spilled coffee over new laptop- options?

[nicK]

just over 5mins ago i did the stupidest thing in my life in that i accidently spilled a half mug of coffee over my brand new 15" Apple Powerbook..

after getting over the shock, i cleaned the visual traces of it up with tissue paper and it now looks decent, however, it's the damage on the inside that i'm worried about..

it wouldn't switch on first of all, and after replacing the battery i got a fuzzy screen. this keeps happening..

now, i bought it just over a month ago from dixons.. their warrenty hardly covers spillages?

is there anything i can do?

all help and suggestions appreciated..

jcoote

**** it down the stairs and tell them thats the point it stopped working from...customer is always right

[nicK]

i was actually thinking about something like that.. but i'm sure the warranty doesn't cover 'falls' eithers..

i dunno, i'm still in shock, i can't think straight at all..

bounty

oh that sucks

what i would do is make sure i get a replacement one using the warrenty

now, your going to have to remove all evidence that you split coffee on the laptop, and create a new fault that is covered by the warrenty

i would recommend opening up the laptop and dry / remove all traces of the coffee

then damage the laptop so that it looks like a major hardware fault that would require a replacement laptop

you could flash the bios with a .mp3 file, that'll stop it working

hmm you could fry the mainboard by running a few hundred volts thru it, be creative i remember a thread a long time ago with a similar theme

BloodBath

Are you sure your not covered for accidental damage. We had a pc from dixons years ago and it was covered for accidental damage. It came in handy. After about a year the cat pissed into the top of the monitor. They replaced it no problem. If your not covered like the others said hide all traces of the coffee spill, bring it back and tell them it just stopped working.

[nicK]

bounty and bloodbath, thanks for both of those replys..
it kinda reassures me that it's not all so bad.. and there is, perhaps, a way around this mess i got myself into..

although,
by opening up my laptop to try and remove the internal spillage (probably dryed up by now anyway) would that not in itself, void the warranty?

and regarding that accidental damage clause, i unfortunately didn't go for it. it's hardly possible to get covered now? (5weeks after purchase)

jcoote

yeah opening it would break the warranty for definate... read your warranty documentation and see which would be the best approach in creating a new fault

bounty

but, it only voids the warrenty if you tell them you opened it, or if you leave evidence that you opened it

jcoote

is there not usually u sticker covering the joints that says void if removed or broken or somethin

Lump

bounty wrote:

oh that sucks

what i would do is make sure i get a replacement one using the warrenty

now, your going to have to remove all evidence that you split coffee on the laptop, and create a new fault that is covered by the warrenty

i would recommend opening up the laptop and dry / remove all traces of the coffee

then damage the laptop so that it looks like a major hardware fault that would require a replacement laptop

you could flash the bios with a .mp3 file, that'll stop it working

hmm you could fry the mainboard by running a few hundred volts thru it, be creative i remember a thread a long time ago with a similar theme

Yes insurance fraud that's a good plan.

Just bring it in, say it doesn't work. They'll power up and see it doesn't work. Dixsons will give you a new one and it'll be a couple of months till they send it back to apple.

If they ask you what happened you may have to tell them, but it's not likely that they will. Just go in and say "S'not workin'"

John

Hobbes

Yea I wouldn't say you split coffee on it, just say it stopped working and you don't know why.

Btw, new thinkpads are waterproof keyboards and even come with a gutter to let the coffee pour out.

zap

first thing i would try us turning it upside down and drying it out, remove thekeyboard, you would be amazed at what works after a good drying.

prospect

Probably covered under your house insurance policy,
or covered for 12months by the retailer,
Or if purchased by credit card, then it is covered by your CC company.

RicardoSmith

prospect wrote:

Probably covered under your house insurance policy,
or covered for 12months by the retailer,
Or if purchased by credit card, then it is covered by your CC company.

The only sensible thing...

RainyDay

prospect wrote:

Or if purchased by credit card, then it is covered by your CC company.

Not all credit card companies provide cover for accidental damage. Check the terms & conditions of your own credit card to be sure.

If you bought the Dixons extended warranty with the laptop, this will almost certainly cover you for accidental damage. Read the policy document.

But if you're not covered, you're not covered. Insurance fraud is pretty nasty and rips off the other good customers of the insurance companies like me.

Infini

Just remove all evidence of the coffee and go into them and say it just stopped working for no reason one day.

[nicK]

thanks for all of the advice so far people.

Infini wrote:

Just remove all evidence of the coffee and go into them and say it just stopped working for no reason one day.

a few people have mentioned this and it seems like the most reasonable option.. but..

i bought the laptop with the 9months interest free credit option... what are my rights here? is the laptop mine and i have a full warranty? or do i not own the laptop until i have paid for it in full?

also, when the lady was trying to sell me the accidental cover insurance she didn't seem to know much about it but she did say something like this "if you don't buy this accident cover insurance your warranty won't be great and you'll have to send it back to apple as it's nothing to do with us"
.. is this true?
if it is, this is probably my worst case scenario as apple would surely find traces of the coffee and tell me where to go!?

SouperComputer

i would try the house insurance route first. tell them you spilled coffee on it.

They will most likely cover it.

Technially speaking, you are entitled to bring the product back to where you purchased it. however, it would probably be quicker if you deal with apple yourself.

pulling the powerbook apart unless you are very familiar with one is not a good idea. even if you clean the board, they will most likely be able to tell by the smell of coffee and the trail of shorted components. I know this as I have a DVI G4 beside me that a customer is chancing his arm with!

Its nearly impossible to remove all traces of liqud damage, and coffee is even harder!

In short, if you have house insurance, give it a go. Failing that see if you can retrocatvily get an extended warranty, wait a couple of week and claim. very naughty but might get you out of a hole!

lastly, you could chance your arm with apple. if you get lucky some dozy dude might get your powerbook on a monday morning and declare it as a board failure.

anyway, hope it works out for you. If be sick if that happend

*dashes to remove all coffee cups from office*

seamus

Most house insurance policies only cover general items up to a certain amount. Expensive items like computers, jewellery etc need to be specifically covered, usually.

Trojan

You should still have it open 90 degrees, sitting on on end, about 12" from a radiator. Don't try switching it on until you're certain it's completely dry.

Canis Lupus

Trojan wrote:

You should still have it open 90 degrees, sitting on on end, about 12" from a radiator. Don't try switching it on until you're certain it's completely dry.

Agreed. OP you should ideally put it in an airing cupboard and not have turned it on until bone dry.

On the downside if you're the type that likes lots of sugar in your coffee there is a high chance of sticky keys developing even if the radiator trick works

Trojan

Well, depending on your kbd, you might be able to prise off the keys and clean both them (bowl soapy water, dry seperately) and underneath (with an alcohol wipe).

Inspector Gadget

Whatever else you do, DON'T FORCE DRY the thing. Someone spilled beer on a friend's Dell lappie, and tried to get rid of the evidence by drying it with a hair dryer (I know, I know...) Managed to warp and melt the enter key, among others - had to replace the keybaord in the end, would've been fine if he'd just owned up and it could have been cleaned more carefully.

Gadget

RapierX

Well heres a crazy idea in case all else fails. A couple of years ago I spilt a can of cider over a G4 keyboard I was told as a last resort to submerge it in water for 24hrs or more and leave it to completely dry out before plugging it back in again, it worked bar a couple of keys that were dodgy, bit of gold paint fixed that too though. Dunno if it would work for a complete laptop but if it aint working after all the other options why not give it a go.

Make sure to leave it dry out naturally whatever you do btw.

Impurity

do you not think that one of the over 500 employees in the dsg ireland chain(dixons/pc world/currys) may read this thead!?! :-)

btw, i work for dsg ireland, and i can tell ya now that laptops/i books are sent for repair under warranty, not exchanged! and they are tested for user damage (ie. coffee/water damage / throwing down stairs / shorted motherboards cause of too high a voltage being plugged in etc.) and if that is found to be the case, your screwed my friend. best thing is to do is place it upside down opened and powered off in the hot press for a night. if it still doesn't work, you only void the warranty if you break a seal/damage the screw threads or obviously tell us that you opened it, but i didn't say that

lomb

the laptop is probably fooked start saving for a new one. they are very complex machines- perhaps the ram, hard drive and screen can be salvaged and sold on ebay. coffee leaves a terible mess inside and any engineer will see its liquid damaged.
before u write it off though let it dry out for a good few days or a week in a warm place like a hotpress and remove the battery NOW.

[nicK]

it's amazing what a bit of hot air can do huh? .. the screen is now working again and from what i can see, there doesn't appear to be any major damage.

the only problem i've found so far is that the keyboard won't illuminate, the touchpad button is pretty sticky to press at times and there is a nasty smell of coffe that just won't go away!

the least of my worrys i'd say.. i'm considerably lucky.. my baby is fully functional again!

now all i gotta do is stick it up on the FS board and get an almost full refund :rolleyes:

anyway, i appreciate all of the help and advice guys..

jesus_thats_gre

The worst thing you done was turning it on again. You have let it dry and you would have been fine probably.

weeder

yep a radiator burst and killed a tv here once and my dad dried it with a hairdryer and turned it on straight away it worked for 3 days then blew up

lomb

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

The worst thing you done was turning it on again. You have let it dry and you would have been fine probably.

definately, the machine needs to b dried for a week, without the battery

jor el

[nicK] wrote:

there is a nasty smell of coffee that just won't go away!

Try Fabreze

That's nasty all the same, hope it keeps working for you.

CyberGhost

[nicK] wrote:

thanks for all of the advice so far people.




a few people have mentioned this and it seems like the most reasonable option.. but..

i bought the laptop with the 9months interest free credit option... what are my rights here? is the laptop mine and i have a full warranty? or do i not own the laptop until i have paid for it in full?

also, when the lady was trying to sell me the accidental cover insurance she didn't seem to know much about it but she did say something like this "if you don't buy this accident cover insurance your warranty won't be great and you'll have to send it back to apple as it's nothing to do with us"
.. is this true?
if it is, this is probably my worst case scenario as apple would surely find traces of the coffee and tell me where to go!?

and where do you think they will send it when they recieve? do you think they will fix it themselves?

Remember: Don't drink and surf,

Can you live with the shame?

Doodee

having cleaned yghurt out of a laptop recentlyyou may wish to consider getting some antistatic oxydising agent and clean the innards if you cant return it through insurance.

[nicK]

jor el wrote:

Try Fabreze

That's nasty all the same, hope it keeps working for you.

with the help of a few baby wipes i've managed to scrub away the smell.. and the keyboard now illuminates again!

so really, it's operating, and looking like a brand new powerbook.. it's absolutely amazing that it has fully recovered. i don't understand how it's possible but i'm not complaining.

Loobz

Your lucky, thats for sure.

The first thing I would do is cry. Id cry like a little bitch for a while. Then Id sit and think of what to do next, which would consist mainly of worrying and shaking. Fair play you pulled through nick.

smorton

if you got that extended warranty you can throw it against the wall the day before the warranty ends and get a new one. someone who worked there told me it covers everything. if there's something to bring back in you'll get a new one. apparently you're even covered if you die. whatever that means

but you didn't get that did you....?

Snickers Man

I feel your pain.

From memory.

A few years ago I did exactly that to a Powerbook. Panicked and tried to reboot. Shorted the whole motherboard out.

Powerbook had to go to HOLLAND FFS to be repaired. For two weeks I had to make do with an old Performa (remember them?) [Shuddder]

Look on the bright side. You will NEVER do anything as stupid again.

I haven't. Yet.....

Atlas_IRL

BloodBath wrote:

After about a year the cat pissed into the top of the monitor. They replaced it no problem.

sry thats the funniest thing ive read in ages