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HP Recalls 135,000 Laptop Batteries

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the also-replacing-laps dept.

caffeine_monkey writes "AP is reporting that Hewlett Packard is recalling 135,000 notebook batteries because they occasionally overheat and melt. Affected models are HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, HP Compaq and Compaq Evo. More details are on the HP support site. From their FAQ: Is it safe to buy HP notebooks? Absolutely. HP fully stands behind the products it makes."

3 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. HP Recalls 135,000 Laptop Batteries by TarrySingh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    and the recently fired 15000 employees!

    --
    Scott McNealy to Michael: "Suck my Sun!" Michael Dell to Scott : "Lick my Dell!"
  2. HP stands behind the products it makes? by Biotech9 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    don't make me laugh.

    I am always fixing peoples PCs, I don't mind, most of the time it's drivers or spyware. I had a good friend come over two weeks ago with a Compaq presario 1000 (compaq now owned by HP and HP responsible for their products).

    The (slightly over 1 year old) laptop would not turn on. No response at all, when you hit the power, it made the tiniest of 'whirrs' and did nothing. So I guessed it was a broken Video card or bad ram. It was something I wasn't going to touch anyway. I decided just on a whim (while we waited for the kettle to boil) to google. Turns out this is a very common problem with this X1000 model. Compaq used over-clocked 9000 ATI cards driven as 9200s. They overheated and over time worked themselves out of the motherboard. A quick initial fix was to press the 67Y keys very hard. I did it, and the laptop booted.

    Problem is, this is not a repair, apparently the problem will repeat until that fix doesn't work. This occurred in Sweden, and in Sweden the law is if the problem is manufacturers, you have a 3 year guarantee. So my friend gets her cash back (to buy a powerbook or Toshiba on my recommendation). All the poor bastards in the US (who have a forum to complain about this issue) are out of luck, HP have ignored them. They sold mislabelled and unfit-for-purpose hardware and shafted their customers. Most of the comments I read about this (frankly terribly designed and ugly) laptop were all saying "never HP,never again".

    Hp are not the company they were 10 years ago.

  3. X1000 Affected or not? by Tim+U. · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The CPSC site lists the X1000 model as affected by the recall, but the HP site does not.

    Are they trying to screw X1000 owners out of replacement batteries, or did they discover the X1000 battery packs are not effected?

    I guess I'll have to wait till Monday to call and find out.