Computer problem

Faith

Last night my drunk friend drunkenly spilt a rather large glass of wine over my laptop and it turned off. We immediately unplugged it and dried it off. It's been taken apart as much as possible and left to dry near the radiator. What are the chances of it being okay soon?

tba

I am afraid the chances are low, you might be lucky though. You say you took the laptop apart, in what way exactly? Is the computer still under guarantee?

dalk

Faith wrote:

What are the chances of it being okay soon?

Depends... It may be for scrap, maybe not.

Did the wine make it to the electronic parts? (Some laptops have a barrier under the keys). Wine will become sticky quickly and is fairly corrosive. The pcb wouldn't be too happy...

You say you have taken it apart and whiped it down. Is it sticky to the touch? You can rince with water gently, but you have to make sure it is absolutely bone dry before turning it back on.

Its a delicate piece of machinery. Repair may not be an option, given that laptops are 'repaired' by replacing most of its parts... which equals €€€€.

My sympathies.:(

Khannie

It turning itself off is a bad sign (unless there is a failsafe breaker in the keyboard...which seems reasonable now that I think about it). Did it turn itself off more or less immediately? How quickly did you get the battery / power out?

Computer parts getting wet isn't a big issue per-se....only if they have a power source attached to them.

Your best bet is it being under guarantee. I wouldn't turn it on until it is absolutely BONE dry. Leave it in the hot press for a week or more.

Faith

I took the battery out straight away, and took out most of the removable parts fairly quickly afterwards.It cut out as soon as the wine hit it. I assume it's still under guarantee because it's only 10 months old, but my parents bought it for me so I've no idea. Presumably though, a guarantee wouldn't cover something stupid like that?Getting it repaired will be expensive, won't it...

I feel like I've lost an arm without it!

Khannie

Faith wrote:

It cut out as soon as the wine hit it.

I actually think this is probably a good sign. Seems likely that there is a circuit breaker for spillages (though I'm speculating).

Anyone know whether or not they're normal on laptops?

Repair would probably be expensive, yeah. Does your house contents insurance cover it maybe?

Stephen

Indeed, warranty won't cover accidental damage like that. Your home insurance might though.

Faith

I live in a University flat so I doubt I have sufficient insurance for it. How much would we be talking about, roughly, to gett it fixed?

smeggle

As you removed most of the removable parts quite quickly and because it powered off straight away - repairs may not be that expensive. Which ever though it is the drunken friend who should foot most if not half at the least of any repair cost. Only fair as they did the damage.

Would suspect a motherboard shortout though myself considering it switched off immediately. Your periphials (The stuff you removed) should be ok to reuse and your hard drive should be ok hopefully.

I know I'd freak if it happened to me....

stevenmu

The problem with wine is that it'll leave a sticky residue, so even when dry this could still mess up the curcuit boards. It *may* be possible to remove this with a good solvent designed for cleaning PCBs, I think they usually use isopropyl alcohol or something like that. I've done this with an old dell that had a thick layer of coke goo eating away at it and a friend has done it with a couple of machines killed by flooding, so it is possible. I don't know if many, or any, repair shops would give this a go (too much potential money for them if they don't), so if the repair bill is going to work out at the same price as a new laptop, which I'd bet it will, it'd be worth taking it apart yourself and giving it a go.

Faith

cheers for the help, everyone. Unfortunately, after shelling out 80 pounds to get it cleaned, the guy told me it's ****ed, seriously, and i'd be better off buying a new one. Fantastic. Id' like to thank my "friend" who destroyed it.

Khannie

Most of the parts should still be salvageable. As one poster pointed out...the hdd, cdrom / dvd drive, ram, etc. are all probably good.

Sorry to hear it's fecked. Harsh.

I'm sure your friend feels terrible. I know I would.

SouperComputer

Computer parts getting wet isn't a big issue per-se....only if they have a power source attached to them.

you can usually get away with it alright, the problem is that the capacitors can short and blow either themsleves or their neighbours

Faith wrote:

cheers for the help, everyone. Unfortunately, after shelling out 80 pounds to get it cleaned, the guy told me it's ****ed, seriously, and i'd be better off buying a new one. Fantastic. Id' like to thank my "friend" who destroyed it.

stick it in a pillow case and smack him\her in the face with it


............or, alternatively...............


Flog it on ebay for parts. The screen, RAM and HD may have survived and are worth some €€€€€

Faith

How do I take it apart to get them out though? When I send it back to dell and they (potentially) deem it too expensive to be bothered fixing, can I get it back from them and sell parts then? That's a very interesting idea cuz it's gonna cost me serious moolah otherwise!

SouperComputer

TBH i wouldnt even bother sending it to dell. But he HD comes out easy peasy, as does the RAM. All you need is a decent set of screwdrivers and rip it to shreds, if this are working you can sell em:

Screen (€100e easy)
HD (€45)
Screen Inverter (€25 easy
WiFi Card (€20)
CPU (possibly) (anything from €40 to €80)
Individual keys (yes people really buy these!) (anything from €2 each)
Optical drive (€35 - 65)
Power Supply (40-60
Plastics (€10 or so)
Top cover including touchpad (€15-20)
Dead logic board (€25)

A total of about €320, youll probably get more though

Faith

That's a fair amount alright! What if I sent it back to Dell, and they couldn't fix and, and I told them to keep it for a reduction of price for the new laptop? Would it be better value to sell it on ebay?

Cheers for all your help everyone, I really appreciate it!