Spilt tea on laptop...can it be saved??

Question

Apologies if this has been asked many times before...
I spilt tea on my Acer Aspire 3102WLMi laptop keyboard about three days ago...very stupid i know! As soon as it happened i tipped tea out and keyboard seemed to work for a few hours after but next day the keys weren't working (but weren't sticking). Everything seemed to be fine except for the keyboard, however this morning I switched laptop on and about 2 seconds into loading a really loud alarm noise came on and laptop froze completely. I was wondering if anyone has any information on what this noise is, or any tips to help laptop dry out?? Can it be salvaged?! Thanks!

Answer 1

It's probably already dried out, and the problem is likely to be the sticky residue left behind.

Depending on how technically competant you are, you could try the following - it's what I'd do in your position.

Dismantle the laptop - strip it down, remove the keyboard and the PCBs

Set to one side all the bits you can't do anything about: CD ROM, Harddrive, battery, screen etc.

For the rest, I'd use either an electrical cleaner, or a bowl of warm soapy water - it sounds daft, but bear with me - and clean the circuit boards off with a soft cloth. When any residue has been removed, dry with a hairdryer. DO NOT IMMERSE IN WATER THE CIRCUIT BOARD WITH THE PROCESSOR ON, but it is fine on any other boards.

With luck, this will cure the problem. While its in bits, clean the parts around the keyboard - again, warm soapy water will do, so long as you ensure it is thoroughly dry afterwards.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I'm afraid you may be in trouble. You don't say what the alarm was or what error message came up, but you say that it froze - this means that either the machine hadn't dried out or that the hard drive has been corrupted. If it hasn't dried out then careful use of a hair dryer (don't let the machine get too hot...the idea is to move air around to speed up evaporation) will get rid of any liquid left inside. then try restarting the machine when you are sure its dry. If it was still wet when you powered it up then some of the electronics may be damaged so will need replacing...Hope its insured. If it was dry then it may just be errors caused by the keyboard, these are fairly cheap to replace and can be done by most repair shops, other problems really depend on the error message.. It may just need your OS reinstalling or it may be totally kaput, Probably best to take it to a qualified repairer, Its probably salvageable but it may be costly...

Answer 3

I spilt coffee on mine last year and tried to take all the keys off and clean them, but to no avail. I went into an electronics store and they basically told me it would cost more to fix than if I were to buy a new one. Try taking your keys off and cleaning it all first before giving up. Just take a photo of your keypad so you can remember excatly where evrything goes first. If this doesn't work then try taking it inot a laptop repair shop and see what they'll say. Certain of my keys just froze like yours, but I didn't have an alarm go off. Good luck, it might be worth your while to check around for prices of a new one also. Another suggestion would be tio see if your insurance covers damages such as this.

Answer 4

My last house was a small ranch in the high prairie of Texas, and the ants were really something. We had big black ants, fire ants, little bitty ants, you name it, crawling all over the land. If they smelled anything inside the house they'd come in a line under the screen door like a an expedition in an old jungle movie, single file, carrying whatever booty they could find back to the nest. You had to admire their determination. I used to get to work washing my floor with vinegar water, which destroyed the ant scent that they liked to follow. It was like taking up the crumb trail left by Hansel and Gretel. You can shake some laundry Borax around their hole and they will carry it in and kill the colony. There is also Fire Ant Bait that used to fly off the shelves in the store, people were so used to using it every season. Some places will be besieged by ants, some places by flying insects. Darned if there isn't some plague everywhere.

Answer 5

Most important question....Did it have suagr in? I work in IT and have come accross this problem many times. If it has suagr then NO! We have tried but it seems to gunk stuff up inside. If it has no suagr then leave it for a couple of days in a warm dry place and do not attempt to turn on. After it is completely dry there is no reason it should not work again!
Good luck!

Answer 6

Switch to.Restore to original settings.When
you switch on and Acer comes on screen,press
ALT and F10,for a2,3secs.If it doesn't work
switch off and try again.Page 25 of your users
guide.I also Remember hearing on TV someone
put a table light 0ver it dry and a hairdryer.
Good Luck.

Answer 7

Put it through your house insurance. I recently did, £50 excess and a new laptop within 3 days.

Answer 8

try this it worked on a power lift for a bath battery pack i put it in the airing cupboard for a handful of days so it dried out internally and it worked brill!

Answer 9

you could have saved yourself this disaster by buying a plastic keyboard cover. you can type with this cover on the keyboard

http://hooleon.com/menu-protection.htm

here are more

http://www.google.com/search?&q=plastic+keyboard+covers

How to Clean a Computer Keyboard

http://www.ehow.com/how_2026_clean-computer-keyboard.html

Answer 10

No the tea has had it make another cup