Spilled water on laptop and it will not work - Can I fix?

How much water?

I had a friend who spilled beer on his laptop and it didn't work either. So we took the entire laptop apart and cleaned up the mess that was inside. After that we put it back together and it worked!

Good luck.

Hi, I just read this on a PC help site for water cooling a CPU. It's very funny !

<SNIP>
I decided this weekend to try and quiten my PC by following some other members lead and going down the water cooling road. The fans on my PC were really starting to drive me mad

The first thing that I did was to remove all the fans. The one on the processor and graphics card were no problem but the one in the power unit was a bugger to get out.

The most difficult part was sealing all the ventilitation openings in the PC case with silicon. I also put silicon all around the joints on the PC case. The smell of silicon was dreadful but when my wife complained I told her to be patent as it will be worth it when we have a completely silent PC.

Because I had completely sealed the PC case the only opening near top was the DVD drive. So I opened that and put the small hose I had purchased specially for the job into the DVD drive as far as it would go. With what I can only describe as great excitement and anticipation, I turned on the water. It really is amazing just how long it took before the case was complete full, and boy was it heavy. That didn't really bother me as I didn't intend to be moving the PC anyway.

The big moment had arrived so I called in my wife and mother in law (who was visiting) and I announced "prepare to hear nothing!" and flicked the switch on the socket on the wall.

Before I could even press the power button on front of the PC, with a loud bang, the whole place was plunged into darkness

I knew that it was only the tripswitch so I told my onlookers not to panic and I ran out to the hall to turn the trip switch back on. But can u believe it, it wouldn't stay on. After five attempts I decided to try unplugging the PC and would you believe...yes the trip switch stayed on. My conclusion: the PC must have in some way been causing the problem.

After about an hour of tries I finally decided to abandon the whole idea of water cooling and emptied the water out of the PC, put back in the fans (except the fan in the power unit, I had broken that one getting it out) and tried the pc AGAIN. IT STILL CAUSED THE TRIP SWTICH TO BLOW!

My PC is completely buggered thanks to stupid suggestions that I got on this site. What the hell am I going to do now. I spent two hours last night with a hair drier inside the PC case and it still trips the switch.
😈

What a nice little story.

There's only one way to do what you did the right way.

You can use a liquid too flood hot parts, but a non conductive one. And the PC can't be flooded, only the MoBo should be plunged in it because it has no mobile parts.

A guy made a weird overclocking some time ago using a non conductive liquid from 3M, and a liquid gas too cool the liquid off. Using 2 vessels, one with the connected mobo flooded with the non-conductive liquid and a 2nd one filled with the liquid gas. Having a tube pumping the cold cold gas from the gas vessel passing through the other liquid and coming back, he managed to do a super overclocking and the computer was still working. Finally, the gas evaporated quickly and he finally burned out the CPU when cooling wasn't enough anymore.

This guy was a real techie!

🤣

I wonder if someone really did that (what a dumbass they are if it is true), or if they were just making up a good story 🙂

Thats exactly what I was thinking, what kind of idiot doesn't know enough about computers to fill their case with water...liquid cool is controled with tubes and such, not a tank!

Haha, I can't believe that story. I guess his PC is technically silent now...

sleeping with the fishes no doubt 😛

i've spilled iced tea, milk, beer, and a coke (at seperate times) onto my
laptop and it continued to work each time after it dried out. I just shut it
down (after getting mad of course) and waited for it dry out. I even used
a hair dryer on it a couple times. After the iced tea, I had to replace the
keyboard, but that was cuz the keys were sticking down, not broken.

I had a keyboard completly die from having water spilled on it. Although it was a PC keyboard and not a laptop, so I wasn't in danger of losing a $1500(or however much yours was) investment.

Haha, actually, it was Gatorade, not water... I was standing near the computer with a glass of it and the dog jumped on me. Of course the Gatorade just happened to splash right onto the keyboard, it must have some freakish attraction to it. My mother then had the genius idea to take a hair-dryer to it to try to stop the damage. That was successful, the keyboard still worked, but apparently she had held the hair-dryer too close to the keyboard and melted the keys a bit. Ah, the memories... 🙄

Some substances will leave behind a horrible residue on your computer u would never be able to get out without permanatley damaging the computer. These substances are usually high in sugar like soda and such. If u actually got water into your laptop I suggest taking it apart and cleaning it out with a Q-tip (not a complete tool, but it will get the job done). You dont wanna leave the liquid to sit there for to long, it will damage the computer behind repair. Ive had this problem my self and I just unscrewed it and left the parts out to dry and that worked pretty well too so either way should work.

[img]danjawiz.free-host.com/sig.gif[/img]
Nego~ Webmastair extrordinair

That's great advice for him Nego, but if you look at the date he posted that, his computer has probably been long dry.

Oh well, it's great to know for future reference! That's the whole point of a forum, is it not? 😉

Yup 😛

Nego ~ Webmastair Extrordinair

NEED MORE HELP:

well, it would have smart if I had looked here first... 😳
Anyway, I spilled water on my laptop (dell) and then turned it immediately off. So far so good. Then I remembered hearing "don't shake it to get water out" - check. I used a paper towel to get all the standing water off the top and then I tipped it over to drain the rest (without shaking). Hopefully still so far so good. But that's where I got nervous and realized I haven't backed my data since March 😳 SO smart. Anyway, so I got impatient and tried to turn my computer back on several times, none of which worked, presumably because there's still some wetness inside...

My question is --> no indications of any frying physically (no smoke, smells, sparks, sounds) but the inability to turn on, if I get the insides completely dry, am I likely to get it working again?

And if not - is there a way to get any of my docs from my hard drive that I had on there before I was so smart as to spill water on it?

If your comfortable taking it appart & taking a "can-o-air" to it then go for it, you have a good chance of getting it to work again if there was no smoke or "kzzzzzzzrsh" noises.

If you can't get it working there are a few ways you can get your files back.
1 : Take it to a shop & have them transfer the files to your new computer.
2 : Look for an external laptop HDD kit & convert that drive to an external drive which you could pull your files from then use to backup or whatever you wish.

Hi there.

I spilt a small amount of apple juice on my laptop keyboard. At first I imagined that it was smaller than it actually was - I just dabbed a towel on what I thought was a minor splash. Anyway, random keys started to be "pressed" so I realised it was worse than I thought. I tipped the keyboard to oneside and a teaspoon or so of juice came out. I turned off the machine, and left it open and on its side to dry out overnight.....

The machine comes on, so I guess I was very lucky. However, some of the keys are totally "dead". I dont really know what to do now.

I have looked on ebay and replacement keyboards for my machine are fairly cheap. Will this sort it out or do my problems run deeper?

Thanks for any help!

Yea that story pretty old it made it's rounds a few years ago(urbun legend stuff) it's funny to tell but we don't think someone really did it !

Yea I guess It all depends on the liquid(laptops are not that hard to disassemble(big thing is ,and i did this the first time I took one apart)
way before there was procedure to disassemble them,I would record
what screws came out of what holes(they are all marked with letters)
I made a little diagram,and the big thing was as soon as you took it apart and fixed or cleaned it ..don't let it sit ,put it right back together
while you still have that mental image ..lol

Once the women at work no you how to fix them .(laptops) look out. 🤣
cause they no how to dump everything they drink on them ,I swear.

i have spilled a cup of water on my laptop accidently i dried it for 2 weeks now even put a fan on iy to dry it but it wont work what can i do pls help me to fix it 🙄

Pray it is under warranty.

🤣 I just spit my drink at my keyboard, but it still works.

ok, I saw this tonight just being bored reading/surfing diff forums im not a member of and saw this,So i felt i had to pass on some knowledge that i got a hold of from a guy i met that works at AMD, If you ever spill anything in your laptop other than water, Like soda,Beer ETC, Turn it off quickly, Take it apart as soon as you can big thing if you can't take it all the way apart try and at least separate the screen from it usually a few screws and a ribbon cable, Get yourself some DENATURED ALCOHOL and straight FLood that whole thing with it and let it sit for a min or two and dump it out, Do that 2 or 3 times, and then let it dry for a hour or two, YOU MUST MAKE SURE IT IS DENATURED ALCOHOL!!! Rubbing alcohol will eat the protective coating off the circuts printed on the motherboard and destroy it, you can buy denatured alcohol at any walmart or hardware store, it is a little pricey about 10-15 dollars a pint depending where you buy it from, but will save you from buying a new laptop in most cases......... Ne ways i know this was a old post but for anyone else out there that might be in need of some Kick ass knowledge here you go!

Later

Pat

P.S PURE AMONIA works in place of DENATURED ALCOHOL, Make sure it is pure though and does not have any cleaning agents, You may also find that at Home depot,lowes,pepboys,autozone,any car racing shop It is a very popular Coolant for A/C Systems in big packing plants and hot rods and track cars, I run it in my 400 hp honda civic when i drag race it at the track,

nice, thanks for the info.

Hi,
I spilt water on my keyboard and after fighting it in various ways for some time, bought a new laptop keyboard. Here's a web page describing the whole process including installation of the laptop kbd. Feel free to ask questions.
http://www.ashtophoenix.com/comp/inspiron_8600_kbd.html
Hope it helps!
Cheers, Sid.

Hi,
I spilt water on my keyboard and after fighting it in various ways for some time, bought a new laptop keyboard. Here's a web page describing the whole process including installation of the laptop kbd. Feel free to ask questions.
http://www.ashtophoenix.com/comp/inspiron_8600_kbd.html
Hope it helps!
Cheers, Sid.

Hey Phoenix_s and welcome to Ozzu.

Thanks for your post and the link. Only problem is this post is 2+ years old. The original post was made 14th August 2003.

Not much point in bringing posts like this back from the dead because there is always a newer version of it somewhere.

Other than that small thing, happy posting 😁

The post that never ends... 😁 Each year it gets resurrected.

maybe this would help?

too much work... And using gasoline to clean something that is going to be plugged into electricity. hrm... That may be a fire hazard.

gasoline?! maybe next time i'll read the article before posting it... i found it on engadget, so i thought, ok it might be something to reccommend here

Hi Peeps,

Really hoping that someone can help me.

I have a brand new Dell Inspiron 630M laptop (bought end of Jan).

My little (lovely... hmmm) 2 year old boy threw his cup of water all over it the other day.

The water literally poured out.

We've left it to dry out (though not taken it apart - don't feel experienced enough to do that and also worried about invalidating any warranty).

I can turn it on and it is working to some degree - does make a few odd noises, which settle once turned on for a while.

But the main problem is the keys on the keyboard behave erratically. If I click into any text box, then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's just keep being typed by the invisible man.

Sometimes the mouse pad doesn't respond - sometimes it does.

I figure I'm going to have to bit the bullet and either send it back to Dell to be fixed - if I do this, is it going to be obvious that there has been water spilt that has caused the problems - is there anyway I can just get away with saying it just started playing up?

Other than that - is it possible to claim for this to be fixed under my contents insurance, under accidental damage.

Really don't know what to do for the best - but having just forked out for the laptop itself, really do need to sort this out as cheaply as possible - even, sorry to say it, if it means telling a few little white lies.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks,

Sue xx

If it's really hard water, it would probably leave calcium deposists that will tip off the tech support guys. Other than that, hit it with a hair dryer, call dell and say "It just started acting up!"

They are usually pretty good anyway.

First : Turn off your computer and donot try to run anymore.
second: Send your laptop to warranty shop Immediately to try fix it.
Dont do anything with your laptop if you are not sure!

Hi! I also have this kind of problem with my computer. Last Saturday I bought one of those liquids to clean the dvd lector because it wasn't reading dvd's very well. The thing is that I accidentally spilled some of that liquid over the keyboard (long story) and right after that the computer turned off immediately. I dried the keyboard right away and tried to turn on the computer, but I couldn't. So I freaked out and opened the computer to dry some of it's components off. After I did that I preferred to give the computer some time to dry itself. What's weird is that the next morning I was able to turn on the computer (I was so happy!) but then, after 10 minutes of being on, it turned off automatically. I turned it on again and the same happened. The same day in the afternoon I turned it on again and it turned off after 10 minutes again. The next day I wasn't able to turn it on at all and I haven't been until now. Also every time I push the start button it seems that the computer tries to start because the light of the battery turns on but then just blinks and the computer doesn't start at all. What could be the problem? Is there something I can do? 😢

Call tech support and pray it's under warranty.

Call tech support and pray it's under warranty.

So it doesn't help if I clean it the way it was described earlier in other cases?

If you feel you have the technical abilities to do so and are comfortable opening a laptop and possibly voiding the warranty - go ahead.

I use a 70/30 mix of Ethanol and Deionized water to clean electrical components. If you cannot get that, than 91% isopropanol will suffice (make sure it's at least 91%).

Don't know if it will work for you though. Unless you live in the rain forest or Seattle, the water has most likely evaporated. Which means any of the shorts the water created caused permanent damage to the components. Unless you spilled Schuylkill brew (our tap water - well it contains some water, amongst other things) in which case than the massive amounts of minerals and contaminates could be causing the short circuits.

Alright I need to add my story to the ranks.

I have an Inspiron 6000. One day I woke up, went downstairs and found the ceiling splashing water on my laptop. I immediately shut it down, unplugged, drained and dried. It works, it turns on, but it can't detect any source of internet connecton be it wireless or ethernet cable. On top of that, there are five PCI devices that it can detect, bt it doesn't know what they are, and i'm pretty clueless as to what they can be too. I'm pretty sure that two of them are my built in wireless card and my network adapter. But the question is how do I reinstall these PCI devices and what should i do from here?

That could be because of the water damage. Those parts could be victims. You most likely need to have the laptop professionally repaired.

I'm sorry but I'm a little dense in the tech world. If the parts are defective, how can the compter still detect them? And why does it keep asking me to install the pci devices?

Either
A.) The drivers were never there to begin with.
B.) The water damaged them enough for windows to find "something," but the hardware is too shot to be identified correctly and work.

Either reinstall the drivers or have it fixed.

Good news, I just tried to reinstall the drivers and my network card is detectable anong other things. Now I still have one PCI device that doesn't work but since I have an internet connection, all that's left for me to do is find that device and fix my wireless card. Thanks for the help

Hi all.

Today, a fair amount of Coke got split on my dell laptop keyboard area (while on).
I lifted it up and pulled the battery out and then flipped it over so the coke landed on the floor. I stuck it in front of a fan pointing at its air vents for 4 hours. I then plugged it in to see if it worked (probably BIG MISTAKE). I think it is royally screwed.

I emailed tech support ask them how to get the onsite-warranty that am entitled to for the next month or so until it expires.

Is it going to be obvious that it is water damaged?
Any other advice?

With coke? Yep, they'll be able to tell.

They use coke syrup to clean blood off of Highways after bad traffic accidents.

I know, my mum was an admin who used to work with nurses and paramedics.

an update: I gave it one more try with my other battery and other adapter. I found out that It fried my Laptop power adapter, and my laptop works fine.

I booted up a game of f.e.a.r just to be sure.(note: fear is not a troubleshooter)

crosses fingers and preys to Flying Spaghetti Monster it stays that way.

Wow... a lot of people spill fluids on their laptops..

The most I've ever done is knock over a can of Coca Cola and spill it over the front of Server 2, about 8 inches to the left of my laptop...

Hello! Hope someone is still here to help me with my issue

I was gone for the weekend at a friend's leaving my laptop at home for my little brother to play on (HUGE MISTAKE) When i got home he doesn't tell me right away until I actually ask him, "WHATS WRONG WITH MY LAPTOP?!" Then he claims to have spilled some water on the keyboard, turned it off and left it there for 2 days. In anger I slapped him silly and tied him up, now hes in my closet and will remain there for a few weeks. Anyways the laptop turns on fine, made a few funny beeps at start up and everything seems to be in working order, except for the Keyboard. 95% of the keys work fine, but the huge issue is that when I press the 5% that don't work, they have some weird shortcuts on them, like "F" would open up FIND option, W would minimize windows, and so on. I really don't want to pay to fix such a STUPID mistake by a younger brother, what options do I have here? Please help. Thank you~

~Tony

Sounds to me like your Alt key is activated. Or stuck in the "on" position if you will.

so how do I go about fixing this? Any Suggestions?

Is there in any way you can look at the underside (like below the actual knob switches, not jjust the key caps itself) of your keyboard, probably some leftover water or something else that shorts the key.

Hi. Ok my Dell Inspiron got soaked in the rain...i think. Well it was by my open window (i know, stupid thing to do leaving it there) and when the rain came pouring down, a good bit of it got on the laptop. So i get home, freak out, clean it with a dry cloth, shake it, take the battery out and clean that and then turn it on, hoping its working. (From what i've read, i shouldn't have done that). Well it worked but the screen was tinted red and so all the colors where off. That was about a week ago. I let it dry but i tried it two days ago and the red tint is still there and now its not detecting any internet connection even though there are like six networks available.
I don't know what to do and am not up to opening it up so i'm thinking i might send it to Dell to get it fixed. I'd actually like to know if anyone knows how much that would cost and what exactly is wrong. I know its water damage but what in particular did the water damage? 😟

I spilled some sparkling water on my dell laptop, and i turned the power off after a minute and let it dry for an hour then i dried with a hair dryer for 10 seconds then let it dry for 5 min then hairdryer for another 10 seconds. now when i press the power button the small light powers up but the lights at the middle (caps lock and number lock) are really dim and the screen does not power up. What should i do

I spilled water on my keyboard and it stopped working so I threw it against the wall (laptop attached) now it works fine. p.s. people it is a horrible idea to revive dead post.

How hard did you throw it into the wall?
I have the same problem, me friend spilt water in his Macbook and gave it to me in exchange for fixing his desktop.

why do people hate when old post are revived, if you have the same issue, what is the harm in using an old thread, instead of starting a new?
I am really asking.
I always read old post when looking for help, before posting a question. and since i am already at the old post figure it can't hurt to use it.
But it seems to piss off some people, why? If legit, I'll stop using old post.

BTW i really do have dead Macbook, i was going to sell it for the screen, since my guess is the the power supply is gone and the motherboard is probably gone too.

Just now some decent amount of water spilled on the mouse and keyboard of my dell windows 8 intel, and it just turned off right away. i imediatly dried out the water and took out the battery. However when I finished and put the battery back in the light on the front comes on like when it turning on but then goes off and start flashing I really need to fix it my moms ganna kill me and she never got to put warenty on it.

Are you sure the water dried out all the way before you turned it back on?