My USB ports are toast... need some advice.

Hello all,

I've got a brand new macbookpro 15 that has been a bit of a hassle. About two weeks ago the USB ports stopped working. My firewire and thunderbolt ports are fine, but the usb is not. When I took it in, they sent it in for repair. However, upon opening it they found liquid damage. Someone had spilled a soda on a table while I was working (after the USB ports stopped working). I thought the soda was only underneath the computer before being quickly cleaned up, but apparently some worked its way in. This voided the warranty and has made the fix (new logic board) impossible for me due to cost. So... now I'm kind of screwed.

All my data is kept on external USB drives and I have no way to access them. As far as I know, there are no Firewire 800 to USB hubs. Anyone have an idea on what I can do to still use my external drives?

-jon

my apologies, it is a 15. I'm not sure why I typed 17! whoops.

I've seen the thunderbolt dock, but not the express cards. I don't think my laptop has that capability? At least where I am thinking I should see one, there is an SD card reader.

wel, the usb ports were hashed before the soda incident. I had taken it in after the problem surfaced and then brought the laptop home as I needed it for work. In the two week space between taking it home and then bringing it back for repair, there was the spilled soda incident. So, the soda and USB ports are unrelated at this point.

Tried a PRAM reset both on my own and at the apple store. No dice.

Thanks for the insight all. yes, further caution is due in the future.

Does anyone have any recommendations for non-apple repair businesses? I'm wondering if their might be some folks I should try and send this in to, that way I can save some money on the logic board replacement. Thanks!