Tech Star Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Opps...heh...sry...:blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiveMasterT Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Viruses don't cause laptops to burst into flames. You're right. Adware/Spyware does! Is it me or does that look like a really old IBM laptop? Hard to tell though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted September 17, 2006 Author Veteran Share Posted September 17, 2006 I bet 10 bucks this is going into the next NeowinCast. =P Haha without a doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyme632k Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Software controls hardware. OF COURSE software can cause a fire. Though, the OS is supposed to protect your PC from those kinds of things, it could happen. Sorry, but you're mistaken. Software doesn't "control" hardware; not in that way, at least. There's no way a program could make hardware do something like cause a battery to explode. Especialy when the laptop is turned off. Think about it. If someone could write a virus to make *any* part of your computer PHYSICALLY self-destruct, don't you think they would have by now? Even a viirus that "kills" a hard drive is actually only destroying the data that's written there. The drive itself will still function after proper low-level formatting, etc. Computers going up in smoke because of a bad program is strictly Star Trek, dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrack Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Software controls hardware. OF COURSE software can cause a fire. Though, the OS is supposed to protect your PC from those kinds of things, it could happen. Software works with what Hardware gives it. Software controls hardware but only within the framework that the hardware provides. That being said, there is no reason not to believe that there may be some exploit within hardware that a software writer can use to then destroy it. For instance, solving floating point number arithmetic 100% of the time on a particular CPU for 30 minutes straight might destroy itself from the heat w/o its safety circuit detecting the heating up and turning off the main board because of the location of the floating point number processing unit. But a battery? Come on! It is clearly either a design issue (hopefully not), or a processing issue (most likely). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyme632k Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Software works with what Hardware gives it. Software controls hardware but only within the framework that the hardware provides. Excellent way to put that. :) That being said, there is no reason not to believe that there may be some exploit within hardware that a software writer can use to then destroy it. For instance, solving floating point number arithmetic 100% of the time on a particular CPU for 30 minutes straight might destroy itself from the heat w/o its safety circuit detecting the heating up and turning off the main board because of the location of the floating point number processing unit. Good point, but I've never heard of a virus that's actually done it, which leads me to assume it's only theoretically possible. If you know of a real world case, could you provide a link? Scary. But a battery? Come on! It is clearly either a design issue (hopefully not), or a processing issue (most likely). Yeah, I'm guessing someone screwed up at the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrack Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Good point, but I've never heard of a virus that's actually done it, which leads me to assume it's only theoretically possible. If you know of a real world case, could you provide a link? Scary. No, I can't prove it. It was very hypothetical, but I'm not going to say that it couldn't ever happen. Like I said originally, that's just nutty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premgenius Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 OMG... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyme632k Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 No, I can't prove it. It was very hypothetical, but I'm not going to say that it couldn't ever happen. Like I said originally, that's just nutty. *whew!* Very happy to hear that it hasn't yet been done. Let's hope it stays hypothetical... Thanks Shadrack :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt T Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Wow. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tareqsiraj Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 As far as I know, lithium ion can explode in extreme heat ... but thats... extreme heat... the laptop should've shut down before that happens. and for IBM or Lenovo... haven't heard any battery problems like such. But why isnt this news on CNN or BBC or any other major media? If this happened in an airport... those ppl always rush out and cover the story (act of terrorism :p). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trong Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Opps...heh...sry...:blush: You're a fraud! Good thing I accidentally stepped on my lappy before all this fire catching started. Poor lappy, I cracked your monitor like thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamNeeds Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 O-k...... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted September 17, 2006 Veteran Share Posted September 17, 2006 I bet 10 bucks this is going into the next NeowinCast. =P We'll have to check with Paul "Burn, Baby, Burn" Lardiop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbagestrike Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 Viruses don't cause laptops to burst into flames. It should so that the noobs would be more careful about protecting their computers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yudi_lks Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I hate people calling others noob.. Because ALL of us were once a noob... You can't be a computer savvy once you touch and use it for the very first time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Allen Veteran Posted September 17, 2006 Veteran Share Posted September 17, 2006 I hate people calling others noob.. Because ALL of us were once a noob... You can't be a computer savvy once you touch and use it for the very first time... +1 folks. This is pretty scary though. I hope they get this sort of thing sorted out :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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