On the weekend I was investigating the process for updating one of my laptop computers to Windows 10. It’s a pretty crappy laptop that I bought in 2011 to connect to my living room TV so I could stream movies and TV shows from the Internet or my own server. It’s woefully under-powered but I guess I shouldn’t have expected much for $250. Now that I have a PS3 to stream media, I don’t use it all that much.
I was in the process of updating the BIOS before doing the upgrade when I noticed a product recall for a large number of laptops that were manufactured in the 2010 to 2012 timeframe. Apparently the power cords sold with these laptops can potentially overheat causing a burn or fire hazard.
The recall was announced in August of 2014, so I’m almost two years late to the party here. I’ve had this cord plugged in probably almost the entire time since 2011 so maybe I just got lucky here. I immediately filled out the form to have a replacement cord sent to me, free of charge of course. It’s already on the way from California where it currently sits in a shipping facility in Compton (no joke). I’ve never participated in a product recall before and I guess that’s a good thing.
Hewlett-Packard suggests that while the replacement cord en route, I should unplug the power cord and refrain from using it. Once the new cord arrives, it will contain instructions for how to dispose of the old cord so that it cannot be used again. For reasons that escape me, I am going to tempt fate and keep the cord plugged in. I went five years with nothing happening to the cord, what’s another four or five days? Right? Right?!?!!?