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I found this question which comes close to mine - Implications of using a laptop always-on as a server - but doesn't specifically ask about a fire risk, and dismisses the idea of removing the battery, which runs counter to my needs.

I want to leave a few laptops on 24/7 for an extended period of time, ideally a couple of years with no interruptions, and was wondering whether this would lead to an increased risk of the laptop catching on fire. I don't care about shortening the battery life, or leaving the laptop unusable as a normal computer after few years, I'm really only worried about the fire/explosion risk.

Things that I thought might help:

I was wondering whether any of you thought there might be an increased fire risk to start, and whether either/both of the two measures I propose might help make this safe, or whether it's just a bad idea full stop.

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    Impossible to answer, laptop manufacturer 1's laptops could conceivably have a different answer than laptop manufacturer 2..and so on. Depending on what the laptops are doing (load) heat may or may not even be an issue. What could become an issue tho is airflow, over the course of several years the vents may become plugged, you would want to be cautious to periodically check airflow and clean the vents. – Tyson Jul 20 '14 at 18:07
  • Unless you buy/have a low quality or knock off brand like compal and have proper cooling fire/explosion should not be an issue. You will probably have to clean the vents periodically. This of course assumes your environment does not contain explosive substances such as fumes from gasoline or etc. – cybernard Jul 20 '14 at 18:31
  • A fire could occur from just having something plugged in, laptop or not. Also, consider the environment it is in as this will have an impact. – Dave Jul 20 '14 at 21:32
  • Concur with the other replies here. But is there some reason to use a laptop rather than, say, a NAS box, which is designed for this type of thing and which will let you select HDDs that are designed for server use? And which will probably be considerably less expensive. – Steve Rindsberg Aug 07 '16 at 17:00

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The laptop is powered by electricity, gets hot and the parts can break. There is always a danger that he would go up in flames. The power supply can also get and start to burn. However, the probability is low and the same can happen with a normal computer.

Computers normally shut down, if they get too hot. The main problem is, that laptops are not built for this purpose. The hard drives will suffer and the fans can also break easily. The fire risk are primarily the parts on the mainboard. However, it is very unlikely.

A risk of fire is always present but should not be an issue here. The laptop should definitely be of good quality. I would advise you to use systems that have been made for this purpose.

SLx64
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