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15" PB - BLOWN UP!!

cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,134
4
BrisVegas, Australia
well, just surfing the WWW and saw this. i actually came across the link from another site, i dont' usually browse the French forums. :p

check it out: a blown up 15" PowerBook. :eek:

i'm pretty sure that's a 15", well it's at least one of the new models. poor PB... :(
 
cb911 said:
well, just surfing the WWW and saw this. i actually came across the link from another site, i dont' usually browse the French forums. :p

check it out: a blown up 15" PowerBook. :eek:

i'm pretty sure that's a 15", well it's at least one of the new models. poor PB... :(
Click to expand...
My guess is that this resulted from extreme overheating caused by the PowerBook failing to go to sleep when the lid was closed. Why would a PowerBook or iBook fail to sleep when it's supposed to, though? That will only cause problems like the overheating problem linked to above.
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
My guess is that this resulted from extreme overheating caused by the PowerBook failing to go to sleep when the lid was closed. Why would a PowerBook or iBook fail to sleep when it's supposed to, though? That will only cause problems like the overheating problem linked to above.
Click to expand...

The PowerBooks are designed to operate normally with the lid closed when an external keyboard, mouse and display are plugged in. I don't think the PowerBook design relies too heavily on venting excess heat through the top of the chassis. After all, how hot does your keyboard get? The palm rests do get warm, but not really what I'd call 'hot' (not on my Rev B 12" PowerBook anyway). I think most heat dissipation in a PowerBook occurs through the base of the unit, and out the back through the fan vent.

I could be totally wrong here, but 'lid-closed' operation is definitely supported on PowerBooks, and is on many other non-Apple notebooks too. I'm guessing something much more severe than the lid being closed happened here...
 
the way it looks he was probably doing something HD intensive overnight. thats my only guess

i wouldn't doubt he put it in the oven :p
 
Best I can tell from the text on the French site, it seems to have been a problem with the battery. My French isn't very good, but the sense I get is that this is a rare battery problem--it just happens sometimes. Some posters claim to have seen the same phenomenon with cell phone batteries.

EDIT: FWIW, that's a 17-inch PB, not a 15-incher.
 
wordmunger said:
...EDIT: FWIW, that's a 17-inch PB, not a 15-incher...
Click to expand...

Look closer, it's a 15"- The 17" has bigger speaker grills.

Geez, even the 5300 didn't explode, the battery just caught fire. Does the warranty cover this? "My PowerBook blowed up!"
 
5300cs said:
Look closer, it's a 15"- The 17" has bigger speaker grills.

Geez, even the 5300 didn't explode, the battery just caught fire. Does the warranty cover this? "My PowerBook blowed up!"
Click to expand...
Okay, nevermind... I have a TiBook, and I didn't realize the 15 inch AlBook had such big speaker grills.
 
Google Translation

google.gif


Holy crap!!

Now we know why PC manufacturers go with plastic. The shrapnel wouldn't be nearly as deadly!

Hmmm I wonder if someone could build an app for this "feature". Sort of like the Enterprise's self destruct sequence in Wrath of Kahn.
Computer….initiate self destruct sequence.
**Please enter security code**
GatesBlows1.
Auto destruct in 30 seconds…29…28…27
new_microwave.gif


Don't you guys think Apple is taking security a little too far? I mean first file vault, then multi overwrite recycle bin, now detonating laptops. ;)
 
SiliconAddict said:
Google Translation

google.gif


Holy crap!!

Now we know why PC manufacturers go with plastic. The shrapnel wouldn't be nearly as deadly!

Hmmm I wonder if someone could build an app for this "feature". Sort of like the Enterprise's self destruct sequence in Wrath of Kahn.
Computer….initiate self destruct sequence.
**Please enter security code**
GatesBlows1.
Auto destruct in 30 seconds…29…28…27
new_microwave.gif


Don't you guys think Apple is taking security a little too far? I mean first file vault, then multi overwrite recycle bin, now detonating laptops. ;)
Click to expand...

That feature is built in to Windoze ;)
 
hey, maybe its just a prop from the next mission impossible movie...

"This message will self-destruct in 5....4....3....2....1...."

:p
 
thanks for the translation. :)

it also appears that it might have been caused by a component of the battery called the 'accumulator'. this type of explosion also happens in remote control cars/planes/helis as well.

but that guy must have been messing with the battery... i want to find out what really happened. :D
 
I first saw these photos a few days ago on this site. Supposedly, the powerbook belongs to the person that runs the site. Because they create Mac 'concepts,' there was a lot of speculation the the burned Powerbook was actually Photoshopped. :rolleyes:

It's funny that the French site has slapped their own copyright notice on the pics.
 
cb911 said:
but that guy must have been messing with the battery... i want to find out what really happened. :D
Click to expand...

Rarely, very rarely, when a Lithium Ion battery fails in a bad way it'll build up pressure inside, and the case will burst. That doesn't always do much more than create a pop that might crack something inside the powerbook as the battery expands.

The problem is the next failure step, "venting with flame" happens instantly afterwards, and when the internals are exposed to air (and the moisture in it) the reaction is violent. It's not quite an explosion, but it's the closest thing to it. If you've seen a match head burn, that's a close approximation to the type of reaction, so imagine the battery full of the tip of a match head, sizzling away and firing flame and internal battery substances out the corner of the powerbook.

That fire was probably over a minute after it begun. It's the same reaction that has happened to some Nokia phones when aftermarket batteries destroyed themselves.

I've been stupid enough to file away at the inside of my mobile phone while the battery was inside, and accidentally stabbed it just a tiny amount. The flame started immediately, blistered two of my fingers (I was lucky!) and completely destroyed the inside of the phone. Guess who felt stupid?
 
SiliconAddict said:
Google Translation

google.gif


Holy crap!!

Now we know why PC manufacturers go with plastic. The shrapnel wouldn't be nearly as deadly!

Hmmm I wonder if someone could build an app for this "feature". Sort of like the Enterprise's self destruct sequence in Wrath of Kahn.
Computer….initiate self destruct sequence.
**Please enter security code**
GatesBlows1.
Auto destruct in 30 seconds…29…28…27
new_microwave.gif


Don't you guys think Apple is taking security a little too far? I mean first file vault, then multi overwrite recycle bin, now detonating laptops. ;)
Click to expand...

that's what i was going to do! great minds think alike.

all i can say is: ouch.

tears will not suffice,
reality

btw, it is a 15 for sure
 
realityisterror said:
btw, it is a 15 for sure
Click to expand...

Definitely 15"

Note the following:

Power button is centered over speaker grille
Optical drive slot is in middle of case, not top like 17", also extends all the way to the trackpad (17" slot does not)
And if you look closely you can see the security lock slot, which is on the other side on a 17" 'book
 
oingoboingo said:
The PowerBooks are designed to operate normally with the lid closed when an external keyboard, mouse and display are plugged in. I don't think the PowerBook design relies too heavily on venting excess heat through the top of the chassis. After all, how hot does your keyboard get? The palm rests do get warm, but not really what I'd call 'hot' (not on my Rev B 12" PowerBook anyway). I think most heat dissipation in a PowerBook occurs through the base of the unit, and out the back through the fan vent.

I could be totally wrong here, but 'lid-closed' operation is definitely supported on PowerBooks, and is on many other non-Apple notebooks too. I'm guessing something much more severe than the lid being closed happened here...
Click to expand...

i use sometime all day with my powerbook lid close and an external monitor and keyboard. it will never overheat. if the powerbook was not suppose to run with the lid closed the engineering would have designed it to force it to sleep after the lid was closed. people suprise me to think that expierenced engineers don't think before hand all the bad things you could do to the hardware you design, plus the fact that it goes through extensive testing also.
 
Looking on the bottom of my 15 incher on my lap here, I see that that eruption is right at the location of the power supply/battery. I have noticed that it is often the hottest part of the laptop, and usually is my left leg that gets too hot before my right. It's never THAT hot though thank goodness! :eek:
 
LOL! :D G5 prototype... :D

that's damn good if it's a PhotoShop job... but somehow i'm thinking that this is real...

i saw this form the FunMac forums. it was first posted there on the 2nd of this month (April) and that links to the french site. so combining our data we shoule be able to work out which site posted the pics first...;)
 
My guess: That person is damn good at photoshop, very likely.... if not...


battery hack: supposed to make the battery last longer (rarely works) but didn't bother to ask why apple didn't do the same thing...

Rigged: Yes, rigged, with an explosive, or so that it would overheat.... Imagine... Custom built battery pack with minor explosive charge built in... it would heat up very quickly and explode not too long later... (this would use the power supply to run the computer....)


The PowerBook was probably open, otherwise the screen would be really screwed up... there is a lot of metal sticking out of the thing....
 
claytonbench said:
I doubt PC manufacturers sit down and say Dont use metal for a case if our laptop blows up we dont want shrapnel killing people so we better stick with plastic
Click to expand...


Ummm I was kidding..... :p

I hear they are doing wonderful things with Sense of humor transplants these days. Might want to see if it's covered on your insurance. ;) :p
 
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