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Crying over spilt coffee!

N

Nutella

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 27, 2003
67
0
Panic! Panic!
I just did the most stupid thing (although no offense to those who have done this same stupid thing before me LOL) and spilled coffee (with cream and sugar) all over my powerbook g4. It got all over the trackpad area and also between some of the keys.
I seem to have lost the ability to use the trackpad, and also the bluetooth icon has disappeared so my mouse doesn't work.
My receipt says the warranty is effective thru July 2005. I bought it at an Apple store.
My question - is this type of thing covered? Do you think they can fix it? Will I lose my emails and everything on my hard drive? Should I tell them what happened??? :confused:

Sorry for all the stupid questions - I've done plenty of dumb things in my life but never this. Thanks for any help and/or moral support :)
 
Applecare won't cover stupidity damage, the only hope you have now is your house insurance. If it's clearly coffee damage the Apple store won't touch it.
 
Drinking anything with sugar around computers isn't too smart, the sugar tends to make a sticky mess that's hard to clean.

Non-sugar drinks can usually be cleaned up a lot easier.
 
live and learn i guess :(

just found this on the apple website:

"Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty for PowerBook excludes coverage for damage resulting from a number of events, including accident, unauthorized service and unauthorized modifications. Please review the warranty for further details. If damage is outside the scope of warranty coverage, service may still be provided through a local AASP or an Apple retail store, but all service charges will be your responsibility."

i still need to bring it in, even though i have to pay. just hope it's not too much $$$
 
I can relate to your experience as I court danger each morning when I sit next to my PB with a cup of hot coffee. So far, knock on wood, I have not spilled my beverage onto my PB yet. But it always crosses my mind! But no, Apple care doesn't cover this sort of damage. I suppose your PB is fried since the coffee killed the logic board.
 
If anything good comes of this, maybe someone else will learn from my mistake :)

UPDATE: I just tried turning the power on again and the mouse is back and seems to be functioning okay. I don't know if this is temporary though.

Should I still bring it in for service? I'm worried that there was still damage, or it might go bad again at any moment. At this point, I'd rather have a stable, working computer rather than worry about saving money. Would they be able to do anything for me if it's operational?

Thanks :)
 
A silver lining...

Good luck! At least there's this bit of good news from today. :p

Study Suggests Java May Ward Off Liver Cancer

Separate Study Finds No Effect Of Coffee On Other Cancers

POSTED: 6:30 pm EST February 15, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Coffee can give you a kick on a cold morning, and it's a great donut companion. Now researchers say a cup of joe may also help prevent liver cancer.

A study of more than 90,000 Japanese found that people who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, as those who never drank coffee. The study found that the protective effect occurred in people who drank one to two cups of coffee a day and increased at three to four cups.

There's no word on whether it's the caffeine that's having the effect or something else. Decaf is rarely consumed in Japan and wasn't included in the study. Coffee contains antioxidants, but so does green tea. Researchers found no reduced risk of liver cancer with green tea.

A separate study, conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found no relationship between coffee and colon or rectal cancer.

But it found a 52 percent decline in rectal cancer among people who regularly drank two or more cups of decaf compared to those who didn't. However, the researchers said the link may be due to differences in lifestyle: Drinkers of decaffeinated coffee might be more health-conscious than those who drink caffeinated coffee.

Both studies appear in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
 
My Question, did you turn off the PB. Maybe leave it alone for a day or two to let it dry out, maybe open it up to wipe down the insides. Water wont hurt the computer, as long as its not on while its still wet.
 
LOL thanks for the good news!

Another update: Looks like it's not working after all. The mouse moves but it won't click. I shall be heading to my friendly neighborhood Apple Store today....

Bye
 
Varmit, not sure if I have the stomach for opening up my computer! It would make me too nervous and queasy LOL Plus I'm technologically challenged :confused:
But good idea, I'll see if I can find a friend to help...
 
Well, since you've confirmed that it is at least mostly functional, please leave it off until it can be cleaned/serviced. You never know when some undried bit of coffee will roll over some circuitry. Also, pull out the battery.

Good luck!
 
For the record, anytime a liquid is spilled on a laptop, you should do a few things.

1 - Turn it off! Water can't hurt anything if it's not running. This doesn't mean put it to sleep, but turn it right off.

2 - Turn it upside down! Leave the machine open, and turn it keyboard down on to a towel so the liquid can seep out in its own good time.

3 - Leave it alone! Leave it for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. This gives the liquid plenty of time to both dry out and seep out of the machine.

Only after following these steps should you turn it back on, and then remove the keyboard for cleaning. Depending on the severity of the spill, the entire keyboard may need to be disassembled. I had to deal with an iBook keyboard that had a wine cooler spilled on it. Every single key, and key mechanism had to be removed and washed. I would have had to clean the keyboard base, but I was actually swapping the keys to my Pismo.
 
good morning everyone, just a quick update one day later...

my pb seems to be functioning somewhat. except the trackpad is messed up, and something about the bluetooth for my wireless mouse. so i'm using a corded mouse for now. and all the settings were weird when i turned it back on for the first time. for example, the date showed 1969. it'll need servicing $$$, but at least it's not an urgent situation where i lost everything.

to add insult to injury, i also managed to bust two of those little white plastic doohickies under the keys.

well, thanks for everyone's responses! :)
 
Don't worry man

Don't worry man, I spilled gaterade(sp?) on my pb g4 right in the speaker hole over where the power comes in. I just kept it turned off for a week then popped it open and cleaned it out with some high percentage alchohol and the thing is still kicking.
 
There is hope...

I dumped a whole Rum & Coke on an old iBook. After yanking the battery and leaving it upside down overnight. I cleaned it off as much as I could. The little book powered right back up and lasted for years...
 
:::hastily but carefully moves coffee further away from iBook:::

Thanks a million for the reminder! A friend of mine put his PC laptop in the washing machine (minus battery - it fell out) for half an hour (seriously don't ask!) He ripped it out, grabbed his girlfriend's blowdrier and dried it out as quickly as possible.

It was absolutely fine apart from a pretty major crack in the LCD. I think the key for this type of thing is to limit the time the components are wet for - and make sure NO current passes through the system while it is wet.
 
mad jew said:
:::hastily but carefully moves coffee further away from iBook:::

Thanks a million for the reminder! A friend of mine put his PC laptop in the washing machine (minus battery - it fell out) for half an hour (seriously don't ask!) He ripped it out, grabbed his girlfriend's blowdrier and dried it out as quickly as possible.

It was absolutely fine apart from a pretty major crack in the LCD. I think the key for this type of thing is to limit the time the components are wet for - and make sure NO current passes through the system while it is wet.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind me asking, how did he do that?
 
Dude I had my iBook opened on my bed and a screwdriver laying next to it. My dog jumped up on the bed and shifted the sheets and the screwdriver flew up and put about a 4 inch groove in the screen. I was just sick. I had to replace the display for 400 bucks. I know how you feel!
 
gco212 said:
If you don't mind me asking, how did he do that?
Click to expand...

Well, gather round boys and girls. It's a lesson in not being too proud and avoiding gambling. He made a bet with another friend (some hot chick, if that changes things... ;) ) about whether or not his iBook was in his backpack or not. He was convinced it wasn't while she thought it was. They did all sorts of tests (weighing it, dropping it lightly etc) to determine whether it was, involving many third parties to offer their opinions too. Finally, after about three hours of this nonsense, my friend made a wager. To prove that he was right, and to show his certainty in his knowledge, he would get his little sister to take the bag over to the washing machine, open the zip, pour the contents in, add some powder and turn it on. :eek:

The arguments continued between the two. Was he trying to impress her? We may never know... After another half an hour of this, he finally ventured into the laundry. You should have seen his face as he got closer and closer to the clanking sound eminating from his washer! From :confused: to :eek: and eventually to :mad: ! Truly crazy stuff. Some people really don't deserve Macs. :D
 
This thread gives me the flash back on what I went through a few days ago.

My colleagues and I were at the chic Chinese restaurant while on business and I was showing our PowerPoint presentation we are going to show our client in less than a hour. This was a quick lunch meeting going over the materials among ourselves. We were sitting on the large square table and 3 sides were occupied by us and one side is open as that is how the seating is set up. The PC is in the center of the table and we are discussing slides.

The waitress showed up with our orders and I don't know what possessed her, but she was delivering my Salmon salad (the dressing is vinegar based) right over my PC and she spilled that oily dressing on my PC's keyboard. Very stupid move by the waitress.

I was in shock as I was not expecting this coming. After a few moments of the deer-in-the-head-light syndrome, my colleagues put on the napkin on it to soak up that nasty oily dressing. I put the PC upside down so that the liquid does not seep into the mother board.

Long storty short, the PC was okay at that time (this is typically the case as problems typically happen hours later). But, I had to sprinkly a little water to clean the notebook following day as the keys started gumming up. The keyboard died for almost half a day and it started working again next morning. As you have noticed I am calling this computer a PC, the good thing is I took my company issue PC that day and I am glad I did not take my Mac that day.

I think this espisode convinces me not to take my PBs unnecessary outside and keep them at home for protection from others. At least my iBook (which is now delegated to the travel use instead of my 12" PB) is covered with iSkin and I only put it on the Targus laptop tray or on the cool pad whenever I put my Mac on any other surface other than my desks at home.
 
Threads like this make me so sad.

www.safeware.com

If your apartment or home owners insurance doesn't cover accidental damage, look into computer insurance. Peace of mind at all times...

Anyway, that's what I do, I am clumsy sometimes, and so are my friends. I would hate to end up with a dead laptop because of something clumsy.
 
iCurve

Hey there,

As a general rule. I don't have drinks w/o lids around my pb for that reason. If you are one who doesn't have this rule, I would get an icurve and a bluetooth keyboard. (see my setup attached) In the future you will never have to worry about this at home, and just have to be more careful while out and about.

CRD
 

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crdean1 said:
Hey there,

As a general rule. I don't have drinks w/o lids around my pb for that reason. If you are one who doesn't have this rule, I would get an icurve and a bluetooth keyboard. (see my setup attached) In the future you will never have to worry about this at home, and just have to be more careful while out and about.

CRD
Click to expand...

That's a nice looking setup. I try to be very careful.
 
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