Massive Battery Drain and Latop Overheating to Dangerous Temperatures

[micinter]

Hi there,

I have been a fan of Sony laptops for many years now. I purchased a Vaio FZ18M nearly two years ago. It has been performing brilliantly until recently. Over the past month or so the battery just seems to have died. The laptop will not run for more than 20 minutes on battery which is incredibly frustrating as i am always travelling around with my laptop.

Also, and more concerning, the latop is seriously overheating. Not the battery, the actual laptop. Large parts of the casing reach temperatures which make it painful to touch, this is under normal operating conditions! The hot air coming out from the vents smells just like a hair dryer.

Otherwise the performance of the laptop is fine, slowed down a bit over time but nothing i wouldn't expect. It does concern me that my laptop may suddenly fail spectacularly. Has anyone come across anything like this before? Any suggestions as to what it might be and what i should do?

Many thanks,

Michael

[johanrobson]

My FZ38M battery lasts 10 mins after 1 year. I've left the laptop plugged in all the time that has made it go faster.

My laptop also appeared to be overheating and Sony repairs have said the problem is the battery. It was hottest next to the battery connection and smelly. I think there is a fan you should hear but is is still to come back from the repairs (who haven't done anything).

Try running with the battery unplugged and with lots of space around the machine, potentially propped up underneath with a couple of mats for more airflow. If its still massively overheating I would be worried about safety - it may not be the problem I had.