[SOLVED] Disaster!

RobDe · 08-26-2008, 04:08 PM

Ok you've probably heard this before, same old story of having a drink near a laptop, I know I know, stupid! I'm kicking myself for it now! In my defence I was pretty quick to react; I snatched the laptop from the desk with lightning speed and turned it on it's side so that anything that got in came back out and I have taken the battery out.

The worry I have is that as soon as drink met laptop there was the usual click and shutdown of the computer (praying it's a safety cut-out?) The difference with the other stories that I have read about this is that those drinks were split over the laptop whereas this was spilt and came at my laptop like early high tide!

Not a lot of liquid came out of the laptop so I'm taking that as a good sign that I was pretty quick and it's now on it's side in the airing cupboard drying out. I don't dare to try turning it on incase it frys (at the moment it just smells fruity and not burnt!)

My main concerns are whether the cut-out is a sign that my laptop has joined my pet hamster in the sky because the juice reached the side of the laptop where my power cable, headphone/mic sockets, 2USB drives and SD card drive are. Are they likely to be done for? And does the lack of juice maybe give me some hope of it being ok? I also read about it being bad that it is a sugary drink (knew I should've cut down!). Is it likely that this spillage has caused much damage and is it worth paying someone to check out or should I risk turning it back on and seeing how bad the damage is? If so how long should i leave it in the airing cupboard?

It's pretty vital to my life as I'm a student and use it several times a day. If I lose my reseach and work etc then it could mean an early (non)graduation for me (though I am more worried about my music collection a little more for some reason! :S)

Yeah so basically I would really appreciate any advice on what to do (apart from not to drink near my precious laptop! I think I have definitely learnt that lesson!) It's not in warranty anymore so no chance of a free repair!

Thanks

Rob

**TriggerFinger** · 08-26-2008, 04:38 PM

The way I see it your drive is still working. I would suggest you take it out and plug in to another PC via an adapter. From there save you important files.

As for the keyboard, I suggest you replace it with a good/working one. Try eBay stores.

RobDe · 08-26-2008, 06:10 PM

But I'm not so sure that it won't work yet, I think I managed to get it out of the way pretty fast so hopefully it won't be too bad, just wondering if there was anything else I could do. None of it got on to the keyboard so that is fine.

**TriggerFinger** · 08-26-2008, 07:36 PM

By the way keep it drying for a few hours (open it up and use warm air from a hairdryer

). The last time I had that accident, I was too worried I kept it drying for a week (just to be on the safe side). Of course I have removed the CMOS battery, battery backup and AC adapter (unplugged). I also opened it up and cleaned the spill that got through. Good thing it did not reach the motherboard. But my keyboard got really sticky after that.

RobDe · 08-29-2008, 04:48 PM

Ok so I have turned it back on a few minutes ago and so far so good. The only thing different that I can see it that the battery light doesn't come on anymore but I'm not sure if it does when the battery is charged and it's plugged in. Other than that I think i've had a lucky break (literally!). I did find out though that I still have a warranty on it for the next few days; is it worth getting them to check it out anyway in case there is corrosion (I heard that fruit juice leaves behind acids!) or can they charge me if they find out it's my fault?

**TriggerFinger** · 08-29-2008, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobDe

Ok so I have turned it back on a few minutes ago and so far so good. The only thing different that I can see it that the battery light doesn't come on anymore but I'm not sure if it does when the battery is charged and it's plugged in. Other than that I think i've had a lucky break (literally!). I did find out though that I still have a warranty on it for the next few days; is it worth getting them to check it out anyway in case there is corrosion (I heard that fruit juice leaves behind acids!) or can they charge me if they find out it's my fault? -- I have heard testimonials that they do not charge anything at all. Best if you just try it. Give them a call, tell them what happened and ask if it will cost you anything since it is still under warranty.

RobDe · 08-31-2008, 09:04 AM

I'm pretty sure they would charge because there was an option for additional cover from spills etc which I didn't take out. It's still working without any noticable problems so I think it's a happy ending. :)

08-26-2008, 04:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
RobDe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	[SOLVED] Disaster! Ok you've probably heard this before, same old story of having a drink near a laptop, I know I know, stupid! I'm kicking myself for it now! In my defence I was pretty quick to react; I snatched the laptop from the desk with lightning speed and turned it on it's side so that anything that got in came back out and I have taken the battery out. The worry I have is that as soon as drink met laptop there was the usual click and shutdown of the computer (praying it's a safety cut-out?) The difference with the other stories that I have read about this is that those drinks were split over the laptop whereas this was spilt and came at my laptop like early high tide! Not a lot of liquid came out of the laptop so I'm taking that as a good sign that I was pretty quick and it's now on it's side in the airing cupboard drying out. I don't dare to try turning it on incase it frys (at the moment it just smells fruity and not burnt!) My main concerns are whether the cut-out is a sign that my laptop has joined my pet hamster in the sky because the juice reached the side of the laptop where my power cable, headphone/mic sockets, 2USB drives and SD card drive are. Are they likely to be done for? And does the lack of juice maybe give me some hope of it being ok? I also read about it being bad that it is a sugary drink (knew I should've cut down!). Is it likely that this spillage has caused much damage and is it worth paying someone to check out or should I risk turning it back on and seeing how bad the damage is? If so how long should i leave it in the airing cupboard? It's pretty vital to my life as I'm a student and use it several times a day. If I lose my reseach and work etc then it could mean an early (non)graduation for me (though I am more worried about my music collection a little more for some reason! :S) Yeah so basically I would really appreciate any advice on what to do (apart from not to drink near my precious laptop! I think I have definitely learnt that lesson!) It's not in warranty anymore so no chance of a free repair! Thanks Rob

08-26-2008, 04:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,851 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Disaster! The way I see it your drive is still working. I would suggest you take it out and plug in to another PC via an adapter. From there save you important files. As for the keyboard, I suggest you replace it with a good/working one. Try eBay stores. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

08-26-2008, 06:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
RobDe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Re: Disaster! But I'm not so sure that it won't work yet, I think I managed to get it out of the way pretty fast so hopefully it won't be too bad, just wondering if there was anything else I could do. None of it got on to the keyboard so that is fine.

08-26-2008, 07:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,851 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Disaster! By the way keep it drying for a few hours (open it up and use warm air from a hairdryer ). The last time I had that accident, I was too worried I kept it drying for a week (just to be on the safe side). Of course I have removed the CMOS battery, battery backup and AC adapter (unplugged). I also opened it up and cleaned the spill that got through. Good thing it did not reach the motherboard. But my keyboard got really sticky after that. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE Last edited by TriggerFinger; 08-26-2008 at 07:38 PM.

08-29-2008, 04:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
RobDe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Re: Disaster! Ok so I have turned it back on a few minutes ago and so far so good. The only thing different that I can see it that the battery light doesn't come on anymore but I'm not sure if it does when the battery is charged and it's plugged in. Other than that I think i've had a lucky break (literally!). I did find out though that I still have a warranty on it for the next few days; is it worth getting them to check it out anyway in case there is corrosion (I heard that fruit juice leaves behind acids!) or can they charge me if they find out it's my fault?

08-31-2008, 09:04 AM	#7 (permalink)
RobDe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: XP	Re: Disaster! I'm pretty sure they would charge because there was an option for additional cover from spills etc which I didn't take out. It's still working without any noticable problems so I think it's a happy ending. :)