According to Dell, the "smell is absolutely not urine or any other type of biological material. The parts have been tested and we have confirmed this 100%. The smell is caused by a manufacturing process which has now been changed." Dell says it's offering a replacement part, and that the problem doesn't affect newer versions of the laptop.

Comments about the E6430u's smell date back to June, and the initial response from Dell customer support was a suggestion that users remove and clean the keyboard. In August, as complaints mounted, Dell had several customers ship their laptops to the company for analysis, and later determined that the issue didn't represent "a health hazard," and that "no other parts of the computer or manufacturing process are affected."

Photo: JohnnyMrNinja