Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Symptoms of death - I need a diagnosis

Blackberryroid

Blackberryroid

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 8, 2012
588
0
/private/var/vm/
My computer was running normally. Completely fine. It was treated normally*. I was using it for an hour then it flickered. The screen froze at one point, but the system was functional. I had to do a hard shutdown. I'm afraid to turn it on at this moment because I don't know what's wrong with it yet.

*Here's how I treated it:
  • Three drops. Minor drops. Not screen cracking type of drop. Happened months ago
  • "Water Spillage". I wiped my keyboard using a cloth filled with 70% solution Alcohol, but the keyboard was wet. I wiped it until it was dry. Happened 2 hours before the flickering incident.

Could it be a hardware problem (GPU/Logic Board)? Or a software one (EFI Software Update/Bugs)? When I booted up to Windows 8, the screen still flickers.

Model: MacBook Air Mid-2012, i7, 8 GB RAM
 
V

vampireszombies

macrumors 6502
May 20, 2011
302
15
Texas
I don't think normal applies to 3 drops and a spill.
If the problem occurred after the spill, it was obviously the spill that caused it. Instead of immediately soaking up the water you drenched it with more liquids (wet wipe).

Edit: the "spill" was the wet wipe?
 
B

barkmonster

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2001
2,134
15
Lancashire
You've caused water damage then made it worse by using even more liquid and dropped it numerous times.

Not looking after ANY model of laptop is going to cause problems and they're problems you unfortunately can't blame anyone else for or likely resolve with the warranty because they're avoidable problems caused by your own clumsyness and the moisture sensors will show the cause isn't a hardware defect.
 
Last edited:
blesscheese

blesscheese

macrumors 6502a
Apr 3, 2010
698
178
Central CA
If any water gets into your MacBook, or you suspect any water has gotten into your MacBook, the steps are to:
a. immediately shut down, and then
b. remove all power
c. see if you can get water out.

To get the water out, I would hold upside down and dry with absorbant cloth to get out as much as possible. To get out any remaining moisture, I would also highly recommend the "sticking in rice" trick for *several days*. This will remove any last vestiges of moisture.

If you have water in your laptop, and you are running it, it is likely that it may short out, in which case, I would be afraid you have toasted the logic board.

Not to be too anal about these things, but if I drink around my computer, I try to have a keyboard protector on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom