We try to do our best to keep GParted users informed of critical problems discovered with the software.
If I recall the HP problem correctly, it turned out to be a faulty hardware fan on a video card. The video card failed while the user was running GParted. We posted this as a warning. Later on we learned from other users that the true problem was a faulty hardware fan that allowed the video card to overheat.
Many problems have been fixed (and some new ones discovered) with newer versions of GParted. Since GParted uses software from many projects, we are often the first place of discovery of problems when one component does not work well with another component. A recent example of this is the problems our users have experienced resizing file systems when using newer GNU/Linux kernels (2.6.31+) and udev(138+).
The above example is a good reason why we recommend that a backup of data is made prior to editing partitions. Most times the backup will not be required, but in the case of problems due to software, hardware, or power failure, you might be very glad a backup was created.
If you wish to continue using an old version of GParted, then that is your choice. Some important problems have been fixed with the old version you use, but perhaps you have never encountered these. If you do run into difficulty, our first recommendation will be that you try the latest version.