How does smoking disable a Laptop?

Clarifications

It probably flat-out states that smoking around the equipment voids the warranty.

While the tar precipitated on the electronics may not be the cause of the problem, the vendor can probably decline to service a unit exposed to cigarette smoke with impunity. Apple, for one, does. Partially because they also don't want to expose the service techs to the tar.

Smoke certainly can damage electronics and foul connections and optical lenses. You can have an independent repair shop have a look at it to determine what the problem is, an whether it actually had anything possibly due to smoke. But Sam's and its subcontractors probably have the right to refuse to service the unit. They certainly do if this limitation is noted in any of warranty or other papers to which you signed agreement when purchasing the unit and servicing contract.

We used to smoke. Fortunately, we do all our own computer work but I'll be honest, have you ever seen the inside of a machine that belongs to a smoker? Ewwwwww....it's quite icky to look at. Everything is all black from the tar and chemicals from the cigarettes...and no, I didn't sit on top of my computer either and blow smoke into it. Smoke lays in the air and it doesn't take much for it to get sucked into a pc and then get all clogged up with the smoke and residue that comes from smoking.

So yes, computer companies are well within their rights to refuse to work on computers that come from a smoker's environment. They are a hazzard to the tech's health.

http://www.squidoo.com/cigarette-smoke-computer-damage I'm sure there are more extreme examples available.

Should make you think about the dangers of second-hand smoke. But the big problem with smoking and PCs (from the PCs I've seen), is that the tar is sticky. That shouldn't be a surprise. And laptops run hotter than desktops, due to all the components being packed in tighter. So there's more air being pulled in (and therefore more smoke/tar). And with those small clearances, the dust piles up on the sticky tar and causes local overheating, and in some cases even short-circuiting.

So if you add a nice sticky tar film on everything, the dust is going to get glued on there.

I've seen computers used by those who are 'housekeeping challenged' who have multiple pets, and it's a miracle the computer even works. Some of the old computers used air-intake filters, and this would make sooo much sense.

If the warranty does not expressly state that smoking voids it Sam's is wrong.
Good luck getting anything back. Sam Walton died along with his policy of just paying the claims his employees said were just and that policy has been replaced with a policy of fighting claims even when video evidence makes it clear they were at fault.
Buying a computer from any huge retailer is a bad idea, you may get a better price but odd are you will also get a "custom" version, a downgrade in the fan , the heat sink ,power supply etc. They have the power to demand the best quality parts but what they end up demanding is low price period. If you buy from a place like Dell tell them it is a business computer and you get a better machine for about the same money.
As a tech I would not blame them for including that clause but as a businessman I would also give them a discount. In other words if I chose not to work on machines that were smoked around I would make that clear upfront and allow them to opt out of the warranty at time of purchase.
Personally I would put in a clause that if it was dirty enough for any reason that I had to clean it that would be an additional charge and if I believed the smoke or whatever fouled it caused the failure it would void the warranty on that particular failure.
I have had a few machines come in that were really fouled by cigarette smoke but much more often I have the problem of people leaving their desktops on the floor which is a disaster.
It has been more than a decade since I smoked so I am sensitive to it but people who are angry and act like it is a major and very common problem with laptops in particular I find a bit disingenuous. I can't recall more than a few lappies that have been overly fouled by cigarettes.
Take the machine to a well recommended tech and don't mention the problem with Sam's , see if they have a problem , I really doubt it.

anything that belongs to a smoker is gross,
including but not limited to the inside of their body..LOL
I smoked for 6 years and when i quit it took many cleaning sessions to get that shit off the walls of my home

My two cents is to get your laptop back contact HP and ask them for a resolution to the problem. I suspect they are less likely to want their name tarnished than the folks at Sam's Club. You will likely have to invest a significant amount of time calling and asking to be escalated up to tier 2 or 3 and sending e-mails but in the end you may get a resolution to your problem. Also I would request pictures from the other place and as much information as you can gather just in case you need it for litigation or to protect yourself from litigation. I wish you the best of luck.

Tar and cigarette smoke?

What's the consumer gonna do? go back to Sams Club or HP and say "Those guys at TechRepublic said this?" so Sams Club or HP would fix his laptop or desktop?

Gimme a break.

Its been said but tar is sticky. I smoke a pipe but never in the home. I have had to service machines that were around smokers. One set of machines belonged to a group that smoked indoors in the US. The other belonged to a Japanese company. They kept the machine in a room reserved for smoking. In both cases both areas were very well ventilated. It. doesnt. matter. Tar gets sucked in by the machine (even though no one is blowing smoke into it), and stuck to the MB and internal components. Then dust gets stuck to the tar, then more tar to the dust, and by now youve got the idea.

One thing that no one has mentioned is that in addition to the possibility of frying the cooling capability of the machine (which will surely fry the rest of it in short order)... Is that all that "wet" dust stuck to electrical components can pose a short problem. Short the wrong contacts on a hot MB... and youve got a new doorstop.

Bottom line is, dont smoke around anything you dont want destroyed. That includes desktops, portables, and offspring.

How does smoking disable a Laptop?

It's a complex, highly technical answer, but essentially it's this:
At the factory, they seal "Magic Smoke" inside of all the chips in the computer. The "Magic Smoke" makes the chips work. If you do something to "Smoke" the laptop, and the "Magic Smoke" leaks out of the chips, they don't work any more. Once the laptop "smokes", it's in bad shape. ;-)

As far as cigarette/tobacco smoke goes, it's really nasty stuff. Take a puff and blow it through a cotton ball, and see how much gunk is there from just one puff. When the cooling fans suck it into the computer, it sticks to everything, then dust sticks to the smoke residue, then more smoke sticks to the dust, and so on. The buildup of residue blocks air flow and cooling, then things run hotter. It also gets into contacts and switches, making them less reliable. Sooner or later, there's enough gunk to cause major problems.

As for the warranty, since you've been through it "with a magnifying glass", maybe you could bring the agreement, ask for the store manager, and say "please show me where this warranty says that smoke isn't covered. If it's there, I can't find it, and if it's not excluded, I expect a replacement machine under the extended warranty you sold me. I was a smoker when you sold me the warranty, so in my house smoke is part of 'normal wear and tear'. If the warranty was already void because I smoke, why did you sell it to me?" You may not be successful, but it's worth a try. And if you look around for a sign or poster, or you can just ask, get the name of the District and Regional managers and escalate the complaint to them if the store manager doesn't help. And you could also write a letter to the company's home office in Arkansas.

Also, check the fine print in the warranty and see if it's actually an insurance policy against damage. In many states, that's really what it is, and you can contact your state's insurance regulators with your complaint, as well as the attorney general.

The tar and oils collect on the cooling system mainly. You get the same effect if you use it near a kitchen from cooking oils or someone in your house is a user of perfumes - base oils. It's made worse by gas heating or living in a dusty area or if you have pets. The oils get sucked in and collect, the dust/pollen/etc stick to the oil and create a very nice insulating sludge layer. Thinks heat up and yes eventually the smoke gets let out of the chips. Usually they just slow down trying to protect themselves or get nice and wonky. There are some brands worse than others due to the design of the cooling systems but all of them suffer from this. If you clean them out about all you see is a small puff of dust (and maybe lint/hair) thats all it takes to overheat and cause damage. To put this in a smokers perspective take a drag and exhale. The amount of smoke you see is about 3-4 times the amount that is doing the damage. That is how little smoke/dust it takes. I doubt the acids in the tars or oils had time to really do anything. If you are lucky you should be able to get a tech to clean out the cooling system ($40+) and it will run normally again. If this is bad enough there will be cpu damage but that's usually the extent of it. It's just a overheat situation.

You will find it is mentioned in the warranty. Extreme environmental conditions covers excessive smoke damage to laptops. It is also a hazard to the technician, if a technician had to work on multiple machines like this a day they would expect to have lung cancer by the time they are 50. Even without the environmental issues clause its well within the rights of a technician to refuse to work on a hazardous machine.

For smoke in your fan clean it every day or stick paper on plates of your fan , so it will not get dirty and you can change it everyday.

ronald, NEVER, EVER purchase a third party warranty on ANYTHING. I work with these computers daily and have a couple of points to express regarding all of this. Sams warranty service is absolute junk! I have never once heard of a single client getting them to honor their warranty on any system in my 7+ years in this business. Long story short, if it was old enough that you are beyond the point of being able to return it to Sams for a refund or exchange, you will get the same story in a different flavor. I know this to be true as I have repaired many of the computers they have sent back to the client with some ludicrous excuse as to why they will not repair it. Water damage is their favorite.
Aside from Sams sorry warranty service, this particular model of laptop is rife with problems even if it were operated solely within a "clean room" throughout its history.
While all of the posts thus far have their merit, I have my doubts here due to past experience. At any rate, it is still time to purchase another computer. I would not recommend HP either. However, no matter which manufacturer you elect to go with, if you desire extended warranty, get it from the manufacturer. I repeat do NOT purchase extended warranty from ANY retailer. Be it Sams, Best Buy, Office Depot, or any of the other infinite possibilities. In my experience regarding laptops and the customer service of the manufacturers, I would recommend Lenovo, or ASUS at this point in time. The preference changes with time. This preference assumes of course that you wish to remain with a Windows system.

If a fan is running very much of the time, particles in the air will come to be concentrated in the cooling pathways. If you have Radon in your house you might be surprised to find how strongly a Geiger counter responds to it.

After Ireland banned smoking in pubs ten years ago, musical instrument repair shops found that their business fell off sharply because instruments didn't get contaminated as much.

Cigarette smoke is much more harmful to all sorts of things than most smokers realize. That's not a moral judgment, it's an observable fact.

RonaldV73:
I have been independent computer tech for 11+ years, worked on a lot of Dell and HP. Not only does smoking kill PC's, so does candle soot. One client is a Yankee Candle reseller, she has them lit in her shop 12 hrs/day.

Her machines seldom last more than 3 years. Soot buildup on everything: fans, hard disk, air intake, you name it. Now consider that the fans pull a lot of dust an lint along with the soot, and you have the perfect recipie for clogging up everything.

Gross to work on, my hands are full of black soot, worse than laser toner spills.

While the spatula works well if enough heat is applied, a small needle point 23 watt has resurrected many left for dead. Some I've looked at because the wave solder didn't do a complete job and fractured when overheated. Now, the tar from cigarettes compounds dust, the fan and heatsink develop "feathers" that disrupt the action of the blades to move air and insulate the heatsink fins. Short of mounting an external filter and closing off any other vent points, yearly cleaning will keep things from getting out of hand.