Flooded MacBook boots up but can’t get past log-in screen

[Norgannon]

Hi there.

A few weeks ago I spilled some water on my MacBook Pro’s (Mid 2010 17’) keyboard and touchpad. Unfortunately it stopped booting up, so I went to the Genius Bar where I was told that it would be cheaper to buy a new Mac instead of replacing the motherboard, keyboard, touchpad and who knows what else.

I gave up for a few weeks, not touching the laptop in hope that it will dry out and miraculously start working again.

Needless to say that didn’t happen but I managed to get the Mac to boot up - I simply unplugged the battery and plugged it back in - that seems to automatically boot it (only when the laptop is connected to a charger and it happens on its own, the power button doesn’t work at all so the boot-up is not triggered by me)

The problem is I can’t get past the login screen with password - my MacBook’s keyboard doesn’t work apart from the “+” and “=“ keys - however I connected a wireless keyboard and it was still the same - key clicks were not registered on that particular login screen, however when I went to the “forgot your password iCloud reset thing” that you can go to after typing your password incorrectly a few times, the wireless keyboard DOES work - but unfortunately it says “Couldn’t connect to the iCloud” when I try to remove the password, even though the Wi-Fi seems to be working as it looks connected and it also detected when I typed the wrong password.

I would very much appreciate any help from you - I am still hoping that I can get past that login screen somehow and that the laptop will be functional, even with the keyboard and power button broken. This MacBook served me well and it was still very snappy - it would be terrible to send it to the graveyard prematurely.

Thank you.

 

[Audit13]

Try a USB keyboard? Did you take the Macbook apart to look for corrosion?

 

[Norgannon]

I tried both the corded Apple Keyboard inside an Apple Store and a wireless USB keyboard, the result was the same - doesn’t register the clicks on log-in screen, registers on the “forgot your password iCloud reset”.

I haven’t looked for signs of corrosion, the only thing I did is unplugged/plugged the battery, which resulted in that boot.

 

[Audit13]

I recommend dismantling the computer to see what's happened, if anything, to the internal components. Maybe the unit is not completely dry?

 

[cruisin]

The first thing you should do is try and get as much data off it as you can while it sort of works (you don't know how much water the hard drive had). You likely have to pop out the hard drive and get a USB to SATA adapter of some kind.

If the WiFi is acting up and it sporadically accepts keyboard input it might not be recoverable. I would leave it to dry for a few more days to see if the situation improves. I have doubts that it will ever fully recover.

 

[vkd]

Get hold of a copy of macOS on a USB stick and boot off it, if you can. If that works, try formatting the disk and installing a fresh copy of the OS.

 

[kschendel]

Yes, I'd give it a few more days. Take the bottom plate off and stand it in front of a fan, and move it around every day or so. I think the memory is accessible on that model? pull the memory sticks out too. I think I'd leave the hard drive in place until / unless you decide to pull it to retrieve data from it; the SATA cable is kind of fragile.