power button but it wouldn't turn on. I tried taking of the battery and putting it in many times, vainly. The next day, I tried plugging in the charger. Yet, no sign of any circuit going in and of course the laptpop wouldn't work. I tried playing with the charger a bit, the charger has two parts: the plug that goes into the wall socket and the other cable that goes into the laptop. I would separate them and then put the latter in just in case there was something wrong with the charger. Then suddenly the button of the laptop lit up and some smoke came out from the fan area... Now whenever I plug in the charger, the ram area gets a bit hot and small amounts of smoke start coming out of the fan area. Is the problem in the charger, battery or is something clogging the inside of the computer not letting the charge going in thus causing smoke?

01-01-2009, 02:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,763 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Smoke comes out of the laptop... sounds like an expensive short leave it off and check inside and see if you can see what it is cause and what is damaged __________________

01-04-2009, 03:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
MetallicThor Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Windows Vista Business Edition	Re: Smoke comes out of the laptop... You mean a short circuit? Well, I don't know how to open the laptop's carcass and I'm afraid of breaking it by mistake.

01-04-2009, 04:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,847 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: Smoke comes out of the laptop... Hi, If you look on the bottom of the case you should see some screws. You can open the case by taking out the screws. I would be careful not to touch anything with the screw driver though as it might shot circuit, but that is the least of your problems right now. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever!

07-08-2009, 12:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
ITJon Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1 OS: WinXP SP3, Vista, Win7	Re: Smoke comes out of the laptop... Before opening the case, verify if your laptop is still under warranty. If you're not under warranty, you may be out of luck. I had a client recently whose Compaq laptop started smoking. In the past, vendors would replace the computer because it was a safety concern, but HP has been useless in this case. The Middle Eastern "support" is sticking to the end of warranty status. And people wonder why our city isn't switching to HP with their lower prices.... If you end up replacing your laptop, purchase a notebook hard drive enclosure so you can pull anything off you haven't already backed up. The enclosure will give you the added benefit of an external hard drive for making backups in the future. I can't vouch for the safety of the site or file, but this appears to be the service manual for your laptop. You should be able to find what you need for opening up the case. Look for any signs that it was fried - discoloration, bulging resistors/capacitors, etc. MOST IMPORTANT STEP: Remove the battery(ies) and power, then hold the power button down for 10 seconds to make sure there's no residual power left in the system. Last edited by ITJon; 07-08-2009 at 01:00 PM.