The fan that's supposed to cool it might be broken. I'd blow it out with a can of air first, and if that doesn't help, I'd take it to be repaired. Find somewhere with a set price for diagnostics, like $10-15 and then depending on what needs to be fixed you can decide to buy a new one or have it fixed :o)

well o well i am having the same problem and i am gona throw this laptop on that guy who sold me , i am gonna call the dell tech support call there engineer and ask them to take care of my this piece of shit n its burns up like hot pan , and the charger heats up also , the possible problem is The cooling FAN that is used to give out the hot air, i will advice u to get it checked , its really a serious problem .

I had that same problem. I called compaq and they said 'it's not supposed to be put on your lap'. I asked them why the hell do you call it a laptop? I ended up taking it back...

There are cooling tables you can get for a few bucks that basically have 4 fans blowing air into it from the bottom, cooling the hard drive. That's an option. I used to put it on a pillow on my lap. Kept my legs cool. I know exactly how that burning feeling is...it's annoying. Can't think of much else.

Good luck

You need to take it back to the store you bought it from. They just had a huge recall on laptops that caught fire while people were using them because the battery packs were bad. This sounds like what they were doing. Whatever you do don't use it till it's fixed.

Check to make sure that the battery isnt one of the many part of recent recalls due to overheating/explosion. Or get one of these http://www.tigerdirect.com/.../item-details.asp

Whilst you can use laptops on your lap, it's ONLY if they are on a hard, flat surface such as a tray. Most laptops suck air up from underneath to cool the insides, blowing hot exhaust out of a side/rear port. Any surface which is not smooth and hard (i.e. human laps, rugs, cushions, bedding, carpet, towels, coats) will almost certainly block the intake grille causing the laptop to overheat and eventually shut down (or burn out, if it's a really nasty one). If it's too hot to touch, it's already killing itself - electronics hate heat, especially batteries and hard-drives. Regularly clean the intake of fluff, hair & clogged up dust, or it will die prematurely.
If it is the battery that is very hot, then DON'T USE IT - take it back to the dealer! As has been mentioned, there have been many cases of battery fires (and the occasional injury) involving bad batteries and/or their charging circuitry. Lithium batteries are not to be messed with, they can 'vent with flaming matter' (explode) if badly abused.
You should be able to get the whole thing replaced under warranty. Mention 'battery fire injury lawsuit' if they give you any nonsense.

Your first port of call should be to send it back for an in-warranty repair. Melting the plug is a safety hazard and the latop should not be used.

as all the folks her suggested cleaning them is very important, because dust, lint etc plugging up the vents is a death sentence to a laptop but the #1 life savor for a laptop is the cool mat for the underside.
cost is $21-30 and they are found at Wal-mart, Sam's Club, Staples, Office max etc.
In your case if this has warranty have it checked out.

I had the same problem with my laptop. After about 1 year, it's getting very hot and its fan is on all the time, which is quite noisy too. Yesterday, I accidentally got a 3M Dust Remover and I used it to clean up the laptop. To my surprise, my laptop is no more hot. Its fan is not on high any more and I can put it on my lap again. So, I strongly suggest you to try clean it up to see if it helps. To clean it up, I didn't open the case (I tried, but failed), just use the dust remover (compressed gas duster) to blow from the fan and from the air outlet slot. I saw a lot of dust coming out. So, I strongly suggest you to clean up your laptop to see if it works.

You have a major overheating issue and if it's melting the power supply plug you should not be using it until you get it repaired.