spilled water in laptop. help

[Buffie]

I managed to spill some water on my laptop. Although I didn't think it was much but my laptop was effected immediately. I turn it off and didn't turn it back on til the next day. It came on fine but half of the keys no longer work. Does anyone know if it can be fixed. Its a new laptop and I still owe about $700 on it.

[Foolish Old]

It's good news that it booted up successfully. You have a good chance of the keyboard fixing itself. Put it (open) in a ventilated area with sunlight, in front of a fan, or blow it with a hair dryer set to cool. Even if that doesn't help, the keyboard can probably be salvaged by disassembly, drying and cleaning and reassembly.

Good luck.I managed to spill some water on my laptop. Although I didn't think it was much but my laptop was effected immediately. I turn it off and didn't turn it back on til the next day. It came on fine but half of the keys no longer work. Does anyone know if it can be fixed. Its a new laptop and I still owe about $700 on it.

[WolfeMan]

Don't laugh at me, but open it up and put it in your refridgerator for 24 hours. Fridges have dehumidifiers in them and will dry it out. I've done this with cell phones that were completely submerged in water. Sometimes it takes a day or two, but it will completely evaporate all the water inside.

[Van Quad]

:metoo:
I killed mine with vodka. Much more effective.

Great advice above. I would add that you should pop the battery out as soon as the laptop is turned off. Don't put the battery back in until the laptop has dried out. (Or cooled off! :) )

[Cris]

Let it sit outside in the heat (not direct sunlight) for a few hours and make sure it dries completely on the inside and then reevaluate

[Buffie]

Thank guys for all the advice. I have opened it up and placed in the fridge and tomorrow I'm thinking I'll put it out on the back porch in the hot Ga sun before I try to fire it back up.

[lynnifer]

Don't put the laptop in the hot sun or you'll fry it .. trust me. Replacement keyboards aren't too, too expensive and replacing it can be done by someone with able fingers .... I've seen David do it after I spilled nail polish on mine! I'm typing on that same laptop now (2001!) I also threw this sucker at the floor and it still works!

Check on ebay for a replacement keyboard for cheap.

[Van Quad]

And if worse comes to worse, you can sell dead laptops for parts on craigslist. Somebody may need a part other than your dead keyboard to get theirs up and running.

[cypresss]

1) remove any power source and battery from your laptop.
2) remove/clean the water from it
3) put it in a dry space and wait water to be evaporated. You can wait even a week if u think that a lot of water was thrown on your device.
3) try to disassemble it in order to water evaporate faster (see in your manual or over the internet how this is made for your laptop model)

[woman from Europe]

The good news is that you can fix it, the bad thing is it is expensive. Somebody spilled some coffee in mine, 700 dollars to fix, 1/2 of the cost of a new one. So you have to find out if it is worth it. Mine was 2 month old and an expensive one so I did it.

[eric.coe]

Hey Buffie,

I think you should try to make your laptop auto fix itself. If you haven't spill much water on it then it would be fine in tow or three days otherwise you should call you service provider to fix it.

REGARDS.

[Wise Young]

My last two laptops (both powerbooks) died because of fluid splashed onto them. One time, it was beer on an airplane. Another time was a splash of coffee. Both time, the powerbooks continued to restart but parts of the computer did not function even after several days of drying. In one case, I bought an external keyboard so that I could use the computer until I got home and bought a replacement computer. In the second case, the screen would not turn on. I bought a new computer but had the computer repaired for about $800.

So, in my experience, the "drying of the computer" even over prolonged periods did not work. Whatever the damage sustained by the computer during the first hours remained. If the keyboard stopped working, prolonged drying did not restore it. If the screen stopped, it did not come back. I think that the electronics are damaged.

At Tech Serve in Manhattan (the best mac computer repair store in New York), they offer a service where they will take apart your computer, clean it out, and let it completely dry out. That costs about $400. They then check and replace any part that does not work, charging you for parts and labor.

If your computer costed over $2000 (which mine did), it is worthwhile investing in its repair. By the way, neither warranty nor Applecare will cover computer damage from spills. If your computer is close to $1000, it may not be worth the investment and you can usually buy a better computer for the same investment.

Wise.

[Buffie]

Every thing but the keyboard is working properly. I've ordered a new keyboard and until it arrives I am using the onscreen keyboard. I was lucky this time.

[Van Quad]

Every thing but the keyboard is working properly. I've ordered a new keyboard and until it arrives I am using the onscreen keyboard. I was lucky this time.

I just discovered the onscreen keyboard last week. :dontknow:

It's great for hitting the shift key when highlighting a list. A well kept secret; I wonder how long it's been around.

[gurly2356]

I just discovered the onscreen keyboard last week. :dontknow:



How do u get the onscreen keyboard?

[Scorpion]

By the way, neither warranty nor Applecare will cover computer damage from spills.

Good point, Wise!

After ruining my 17" Powerbook G4 with spilled coffee, I bought a 15" MacBook Pro at BestBuy and found out their Geek Squad extended warranty covers accidental damage, including spills. Considering the expense of Mac laptops, as you mentioned, and my coffee/Powerbook disaster, I decided the Geek Squad warranty was worth the price for the peace-of-mind. It was about $350 for 3 years and $400 for 4 years of coverage, so it's more expensive than the AppleCare, but it covers more. I went with the 4-year coverage. They'll even replace your battery for free if it craps out during the coverage period.

[bob clark]

How do u get the onscreen keyboard?

Hi Gurly,

http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/usingkeyboard.aspx

On the Start menu:
Point to All Programs.
Point to Accessories.
Point to Accessibility.
Select On–Screen Keyboard.
Note: A message box with a link to more information about the On–Screen Keyboard may appear. To close the box, select OK.


http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/oskturnonuse.aspx


Bob.

[Sue Pendleton]

How much is the average to get a laptop's keyboard and touchpad keys cleaned up? I've had my Dell for 4 years now and plan on getting a smaller one for traveling but this 17" still works well but is a tad gummy especially the left clicker.

[PN]

How much is the average to get a laptop's keyboard and touchpad keys cleaned up? I've had my Dell for 4 years now and plan on getting a smaller one for traveling but this 17" still works well but is a tad gummy especially the left clicker.
I would think around 30 or $40 to clean the keyboard and the touchpad.

0qRpz177gZ4

[clueless]

I recently spilled water on mine. My husband disassembled then wiped all the wet parts with cotton buds. After letting it dry for 2 days, miraculously, it still functioned. I was already thinking of replacing it with a Lenovo because of this ad.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg6emajJmEo

[gypsylady]

My Friend Julie spilled red sticky wine on hers ... she sent it to me I took it apart and took out the HD and both batts
Took the keypad and used distilled water to clean the Wine gook off it .. Rinsed it out with distilled water Dried it out.with blown air thouroughly ... Replaced the DVD recorder to be safe it was all yuky
Put her laptop slowly back together it fired up ...
It ran stable for a week so I sent it back to her She was able to use it and get her files all backed up / transferred to her other new work laptop computer .
She uses it as her home notebook it is still working well...
Distilled water and totally removing the Batts totally disaasmbling it paid off ... First time I seen a glass of Red wine in a leveno...

[bob clark]

Way to go GypsyLady.

Bob.

[gypsylady]

Thank you Bob clark Main thing is Depending on the liquid I like the Refrig idea and I used that too in the past on my old compac one because I drink alot of water .

But on my friends Julies Her wine spilled Work laptop
I had to totally Dissamble hers to properly clean it . It was Sticky and took alot of time on my Behalf . I also was in that margin of 50% winning it runs or 50 % it dont run Fried as you all know . Liquids can wreak havok on laptops