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What about modern devices (such as laptops) that have a fixed battery? They shouldn’t rely totally on software to force a hard power off because that’s not safe. If the software hangs you cannot power down

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The EC (embedded controller) controls the hard power off on a modern laptop, not the OS at all. That's why you can still power down in the event of a device lockup (thankfully).

It's all fun and games until the EC locks up.

Have had it happen on the Essential Phone and my MIL's Chromebook (don't remember the model). At least with the Chromebook, you can open it with a screwdriver and pull the battery. Better than waiting however many days for the battery to fully die so the EC resets.

Some laptops have a battery reset button for cases like this. For example lenovo has a pinhole where you can press a tiny button using a paperclip.

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20250107-00/?p=11...

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