Got a Dell, Dude? Well, if it happens to be a laptop you will want to surf over to the Dell website as soon as possible to see if the battery in your notebook is one of those found to be a potential fire hazard.

The lithium-ion batteries in 4.1 million Dell notebooks are being recalled, making this the largest consumer-electronics recall in history. The batteries involved are used in some, but not all, Dell laptops sold from April 1, 2004, through July 18, 2006.

This is a major recall. You have a better chance of your laptop being affected than you have of winning the lottery. So you should take notice, but there is no need to panic.  Out of more than 4 million computers, only six incidents of laptops catching fire have been reported. Of course, that is six too many, so be sure to see if your battery is affected.

You do this by going to the Dell Battery Program website at www.dellbatteryprogram.com. The website lists the models that are affected. These include certain Latitudes, Inspirons, Precisions, and XPS models. The website also gives you an example of the label on your battery. You simply turn your laptop over and find the battery label. The Dell website states that “the words "DELL" and "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" or "Battery cell made in Japan, Assembled in China" are printed on the back of the affected batteries.” They say “If your battery does not reflect one of these markings it is not part of this recall.”

If you find these words on your battery or you just want to double-check the status of your battery you can enter the identification number from the battery label into the Battery Recall site (www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Identify.aspx). If your battery is not affected you will be told that in no uncertain terms. If your battery is a part of the recall, you will be able to order a replacement battery right from the website.

If for some reason you cannot read the label on your battery pack, you can also use your service tag id to see if your battery has been recalled. You can find the service tag number on the bottom of the computer or by going to Start/Program Files/Dell Accessories/Express Service Code.

This is not the first recall of this type. Last year Apple Computer recalled some similar lithium-ion batteries. Just a few month’s ago HP requested that owners of their Photosmart R707 digital cameras download new firmware for their cameras which were bursting into flames when the camera inadvertently tried to recharge non-rechargeable batteries.

The batteries in this recall were manufactured for Dell by Sony. Evidently when the metal battery casing was manufactured some small shards of metal accidentally entered he battery itself. If those shards migrate to just the right position inside the battery, they can cause a short circuit and start a fire.

If your battery is involved in this recall, Dell will send you a new one and will issue you a certificate to return the old battery without any cost to you. The computer itself is not affected by the recall. Only the battery is involved. So, while you wait for your new battery to arrive, it is advisable to use the AC adapter to power your computer. If you must use the battery be sure to power down the computer completely when your work is done and avoid using stand-by or hibernation modes.

If you are upset about the inconvenience just think about Dell’s corporate customers who are struggling to assess hundreds of laptops and will have to request and distribute replacement batteries.

This comes at a bad time for Dell with back-to-school computer sales just heating up. Both Sony and Dell have their reputations on the line, so I am sure they will get the replacement batteries out as quickly as possible. For the computer owner though, it can’t be fast enough.