[stargirl23]

Hi,

something strange has happened to my laptop and i don't know if it's a big problem or not.
first of all i just moved from the U.S. to the Netherlands a couple weeks ago.
i'm using an ACER Aspire 5100 laptop.
when i got here i went and bought a European power plug that plugs directly into the AC adapter that came with the laptop.
i'm not using a converter as i was told by the tech support of the place i bought the laptop that i wouldn't need one.
everything seemed to work fine.
one day i noticed a little melted spot near the keyboard on the casing part.
i hadn't noticed it previously.
i pay pretty close attention to my laptop when i use it, and just before my trip i bought a new cleaner brush.
i'd been cleaning it almost every day and hadn't noticed the little melted spot.
so i'm wondering if the power cord has caused this in any way or something happened to it while i was traveling?
i only noticed it about a week after i arrived in the netherlands so i'm pretty sure it didn't happen during traveling.
my only other thought is that maybe while the AC adapter was hot it made contact with the keyboard?

here's a picture of it...


i've been keeping an eye on the laptop more closely but i've been able to use it every day without problem since i noticed the melted area.
it's already been a few days and everything seems to be working fine.
i also hear the fans on so it seems to be well ventilated.

[JohnWill]

I'd blow the dust out, it appears in the spot that I would expect the processor to be, so I'm guessing it overheated at some point.

[stargirl23]

thanks john...so you think the computer itself is safe and i don't need to worry too much about it?
or should i consider taking it to a repair shop? (which i fear would end up costing me too much money).

[JohnWill]

If it's working fine, and that spot isn't getting really warm, I suspect whatever caused it to melt isn't happening right now. Like I said, the top suspect here is dust clogging the vents, laptops don't have very good cooling, and a little bit of blockage will do more damage than on a desktop. I have a couple of small rubber feet on the back corners of my laptop to lift it up about 1/2" to allow better airflow under it when I'd in use.