Why my girlfriend and technology don't mix well

Yesterday I got a hysterical call from my girlfriend. She had been cooking our dinner from an online recipe and had decided to place the laptop on top of the oven to see it better .

She turned on the hob to boil some water in a pan on the other side of the other side of the oven .................................................................... 5 minutes later she smells something funny and as she comes back into the kitchen she sees flames spurting out from under the laptop .................................................................... She'd accidently turned on the hob which had the laptop sitting on it and was just beginning to create boiled laptop for dinner!!!

I've uploaded a picture of the fire damage to the laptop
http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu292/eldredevans/Ebay/CIMG4934.jpg

However, amazingly the laptop still works which I think says something about the hardiness of Dells.

I'm now trying to cover up as much of the damage as possible. Luckily a large amount of the damage was to the battery which can easily be replaced. However, I'm struggling to find something to cover the parts of the central casing which were melted away. They are definitely not replaceable and I'm not even sure which bits are exposed (I'm no good with hardware)

I was thinking about trying to buy a thin sheet of metal and just screwing it in to cover the exposed parts. However, I have no idea what sort of place would sell something like that or whether it would even work.

If anyone has any ideas about ways I could cover the laptop or where I could buy a thin sheet of metal (I'm in the UK), I'd really appreciate it.



UPDATE: Surprisingly as of 23rd October 2010 the laptop is still going strong. In the end I didn't manage to find the time to replace the chasis or harddrive etc. so it is still exactly in the same condition as the picture. I replaced the battery but it didn't last very long (not sure whether that was ebay or the laptop) and now use it without a battery

It still works perfectly although I back it up regularly. Dells really are amazingly hardy machines.

In the end I decided not to replace my girlfriend but I did buy a fire-extinguisher for the kitchen!

 

wow... i'm surprised it didn't explode

 

You need to get rid of that battery ASAP it is literally a bomb waiting to go off.

While wearing glasses/gloves remove the battery, wrap it in a few sealed bags, and take it to a recycling center that accepts lithium-ion cells.

As for a new panel, you can look around on ebay for parts(What model is it again?)

Or, you can glue in some plastic sheets to cover the damage-just be careful not to cover any vents.

A small, local hardware store should have some scrap 1/16" plexiglass laying around that they might give you for free. Buy some RTV silicon from them and you're in business.

 

apology accepted..lol but yea..being a female it does seem sexist..

lol..sorry if i sound "defensive" about it..don't mean to but there are plenty of females on these forums and out there who do know what they are doing and talking about when it comes to technology..there are plenty of females out there who have had a big part in advancements with tech..
ok ok..now that i've said that..LOL

well..first of all..the old saying "is she blonde" LOLz..
sounds like..being the techy of you two..lol you might want to give her some pointers about how NOT to use a laptop..or where to place it..

anyways..yes..get rid of the battery!

ahhh lol i c u changed the title..haha..
didn't mean to be troubled by it..i wasn't..
hope any of these ideas helped!

 

I didn't change the title (my original was 'Why women and technology don't mix well')! I see why someone changed it though as it will probably save ruffling the feathers of the female members!

Ironically, she is a natural blonde. She has always been a bit 'rough' with the tech in the house but has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing (despite destroying 3 mobiles in a single year). However, now she doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll go to the hardware store next week and see what they've got. The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 640m but none of the removable panels have really been damaged that badly - only the casing around the pannels so I don't think I can get any exact replacements?

Any other ideas to add to the list?

 

really? it was titled " why WOMeN and technology don't mix well"
huh..maybe a mod..idk..

 

Interesting situation
Buy her a printer for her birthday, so she can print the recipes

On a serious note, you cannot simply by sheet metal and cover up the holes.
Metal is conductive, and so are the screws.
Plus you cannot drill and insert screws into the laptop, or else you would be drilling and bolting through critical pieces.

Your best bet is to buy a new lower shell for your laptop. They can be bought on ebay for pretty cheap.
If you are not technological savvy, You can make a short term fix, and that is to use thin cardboard and non condictive electrical tape to cover any openings. You do not want the inner laptop pieces exposed to the outside environment. You dont want dirt or water getting in.

The only real fix is to get another shell and swap the insides into it.

Be sure that the fan actually works. That area looks a little fried.
If the fan is dead, you can get a replacement for cheap.

Good luck,

K-TRON

 

parts-people.com and resaleremarketing.net have a lot of parts for older Dell models, including chassis/case plastics. I suggest you start there to find the parts you're looking for.

And yeah, definitely get rid of that battery sooner rather than later.

 

And do not charge the battery. When you do that you actually create lithium metal that is a higher energy state than its discharged counterpart. Lithium reacts violently with water, so even a humid day could cause your laptop to explode. Definitely get rid of the battery.

 

Thanks for the laugh, and yeah that would say something about dells build quality!

I have to tell my girlfriend not to put her hands all over the screen when she wants to point at something on the screen. I know it sounds anal but fingerprints annoy me.

 

omg, that so funny, but I feel sad for u at the same time haha.... anyway, how can it still be working? the fire did not burn the hardware inside the laptop ?

 

dont they sell laptops for 'parts only' on ebay? maybe you can find an actual case. i'd rather find a replacement part. maybe dell has some you can buy.

 

On the stove? Are you serious? >_>;

I'd get rid of that battery like stated, pronto. Personally, I'd set that up as a desktop only machine and get an entirely new laptop; direct fire means it probably won't be working for too much longer before something else might go bad inside of it.

 

LMAO

 

Can you trust the hard disk, now?
High temperature and magnetism do not mix well.
If your girlfriend is going to use the laptop for something more important than recipes, I'd consider replacing the HD (it can be use in an external box for files that are not vital, like recipes ).

 

holy sh-

Something should have registered in her head (You don't put anything on a stove top that isn't going to be cooked). That's home etc. safety 101.

Also technology wise- obviously it is something you avoid.

...


so was the dinner delicious?

 

You did tell your girlfriend that you were going to fire up the computer and post this online, right? So that she can look up all the wisecrack advise that we're going to want to burn into her memory right?

For one, stop using the battery if you have not already. I know a few forum members have said it...but I'm saying it again.

Two...download/run a full health scan of the hard drive using HD Tune, preferably after making a backup of your data. I'm going to guess that the hard drive is going to be one of the next things to fail on the notebook. The plastic on the notebook had to have gotten quite hot for it to melt like that, so I think it likely the hard drive was at an unusually high operating temperature as well.

Three...new house rule: no computers in or near any cooking or dining rooms, unless said computer is a wall mounted all-in-one PC installed at a minimum of a few feet away from any cooking devices.

Make sure you have a class A/B/C fire extinguisher in the house from here on in. Try to get a single extinguisher that is capable of handling all three classes of fires. Had that laptop blown... I'm serious, this is the kind of stuff that causes apartment complex buildings to burn down. Your girlfriend was very lucky to not have been an entree for dinner herself.

 

Wow!
Here is the bottom case with all the doors, not in best condition, but it is cheap, and alot better then what happened there. http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-E...aultDomain_0?hash=item33543f4546#ht_543wt_939

Here is the bottom case with out any doors, but it is new. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DELL-Inspir...ultDomain_0?hash=item230510ee84#ht_981wt_1165

the CPU Cover http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-6...ltDomain_0?hash=item3efc6e9418#ht_3057wt_1165

Ram Cover http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-6...e_Trackballs?hash=item5ad32c059c#ht_524wt_939

Modem Cover http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Inspiron-6...e_Trackballs?hash=item5ad32c08ec#ht_504wt_939

Cant find a hard drive cover on ebay.

and a Dell OEM Battery http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Original-OE...op_Batteries?hash=item20af25ec9e#ht_998wt_939

and you will be good to go, Might want to replace hard drive.. that had to be some heat.

 

There is likely little damage inside since it still works, but also the heat likely didn't penetrate well. If it had, the battery would have exploded.

In her defense it is easy to hit the wrong knob when you are in a hurry.

On the bottom, if you can't replace it, why not glue a piece of plastic over it? No metal!

 

If I was you, I would take a full scan of any possible damage on the inside before I start buying parts. Start with the fans...

 

I build Remote control airplanes and we kinda invented the tech of the Lithium-polymer battery,the kind seen in an unibody mac,and we have seen that an over heated li-po or laptop's li-ion will basicly attempt to kill you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw

 

Yeah Li-Po packs explode much easier than Li-Ion.

Ran them on my brushless motor, always gotta make sure the cells are balanced.

 

She put..the laptop..on the oven. LOL. Im sorry but thats hilarious. But at the same time scary. Thank God it wasn't any worse. Did you get rid of that battery yet? Couldn't she of just put it on the counter NEXT to the oven? or is theoven like completely isolated from the rest of the kitchen? Lol if she put the laptop IN the oven while cooking...

 

told this story to my girlfriend and she said she could see herself doing that...not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

 

Of course laptop still works. It was exposed to the temperature you usually get from nVidia GeForce 8400M GS while using 3D acceleration. I like how the Windows authentication key is without a scratch!

BTW I did the same once, with the oven turned off of course. As that place was the only one in my friends apartment where I could get WiFi.

 

Someone's buying accidental damage protection next time.

 

lol .... not many people read physics book nowadays ... i guess she doesnt who albert einstein is

 

Ouch.

Shame it wasn't an Apple - Otherwise you'd have been Engadgeted / Gizmodo'd faster than you can say "drooling bias".

 

that's funny and relevant and true!

---

time to wall mount a touch screen computer for doing kitchen research.

 

with all due respect, time to change the laptop... and perhaps the girlfriend?

 

That reminds me of the rather unorthodox method that I had to use to pop open my Clevo D901C:

Three of the screws on the bottom panel were ruined, while trying to un-screw them I accidentally rounded them (the screws were too tightly-screwed after receiving it back from RMA).

The laptop was overheating to no end, especially the Graphics Cards, thus, after trying and trying many solutions, to no avail, I picked up my Welding Iron...

The Doctor is IN.

I superheated the screws until that the plastic and metal holding them shut gave up, the screws were done-for.

Interestingly, the laptop's circuits suffered no damage from the heat and no molten metal scraps fell on the inside of the laptop, not a method that I would advise to anyone, and I would not do it again myself that is for sure.

 

I have done the same while drilling off the heads.
You get about 1/4 of the way through the head when it starts spinning.

The heat is concentrated on the screw, and the plastic cools around it quite quickly.


I have also used Dremels to cut out around the screw hole as well as cutting a slot in the screw for a flathead screwdriver. You can put quite a lot of heat into the screws before you cause damage.

 

oooh, that smarts...

how about contacting dell. telling them that their laptops are the greatest even after being half cooked and you would happily let them use your picture in a reliability advert? and any chance of a free laptop? its worth a try.

 

Yeah. The Vaio L11 that I replaced my iMac with in the kitchen works great - and thanks to the Windows switch, my media is now unchained without relying on incomplete OSS alternatives too.

Although the touch screen is debatable. Cool, but not actually all that kitchen-friendly since you're washing your hands just as fastidiously before using either screen or keyboard.

 

for in the Kitchen I find a stulus from a nintendo DS hooked to the side works great for those icky fingers ... just wash the stylus occasionally

 

Thats hilarious , but damn amazing that it still runs.

 

When she walks through a room where the only power point is on the opposite side to the only desk...

and the power cord hangs on more tightly to the laptop than the laptop does to the desk...

then gravity takes over.

However that Vostro 1500 still works fine after some mending of the only slightly busted thing: a keyboard ribbon. Maybe that's why she's still alive.

 

some people should "think twice" before doing anything.Placing a laptop on top of the oven or what you call is a huge mistake.

Anyway,good for her,she has the experience now and wont do the same mistake again.

And hell yes,why girls touch to the laptop's screen always,when they want to point something out!

My girlfriend was playing with my RC Savage X 4.6 and she hit the trottle to much,even the truck was running on rich mixture it instantly fall into my pool,I said before that she should not operate it near a pool.

I dried the receiver,oiled the engine and it works!

 

You should really tell your girlfriend to be careful next time. She's lucky that the battery didn't explode.

 

I know a few friends into that sort of thing, to say they were any better would be a lie.

 

UPDATE: Amazingly as of 23rd October 2010 the laptop is still going strong. In the end I didn't manage to find the time to replace the chasis so it is still exactly in the same condition as the picture. I replaced the battery but it didn't last very long (not sure whether that was ebay or the laptop) and now use it without a battery

It still works perfectly although I back it up regularly. Dells really are amazingly hardy machines.

In the end I decided not to replace my girlfriend but I did buy a fire-extinguisher for the kitchen .

 

hehe amazing... good to hear.

 

Wow!

I hope I don't get tested like that, you handled the situation very well.

 

This is why I don't have a girlfriend...j/k

anyway, its weird, I overclock the %#@! out of every computer I own and so far I have never destroyed a part. The only electronic device I've broken recently was a 1.5 TB HDD

 

Ouch.. Did you have backup off all that stuff?

 

any updates on this ? is it still running ?

 

You should work this to your advantage to get a free computer out of Dell as advertising.

Kind of like the Ford Million Mile Van ...

 

Wow...

This thread is a reality check for me. I used to complain about my ex's computer skills, but damn, her mistakes don't even come close to this.

 

Like many others, I am really surprised the whole thing did not blow off.

But anyway +1 to the durability of Dell notebooks.

Probably the biggest shock of your girlfriend's life...

edit: Just saw the picture you uploaded, I must say I am speechless... Oh it reminds me of a episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson tried to destroy this truck with every method possible but the truck just wouldn't die...