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Liquids aren't good for laptops

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  • Liquids aren't good for laptops

    Have had an older (70ish) woman coming in for a couple of months. Has a Windows 8 laptop rather dirty and battered. She must smoke a pack a day because the laptop reaks of smoke and actually has a couple of holes burnt in it. Not to mention her brownish yellow teeth.


    She kept forgetting her passwords for her email and Facebook, despite being told repeatedly what they were and not bothering to write it down. I finally made her do it yesterday, just in case.


    Anyway, she'd come in a few times because she was having issues getting to Facebook (which turned out to be nothing. I clicked where I was supposed to click and it worked) but yesterday she came in and the laptop was taking several minutes to respond to mouse clicks. Even though the laptop's only a few months old, I figured it might not be a bad idea to test the hard drive. So I had her leave it over night.

    Well, as soon as I opened the bottom I saw the problem.

    Liquid - I'm guessing iced tea - all inside the bottom of the laptop. The hard drive was remarkably untouched but the keyboard was shot and at least some had gotten into the motherboard. I'm amazed it turned on at all. Plus it had time to thicken because it was the consistency of corn syrup. When I asked the owner about it, she admitted that her granddaughter must have spilled something on the laptop and of course never said a word about it.

    She later told me she told her daughter about the incident who didn't want to believe her special snowflake damaged grandma's laptop. Nice kid you're raising.

    Woman bought a refurbished laptop from us, which is Windows 7 but should be infinitely easier to use. Literally all she does is go on Facebook and email and that's it.


    She gave us the old laptop but we just parted it out. Between the cigarette burns and the liquid damage it's almost worthless.
    Last edited by An Haddock; 09-20-2014, 12:33 PM.

  • #2
    My first laptop drank two bottles of wine (separate occasions) and survived but I knew I was lucky.

    At least she accepted something was apilt on it and didn't blame you guys.

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    • #3
      My Dell 1749 died to tea with sugar. It hit JUST the right spot on the mobo to kill a few transistors. It's back in service again, but it chose a horrible time to die :P.
      But the paint on me is beginning to dry
      And it's not what I wanted to be
      The weight on me
      Is Hanging on to a weary angel - Sister Hazel

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      • #4
        If literally all she does is Facebook and Email, I would recommend a ChromeBook, or a cheap Linux machine. After all, if all she does is those two things, Linux wouldn't be hard for her to do that with.

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        • #5
          My MacBook just recently survived a swim in iced tea. Thankfully it was unsweetened tea. An older MacBook died a number of years ago to an orange juice bath.
          At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

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          • #6
            Quoth purple View Post
            My first laptop drank two bottles of wine (separate occasions) and survived but I knew I was lucky.

            At least she accepted something was apilt on it and didn't blame you guys.
            Go home, laptop, you're drunk! Sorry, couldn't' resist.
            "They gave me a badge with my name on it. In case I forget who I am." Dr Who - Closing Time

            "I reject your reality and substitute my own." Adam Savage-Mythbusters

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            • #7
              Had a co-worker that managed to dump (in different instances) onto/into his laptop, 1: a travel mug of coffee (had the lid off. Putz.) 2: A 32oz soda from a random fast food joint, and 3: a full milkshake. Chocolate, I believe.

              All of these were within a one month period. 3 laptops, down the drain. A week later, he almost trashed my wife's laptop with a glass of water, but moved the laptop in time...

              Yeah, he's not allowed to have any food/drink at his desk anymore.
              "If your day is filled with firefighting, you need to start taking the matches away from the toddlers…” - HM

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              • #8
                Tea + Laptop = keyboard no work anymore. Fortunately, I'd caught it and it only got the keyboard.

                So I go to order a new keyboard for it, except Hell didn't allow you to order parts online. Wound up getting someone who refused to listen that all I wanted was to order and pay for the keyboard. They wanted me to go through all the diagnostic steps. Kinda impossible, since getting to the Diagnostic mode requires F8, which for some reason, isn't working. Yes, I'm aware that spills aren't covered under warranty. Just now remembering that are you? We could have skipped the attempt at diagnostics, if you'd remembered that sooner.*

                Time spent trying to order the keyboard: 1 hour. Time putting the keyboard in once it arrived? 10 minutes. Most of the 10 minutes was spent trying to move my oldest's head out of the way.

                * I had already done the troubleshooting to find out what parts of the keyboard were shot. This was done after I'd cleaned up the mess and allowed it to dry completely before applying electricity. I don't call unless I can't do it for myself or find it on the 'net.
                If I make no sense, I apologize. I'm constantly interrupted by an actual toddler.

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                • #9
                  If I'm going to be drinking around my laptop or around a keyboard/computer, it'll be in a cup with a lid and a straw. Much lesser likelihood of spillages that way, I've found.
                  PWNADE(TM) - Serve up a glass today! | PWNZER - An act of pwnage so awesome, it's like the victim got hit by a tank.

                  There are only Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because I choose to walk!

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                  • #10
                    Water with floral preservative in it got spilt into our router once. Thing still works, and it's been about ten years.

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                    • #11
                      Water alone is sometimes survivable. The killers are any liquids with an acidic component, like juices or sodas. The acid, no matter how weak, reacts with the different metals on a circuit board and effectively creates a weak battery. Problem is that modern semiconductors are extremely sensitive to any unexpected current, and will blow with the slightest of one.

                      Although I did once recover a Treo from diet Pepsi, the "n" key never worked again. I was lucky - as soon as the spill happened, I pulled the battery, then opened it up and cleaned it well with distilled water. But again, I was very lucky.
                      I will not be pushed, stamped, filed, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own. --#6

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                      • #12
                        Follow-up to this tale of laptop carnage: she came in the other day. I don't recall if it was a friend or maybe her sister? But someone was alone in the room where she was keeping the laptop we sold her and KNOCKED IT OFF THE MOTHER***ING TABLE.

                        The DC port was basically torn off the motherboard as a result. Against better judgement, I'm only going to to charge her the cost for the port ($10) and the cost for my soldering kid to fix the port ($40 - $45).

                        We usually charge $200 for soldering power ports for laptops.

                        I swear some people just have the worst luck with computers. OR NEED TO KEEP PEOPLE THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM. I've lost track of how many people with pets had their dog or cat jump on a table and knock the laptop to the ground or people with 2 year olds who decided to kick/stomp on a laptop sitting on the floor for some inexplicable reason.

                        *pounds head against wall*

                        *jumps out window*

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                        • #13
                          Quoth An Haddock View Post
                          I swear some people just have the worst luck with computers. OR NEED TO KEEP PEOPLE THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM. I've lost track of how many people with pets had their dog or cat jump on a table and knock the laptop to the ground or people with 2 year olds who decided to kick/stomp on a laptop sitting on the floor for some inexplicable reason.
                          Even having a pc won't protect you. Our very large German Shepherd (RIP Shadow ) once tried to hide behind my computer desk (thankfully I caught it with my lap (ouch)) and on another occasion decided the mouse was a chew toy (there is a reason I always own a spare mouse).

                          Being a bit of a klutz, and having back issues and having had both wrists operated on to correct Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I have never dared own a laptop. Fear for me, CS, as I may soon own a tablet, which I anticipate will meet its doom just after the warranty expires...
                          "It is traditional when asking for help or advice to listen to the answers you receive" - RealUnimportant

                          Rev that Engine Louder, I Can't Hear How Small Your Dick Is - Jay 2K Winger

                          The Darwin Awards The best site to visit to restore your faith in instant karma.

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                          • #14
                            Quoth greek_jester View Post
                            Even having a pc won't protect you. Our very large German Shepherd (RIP Shadow ) once tried to hide behind my computer desk (thankfully I caught it with my lap (ouch)) and on another occasion decided the mouse was a chew toy (there is a reason I always own a spare mouse).

                            Being a bit of a klutz, and having back issues and having had both wrists operated on to correct Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I have never dared own a laptop. Fear for me, CS, as I may soon own a tablet, which I anticipate will meet its doom just after the warranty expires...
                            I may or may not have fallen asleep at my computer desk and inadvertently flinched my arm, knocking the tower over.

                            ahem. two or three times.

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                            • #15
                              Driving down the rd at 70k an hour about 5 min after leaving work.
                              Thought to myself, "Where's my laptop?"

                              At that moment I hear something move on the rooftop the car. A few seconds later I see my MacBook Air in its case bouncing down the road.

                              Damage: twisted and warped housing around the edges, and the USB flex cable had come off the main logic board.

                              Other than that, works perfectly over two years later (I did get the chassis replaced though)

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