Oh boy you didnt just spill a glass of red wine [questions]

sillyrabbitt · Aug 30, 2012

hi all:

so yes a little red wine toasted my mba 2011 version. it does boot sometime and for a little bit of time. i already bought a new one on its way to me today [ouch there goes my food money or red wine money for that matter

]

I have a few questions and if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated

1- When I migrate over the time machine backup to the new mba do i turn on fire-vault first? or do i migrate over and then turn on firevault?

2- what is a MBA worth that on the outside is MINT but the inside has damage?

3- if it is worth it to sell how can i erase the SSD thats on my mba and can one fully erase everything securely? or is it better to remove the drive and destroy it?

thank you for helping!

falterego · Aug 30, 2012

Put my opinions in line.

sillyrabbitt said:
hi all:

so yes a little red wine toasted my mba 2011 version. it does boot sometime and for a little bit of time. i already bought a new one on its way to me today [ouch there goes my food money or red wine money for that matter ]

I have a few questions and if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated

1- When I migrate over the time machine backup to the new mba do i turn on fire-vault first? or do i migrate over and then turn on firevault? I would migrate data first and then turn on filevault. It should work either way, but the copy should be faster without encryption happening on the fly.

2- what is a MBA worth that on the outside is MINT but the inside has damage? To me it wouldn't be worth anything. Without taking it apart there's no telling what components have damage and what can be salvaged for parts. You could put up an honest auction on eBay and probably get a hundred bucks or so for it.

3- if it is worth it to sell how can i erase the SSD thats on my mba and can one fully erase everything securely? or is it better to remove the drive and destroy it? If you can boot to the recovery partition, or boot it in target disk mode, you can try doing a disk wipe in disk utility. If that completes without the computer crashing or shutting off you should be good. Otherwise I think the best solution is a hammer, or if available a shotgun is always fun.

thank you for helping!

polotska · Aug 30, 2012

Yeah, likely not worth much at this point. You could conceivably get more if you parted it out, but that might not be worth the trouble (especially if you dont have the tools to dismantle it).

sillyrabbitt · Aug 30, 2012

falterego said:
Put my opinions in line.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

polotska said:
Yeah, likely not worth much at this point. You could conceivably get more if you parted it out, but that might not be worth the trouble (especially if you dont have the tools to dismantle it).

THANKS as well!

sillyrabbitt · Aug 30, 2012

i got the new mba 11" today and it was almost too easy to move from the busted mba to the new one. seriously it took 15-20 minutes without one hiccup. except the loss of money!

stchman · Aug 30, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
i got the new mba 11" today and it was almost too easy to move from the busted mba to the new one. seriously it took 15-20 minutes without one hiccup. except the loss of money!

If your old MBA would barely boot, how did you get all of your data off it?

Tenashus1 · Aug 30, 2012

What wine were you drinking so I know to stay away?

sillyrabbitt · Aug 30, 2012

stchman said:
If your old MBA would barely boot, how did you get all of your data off it?

Crazy thing i havent used time machine for 7 months but yesterday morning the mba didnt boot on first try for some reason so i decided after it did boot to do a backup [crazy!] and then that night boom wine spill! so i have all my data on a backup time machine HD.

Tenashus1 said:
What wine were you drinking so I know to stay away?

cheap a__! $2 buck chuck from trader joes. actually new name $1200 buck chuck!

stchman · Aug 30, 2012

You should get a keyboard cover for your new MBA.

sillyrabbitt · Aug 30, 2012

stchman said:
You should get a keyboard cover for your new MBA.

do they make something that works?

i actually bought a accidental damage warranty instead of apple care this time around. it was 175 from squaretrade. i think its better to have i wish i had it then it would have been replaced.

stchman · Aug 30, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
do they make something that works?

i actually bought a accidental damage warranty instead of apple care this time around. it was 175 from squaretrade. i think its better to have i wish i had it then it would have been replaced.

Yes, I bought a clear TPU keyboard cover. The cover fits amazingly well right out of the box and does not hinder typing too much. After a few days the cover conforms to the keyboard improving typing.

I considered AppleCare, but after discovering they didn't cover drops and spills, I found no reason to purchase it.

If you get a KB cover just make sure to get a TPU cover as the silicon covers are much thicker and feel a lot worse.

sillyrabbitt · Aug 30, 2012

stchman said:
Yes, I bought a clear TPU keyboard cover. The cover fits amazingly well right out of the box and does not hinder typing too much. After a few days the cover conforms to the keyboard improving typing.

I considered AppleCare, but after discovering they didn't cover drops and spills, I found no reason to purchase it.

If you get a KB cover just make sure to get a TPU cover as the silicon covers are much thicker and feel a lot worse.

thanks for the information. i will check it out!

FuNGi · Aug 31, 2012

I spilt a beer on my 2010 13" MBA a couple weeks ago and it still works thankfully. I powered it off immediately (force quit), shook the sh#t out of it, and put a blow drier over it for 2 hours. The #9 key took 2 days to be work again but now it works perfectly. I opened it up and checked out the internals too, gave it a few delicate wipes etc.

Anyway, I checked out the parts supplied from ifixit.com and I'd say your old machine may still be salvageable...but you'd need to know which parts are broken. Logic board? $499-599, Uppercase and keyboard? $299, Magsafe I/O board? $99. Feeling lucky?

http://www.ifixit.com/Mac-Parts/MacBook-Air-11"-Mid-2011

alphaod · Aug 31, 2012

If had already bought AppleCare on your older computer, you can call Apple and have them refund you the AppleCare on it.

daveishere · Aug 31, 2012

so you've split wine over your macbook and instantly just bought a new one? You are a lucky boy indeed (or a drunk one

haha)

KPOM · Aug 31, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
do they make something that works?

i actually bought a accidental damage warranty instead of apple care this time around. it was 175 from squaretrade. i think its better to have i wish i had it then it would have been replaced.

I spilled white wine on my 2010 the week before the 2011s came out. Wine is particularly bad, since the sugar and acid can short things out even if you dry it off.

It would have been $755 to have Apple repair it, but the Apple Genius actually waived the charge! It came back with a brand new battery, keyboard, lower case, and logic board. I sold it (fully disclosing what happened) shortly thereafter to finance the 2011. Since then, I purchased a Rearth keyboard cover that I use on airplanes and when I know I'll be near liquids. I also took out a personal articles policy from my insurance company (it's about $60/year).

That said, you might consider getting the 2011 fixed. Chances are pretty good you can get more than $755 for it unless it's a base model. Otherwise your best bet may be to take out the SSD and sell it. In any case, if you need to pull data from it and aren't getting it fixed, Other World Computing sells an adapter that converts a MacBook Air SSD into a USB 3.0 flash drive.

sillyrabbitt · Aug 31, 2012

FuNGi said:
I spilt a beer on my 2010 13" MBA a couple weeks ago and it still works thankfully. I powered it off immediately (force quit), shook the sh#t out of it, and put a blow drier over it for 2 hours. The #9 key took 2 days to be work again but now it works perfectly. I opened it up and checked out the internals too, gave it a few delicate wipes etc.

Anyway, I checked out the parts supplied from ifixit.com and I'd say your old machine may still be salvageable...but you'd need to know which parts are broken. Logic board? $499-599, Uppercase and keyboard? $299, Magsafe I/O board? $99. Feeling lucky?

http://www.ifixit.com/Mac-Parts/MacBook-Air-11"-Mid-2011

WOW Lucky you that it was ok!

How do I know which parts are broken? Funny thing is since reading this thread right now i decided to power up the computer and its staying on now for the longest it has since this happened. It seems to be working now!

I do notice that the battery indicator in the top right has an x in it and the MBA will not turn on unless plugged in.

alphaod said:
If had already bought AppleCare on your older computer, you can call Apple and have them refund you the AppleCare on it.

Yes I do and forgot thanks! I will call for a prorate refund or sell it with apple care. not sure if applecare is void when you spill wine?

daveishere said:
so you've split wine over your macbook and instantly just bought a new one? You are a lucky boy indeed (or a drunk one haha)

Yes I had too. Its the wifes cpu she needed it. trust me it hurt to buy a new one so fast but gotta do what i gotta do. This time NO Apple care i bought it off amazon 50 bucks less then apple store no tax and a squaretrade warranty with accidental damage for warranty was 175.

KPOM said:
I spilled white wine on my 2010 the week before the 2011s came out. Wine is particularly bad, since the sugar and acid can short things out even if you dry it off.

It would have been $755 to have Apple repair it, but the Apple Genius actually waived the charge! It came back with a brand new battery, keyboard, lower case, and logic board. I sold it (fully disclosing what happened) shortly thereafter to finance the 2011. Since then, I purchased a Rearth keyboard cover that I use on airplanes and when I know I'll be near liquids. I also took out a personal articles policy from my insurance company (it's about $60/year).

That said, you might consider getting the 2011 fixed. Chances are pretty good you can get more than $755 for it unless it's a base model. Otherwise your best bet may be to take out the SSD and sell it. In any case, if you need to pull data from it and aren't getting it fixed, Other World Computing sells an adapter that converts a MacBook Air SSD into a USB 3.0 flash drive.

How the heck did u get them to waive the charge? Can I go to another apple store and ask them to look at it? would they ever waive the charge or no way when they see red wine?

thanks to all for the help suggestions etc et etc. THANKS!

KPOM · Sep 1, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
How the heck did u get them to waive the charge? Can I go to another apple store and ask them to look at it? would they ever waive the charge or no way when they see red wine?

thanks to all for the help suggestions etc et etc. THANKS!

I didn't ask for or expect them to waive the charges. I think I just hit the jackpot with a lucky Genius. He asked me how old it was (4 months at the time) and said he's put it through as a complimentary repair. My guess is that with the rumored changes at the retail stores this is less likely to occur now, and it always was rare. I certainly didn't expect it, but was happy about it.

That said, if you go to the store and are upfront about what happened, at the very least they will provide a repair estimate. I think it would be $755. If you can get $800 or more on the Marketplace or Craigslist, it would be worth it.

Blackberryroid · Sep 1, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
hi all:

so yes a little red wine toasted my mba 2011 version. it does boot sometime and for a little bit of time. i already bought a new one on its way to me today [ouch there goes my food money or red wine money for that matter ]

Boy, you are filthy stinkin' rich. I can't believe you'd buy a new computer just because a wine spilled on it. Most people would buy a new one after a few months and try to work with other computers.

Surprisingly, you were even worrying about the wine being wasted. How much was that wine, anyway? $3000?

Anyways, the best way to calculate how much that laptop of yours is worth is follow this formula:

(Average price of working MBA 2011 price on eBay) - (Repair quote from Apple Store) = The best selling price.

You might get a negative. In that case, you might want to keep that for a few decades. It'll be worth a fortune.

sillyrabbitt · Sep 1, 2012

-Thanks all for the info and ideas/potential scenarios!

-I had to buy a new one! Its was fix it for $800 or or buy a new one for $1050. my wife needed the computer to do work on.

-the red wine was $2 from trader joes $2 buck chuck cheap cheap wine. I didnt care about that I do care about the $1000 buck but what am i too do!

******I did a test last night left it plugged in and WOW its still on this morning. Do you think its not toasted??? It has an X in the battery meter. Maybe just the batter is no good? I dont even know where to bring it to figure it out? Do I ship it back to apple?

thanks!!!!!!

sillyrabbitt · Sep 3, 2012

Update the mba is working for days now perfectly except it needs to be plugged in. the battery is not recognized. should i chance a $100 and buy a new battery or you think eventually the computer will crap out?

thanks!

Spoonz · Sep 3, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
Update the mba is working for days now perfectly except it needs to be plugged in. the battery is not recognized. should i chance a $100 and buy a new battery or you think eventually the computer will crap out?

thanks!

I'd get it checked out somehow first - you have no idea which component(s) could die any minute. Surely you could sell parts for quite a pretty penny though, like the screen?

sillyrabbitt · Sep 3, 2012

Spoonz said:
I'd get it checked out somehow first - you have no idea which component(s) could die any minute. Surely you could sell parts for quite a pretty penny though, like the screen?

i took it to apple they said they would replace in the insides for 755 + tax basically. the unit is working great except for the battery. i would rather try that or just sell the unit. not sure though what route to take. its sad to see this pristine looking machine knowing the insides might not work. my gut says they will work with a new battery fine but what do i know. if i can only get a 100-200 bucks for it i would rather risk 100 and keep it as a backup cpu.

KPOM · Sep 4, 2012

sillyrabbitt said:
i took it to apple they said they would replace in the insides for 755 + tax basically. the unit is working great except for the battery. i would rather try that or just sell the unit. not sure though what route to take. its sad to see this pristine looking machine knowing the insides might not work. my gut says they will work with a new battery fine but what do i know. if i can only get a 100-200 bucks for it i would rather risk 100 and keep it as a backup cpu.

It might not be just the battery. In fact the battery could be fine, but the connection could be what is damaged. That's actually what happened to Molly Wood's MacBook Air after CNet's Torture Test (it would work when plugged in but would shut off immediately when unplugged).

Maybe go back and insist that Apple (or a third party repair center) attempt to replace the battery only. At that point, if it works, go ahead, and if it doesn't, send it in. If changing the battery works, I'd suggest cleaning the insides thoroughly with an electronic cleaning solution, since the acid and sugar from the wine might well corrode the logic board over time (which is probably why Apple is suggesting the $755 repair).

For $755 you will essentially get a brand new machine. On mine, they replaced the logic board, lower case, keyboard, and several internal boards (such as the wi-fi controller). All that carried over were the SSD, screen, and top case.

sillyrabbitt · Sep 4, 2012

KPOM said:
It might not be just the battery. In fact the battery could be fine, but the connection could be what is damaged. That's actually what happened to Molly Wood's MacBook Air after CNet's Torture Test (it would work when plugged in but would shut off immediately when unplugged).

Maybe go back and insist that Apple (or a third party repair center) attempt to replace the battery only. At that point, if it works, go ahead, and if it doesn't, send it in. If changing the battery works, I'd suggest cleaning the insides thoroughly with an electronic cleaning solution, since the acid and sugar from the wine might well corrode the logic board over time (which is probably why Apple is suggesting the $755 repair).

For $755 you will essentially get a brand new machine. On mine, they replaced the logic board, lower case, keyboard, and several internal boards (such as the wi-fi controller). All that carried over were the SSD, screen, and top case.

Awesome info that i was looking for! Thanks for the advice and insight. Much appreciated! Do apple retail stores change batteries or is that a mail in type job?

one other thing what is the exact screw driver i need to open the mba to clean it up? radioshack have them or buy online someplace?

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy you didnt just spill a glass of red wine [questions]

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