Failing Notebook Battery

I lost a cell in the battery for my HP laptop. I'm still getting 2.5 hours of run time out of it. A new one is on the way. I'm considering keeping it around for a backup. I'm aware of the fire potential but that only happens to other people, right? Any thoughts?

 

Are you saying that the battery literally fell apart, or one cell isn't detected?

 

I was sitting here with the computer off and all of a sudden there was a white flash. I felt the area for heat, all seemed well. I booted the machine and checked the battery life, I was and am down by .5 hours. It is a 6 cell battery pack, so i figure that breaks down to .5 hours per cell. Last week run time was right around 3 hours. The notebook functions flawlessly, except for the fact that it is infected with Windows(XP Pro).

 

Drop the battery pack off at a fire department or someplace that knows how to dispose of it safely.

.

 

Lithium fires are difficult to extinguish. Water makes the fire worse, much the same as a magnesium fire.

.

 

Video of a lithium cell fire.

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s274/34richard/tech/?action=view&current=lipo1.flv

.

 

.