Toshiba Laptop + Alot of Coffee = ?

Judas · Jun 16, 2009, 04:19 PM

Got a laptop in just a the other hour.... and without going into the great detail of the story..

the guy dumped a wack of coffee.... not just black... but cremey surgary coffee .... hot stuff... all over the keyboard of the laptop....

He told me that the machine seems to work ... mouse and whatnot.... but the keyboard doesn't work...

So i emediately yank the battery and pop the keyboard out... and it's apparent the machines been sitting with coffee for awhile as the keyboard wasn't lifting out like it should have, stuck so badly to the edges that i was actually affriad i may snap it.

Anyways, Cleaning up the laptop..... tearing it down the best i can and taking the 99% rubbing Alcohol to it. The coffee appears to have went under the keyboard and directly into the one and only fan that is in the laptop... which emediately raises a concern that if it can get that far... and obviously there was "alot" of coffee.... it's quite apparent it's traveled quite aways undernear the keyboard zone.... i found coffee coming out around the one side of the USB ports.....

I'm going to keep cleaning it up, but honestly, i think the guys likely roasted his laptop or made it completely unreliable as who knows how long before it'll fry or fail in some form.

Gonna let it sit for a good 2 days before i bother trying to fire it up and work any further on it though, it's wet... very wet....

Just wonder if anyone has any suggestions or experiences with this kind of thing.

Tyrsonswood · Jun 16, 2009, 04:33 PM

If it had been black coffee............... disassemble, blow it out, let it dry and check it out. It's the sugar that would bother me most as it is corrosive....... and sticky so very hard to clean up.

I take it that it was on when this happened and it sounds like the guy fired it up since? That would also bug me...... who knows what may have toasted.

Data on the hard drive is probably okay, but beyond that ?????????

**kris23** · Jun 16, 2009, 04:36 PM

id just use some kind of distilled water to wash everything out, then use isopropyl alcohol to clean out everything, making sure theres no power in the system. hopefully that helps

cozumel · Jun 16, 2009, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

Just wonder if anyone has any suggestions

Maybe advising your customer that sugar and cream is bad for his health.

Aprt from that? Just what Kristopher said. Hopefully, and with a bit of luck it'll work fine

Judas · Jun 16, 2009, 05:13 PM

it's going to be a long hard job at trying to get this thing apart correctly without breaking it... looks like toshiba put some anti-disassemble crap in there.... the 2 halves don't want to come apart at all....

did find a pool of creamy coffe down by the front right speaker...... erg

BlueMak · Jun 16, 2009, 07:01 PM

Remove the hard drive and place the whole laptop in a bathtub or other container full of alcohol or pure water, leave it there for a day, remove and dry.

(the above is a joke)

Just tell the customer he doesn't deserve to have a laptop and don't give it back to him.

Judas · Jun 16, 2009, 07:07 PM

lol..

it's actually a business laptop..

what i suggested was that i yanked the hd and pull critical files off before i attempt to fire it up just in case..

I also made the suggestion that the cost in labour on a 3 year old laptop may not be worth it..... considering what the spent on the laptop to begin with...

Tyrsonswood · Jun 16, 2009, 07:43 PM

exactly!

Jun 16, 2009, 04:33 PM	#2
Tyrsonswood DH's curmudgeon Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rustbelt, Ohio Posts: 4,619 Rep Power: 111 System Specs	Re: Toshiba Laptop + Alot of Coffee = ? If it had been black coffee............... disassemble, blow it out, let it dry and check it out. It's the sugar that would bother me most as it is corrosive....... and sticky so very hard to clean up. I take it that it was on when this happened and it sounds like the guy fired it up since? That would also bug me...... who knows what may have toasted. Data on the hard drive is probably okay, but beyond that ????????? __________________ "Band" sites.... not really bands because it's just me...... http://www.myspace.com/chromecrow http://www.myspace.com/zoneblues

Jun 16, 2009, 04:36 PM	#3
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5,236 Rep Power: 64 System Specs	Re: Toshiba Laptop + Alot of Coffee = ? id just use some kind of distilled water to wash everything out, then use isopropyl alcohol to clean out everything, making sure theres no power in the system. hopefully that helps __________________ Driverheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (9/4/09) New i5 systems with more to come! Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Jun 16, 2009, 07:01 PM	#6
BlueMak DH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 7,985 Rep Power: 114 System Specs	Re: Toshiba Laptop + Alot of Coffee = ? Remove the hard drive and place the whole laptop in a bathtub or other container full of alcohol or pure water, leave it there for a day, remove and dry. (the above is a joke) Just tell the customer he doesn't deserve to have a laptop and don't give it back to him. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Jun 16, 2009, 07:43 PM	#8
Tyrsonswood DH's curmudgeon Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rustbelt, Ohio Posts: 4,619 Rep Power: 111 System Specs	Re: Toshiba Laptop + Alot of Coffee = ? exactly! __________________ "Band" sites.... not really bands because it's just me...... http://www.myspace.com/chromecrow http://www.myspace.com/zoneblues