There’s a big scorch mark on Hannah’s floor. It appeared last week after her Dell Mini 9 began suddenly sizzling and smoking and melting. We have pictures, and questions.

On December 12th, Hannah wrote us about her Inspiron Mini 9, bought in November 28 2008:

“Hi, last night I unplugged my laptop from its charger, carried it downstairs, and placed it on the wood floor of my living room.

I heard a loud popping sound and the room immediately filled with smoke while the laptop hissed and sizzled. It died down, I pushed it with my foot, and it stared hissing again. There is a large scorch mark on my floor.

It goes without saying, I am glad the laptop was not on my couch …or in an airplane.”

After we put Hannah in touch with Dell, the computer maker paid for her to FedEx her netbook to them so one of their Forensic Electrical Engineers could check it out. Dell also sent her a free, upgraded, laptop. It is unknown yet whether Dell will compensate her for the burnt floor.

Dell said they had received the crispy laptop but had no further information about what caused it to malfunction. The company said it was not aware of any overheating issues with the Dell Minis. “We take any report like this very seriously, and, as a matter of policy, our safety teams investigate thoroughly following any issue like this,” said Dell. “We will get to the bottom of this.”

Beyond one or two people mentioning in online forums that the felt their Dell Mini 9 ran a little hot, we couldn’t find any more information about this issue.

Theories as to what caused Hannah’s Mini to turn into a skillet? My money is on the battery. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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