4 ms·

I don't know about Macbooks, but my desktop PC will refuse to POST if temps are past the critical threshold.

dijit 10y ago
That doesn't matter; most PCs and Macs (which are just PCs really) will flood the motherboard with power to wake everything up. Where is that power going to come from if not the battery? you can't have any logic without power.
- mikeash 10y ago
  It ought to have a hard cutoff right at the battery involving only simple electronics, no software, which prevents it from providing the rest of the computer with any power if the battery is at an unsafe temperature.
- Cyph0n 10y ago
  You can have a small battery or capacitor that powers a small circuit that performs overheating checks pre-boot.
reitanqild 10y ago
My lenovo laptop sometimes tests if boil-in-bag might be a good idea for laptops now even if it hasn't been anytime before. I'll notice when I open my bag and find a hot laptop with little battery left. Oh and burn marks in the screen. Lenovo has already replaced one screen.
- beat 10y ago
  I have a Dell craptop from the dayjob that sometimes puts itself into hell when going to sleep while unplugged. It gets REALLY hot, probably burning 100% cpu on whatever little nightmare Windows is having, until the battery runs out. If I notice it, pop the lid, and press the power button, it goes right to sleep properly. To the point of a comment above, this is why the article is noticed when a MacBook is involved, but it wouldn't be if it was, say, a Dell. We just assume that this obviously shoddy piece of generic Windows crap could just catch fire due to design flaws. If my MacBook caught fire, I'd be shocked. If my Samsung Chromebook caught fire, I wouldn't be. If the dayjob Dell caught fire, I'd call it par for the course.
- ZoFreX 10y ago
  My Macbook does the same thing. Annoyingly frequently I remove it from my bag to find a dead battery and a hot laptop. Worryingly it seems when it's in this weird state, the fans don't run at all.

dijit 10y ago

That doesn't matter; most PCs and Macs (which are just PCs really) will flood the motherboard with power to wake everything up. Where is that power going to come from if not the battery? you can't have any logic without power.

mikeash 10y ago
It ought to have a hard cutoff right at the battery involving only simple electronics, no software, which prevents it from providing the rest of the computer with any power if the battery is at an unsafe temperature.
Cyph0n 10y ago
You can have a small battery or capacitor that powers a small circuit that performs overheating checks pre-boot.

reitanqild 10y ago

My lenovo laptop sometimes tests if boil-in-bag might be a good idea for laptops now even if it hasn't been anytime before. I'll notice when I open my bag and find a hot laptop with little battery left. Oh and burn marks in the screen. Lenovo has already replaced one screen.

beat 10y ago
I have a Dell craptop from the dayjob that sometimes puts itself into hell when going to sleep while unplugged. It gets REALLY hot, probably burning 100% cpu on whatever little nightmare Windows is having, until the battery runs out. If I notice it, pop the lid, and press the power button, it goes right to sleep properly. To the point of a comment above, this is why the article is noticed when a MacBook is involved, but it wouldn't be if it was, say, a Dell. We just assume that this obviously shoddy piece of generic Windows crap could just catch fire due to design flaws. If my MacBook caught fire, I'd be shocked. If my Samsung Chromebook caught fire, I wouldn't be. If the dayjob Dell caught fire, I'd call it par for the course.
ZoFreX 10y ago
My Macbook does the same thing. Annoyingly frequently I remove it from my bag to find a dead battery and a hot laptop. Worryingly it seems when it's in this weird state, the fans don't run at all.