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Spilled water on my macbook pro - what should I do?!

kaileyluxxx

kaileyluxxx

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 17, 2011
13
0
Los Angeles, California
About a month ago, I accidentally spilled water on my macbook pro and it was literally a heart stopping moment. Instinct told me to grab as many paper towels as I could and start absorbing the massive liquid spill. It seeped into my keyboard and under the laptop also... I shut it off after drying off most of the liquid on the surface. A few days later, I turned on my macbook and was immediately thanking whatever higher power that exists in this world that my mac turned on. When I tried to type in my password, certain keys on my macbook wouldn't respond or it would make this beeping noise. After 20+ failed attempts of getting my macbook to cooperate, I gave up. A few more days later, my macbook wouldn't turn on whatsoever. DEAD. I plugged it into my charger and a yellow light goes on, but nothing else happens. I have a genius bar meeting tomorrow and I'm expecting the worse. They're going to make me shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars aren't they? Isn't there a way around this whole mess? Ugh. I'm broke enough as it is from UCLA tuition. Blah. If I made a sob story and wore seductive clothing and makeup, do you think the genius bar man would take on sympathy and replace my mac? Perhaps I could invent some interesting story as to how water ended up in my mac?
 
kaileyluxxx said:
If I made a sob story and wore seductive clothing and makeup, do you think the genius bar man would take on sympathy and replace my mac? Perhaps I could invent some interesting story as to how water ended up in my mac?
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I hope you're kidding with the seductive clothing and makeup.

Just be honest - don't go in there playing dumb or making up some dumb lie. People who lied generally got zip. You may get incredibly lucky, but more likely, you'll have to pay for the repair. The Genius will be able to tell you exactly how much.
 
you shouldve flipped your mac upside down and waited, turning it on probably made it worse. if you got no hope left I'd dip the logic board in diet coke and start cleaning it off with 99% rubbing alcohol. or you can go get your logic board replaced (better off getting a new macbook) or you could get the water damage fixed by a third party :(
 
Queen of Spades said:
I hope you're kidding with the seductive clothing and makeup.

Just be honest - don't go in there playing dumb or making up some dumb lie. People who lied generally got zip. You may get incredibly lucky, but more likely, you'll have to pay for the repair. The Genius will be able to tell you exactly how much.
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At this point, I'm stuck with my slow white macbook from 2007 and it's driving me crazy. I'm beyond desperate to get my macbook pro repaired without shelling out my limbs. How are they going to tell the difference between my actual story and some dramatic exaggeration? If the motherboard or whatever is fried and is the root of all my problems, how much will it cost to repair it? Any estimates? Should I just buy a new macbook all together? Blah. That's not even an option at this point.
 
Not to be harsh but I don't believe that is going to get replaced and you'll probably have to either pay near or even full price to get it fixed or simply just get yourself a new one - depending how how bad the spill was (sounds pretty bad).

Just be straight up with the guy and hope for the best, in my opinion.
 
Depending on how seductive you dress he might just take you home with him and do it for you on his buck.
 
' r i S e n said:
Not to be harsh but I don't believe that is going to get replaced and you'll probably have to either pay near or even full price to get it fixed or simply just get yourself a new one - depending how how bad the spill was (sounds pretty bad).

Just be straight up with the guy and hope for the best, in my opinion.
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You basically just confirmed my worst fear. I searched motherboard replacement for my macbook pros and they're around $1300 - $1700. WTF. Are you kidding me? This is such a crappy situation. If I should get a new mac, what kind should I get? I need something that's incredibly fast - as in it can handle more than 3 big applications running at the same time without the stupid rainbow wheel popping up. Photoshop, Aperture, Word, iChat, iTunes, Safari, etc.
 
unless you look like steve jobs...... you won't get jack...:D

being broke is not a reason to lie and work the system, your better off being honest up front rather than lie.. this will eventually drive the cost up for those who are being honest and make it difficult for the others that really have issues that they have no fault at all..

look at what just happen to costco's return policy for their electronics/camera/PC..

its unfortunate it happens to you, goodluck though..
 
Have you tried further diagnosing the problem? Do you think you're capable of doing a few things to test it out? Also, what is your AppleCare status and model number of your computer?
 
kaileyluxxx said:
You basically just confirmed my worst fear. I searched motherboard replacement for my macbook pros and they're around $1300 - $1700. WTF. Are you kidding me? This is such a crappy situation. If I should get a new mac, what kind should I get? I need something that's incredibly fast - as in it can handle more than 3 big applications running at the same time without the stupid rainbow wheel popping up. Photoshop, Aperture, Word, iChat, iTunes, Safari, etc.
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The biggest thing to prevent the rainbow wheel popping up is your HDD so you should be looking at an SSD.
 
kaileyluxxx said:
You basically just confirmed my worst fear. I searched motherboard replacement for my macbook pros and they're around $1300 - $1700. WTF. Are you kidding me? This is such a crappy situation. If I should get a new mac, what kind should I get? I need something that's incredibly fast - as in it can handle more than 3 big applications running at the same time without the stupid rainbow wheel popping up. Photoshop, Aperture, Word, iChat, iTunes, Safari, etc.
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Well, I mean, I could be completely wrong. I have never been in a situation like this, I don't know the extent of the spill - and even if I did, I'm not necessarily qualified to tell you that the entire computer is destroyed simply by looking at it.

Just to me - a random user looking at these forums and happening upon your post - it sounds really bad (mainly things like "massive spill" and "seeping into keyboard") and to me it sounds like that is going to be an expensive fix. I'm sorry about brining up any fears. : (

Which model did you have?
 
imaketouchtheme said:
Have you tried further diagnosing the problem? Do you think you're capable of doing a few things to test it out? Also, what is your AppleCare status and model number of your computer?
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I don't think my parents purchased apple care when we bought it and I'm pretty sure the warranty is up (since like February) or something. I'm screwed aren't I? Apple MacBook Pro MC226LL/A 17-Inch Laptop. I think that's the one.
 
imaketouchtheme said:
Have you tried further diagnosing the problem? Do you think you're capable of doing a few things to test it out? Also, what is your AppleCare status and model number of your computer?
Click to expand...

The warrantee was voided when she spilt the water as Applecare does not cover accidental damage.
 
Even if you had some fantastic story made up and you dressed like a hooker, it still would, sadly, get you no where. Since AppleCare is expired, it doesn't matter what happened to the computer, it won't be covered.

Does the computer boot up at all?
 
imaketouchtheme said:
Even if you had some fantastic story made up and you dressed like a hooker, it still would, sadly, get you no where. Since AppleCare is expired, it doesn't matter what happened to the computer, it won't be covered.

Does the computer boot up at all?
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It used to be able to boot up, but now it won't. It didn't matter when it could boot up because I the keyboard was buggy and I couldn't properly type in my password to get in. If I plug in my charger, the yellow light appears to say it's charging. Maybe it won't turn on because it's battery is like dead?
 
imaketouchtheme said:
When booting it up, try holding down the Command Option P and R keys upon startup and see if you hear anything.
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Tried it with the indian applecare man a few hours back, it wouldn't boot up, and I didn't hear anything. Sigh. This is just all looking very unfortunate for me. Will someone list my options? I have a headache.
 
kaileyluxxx said:
Tried it with the indian applecare man a few hours back, it wouldn't boot up, and I didn't hear anything. Sigh. This is just all looking very unfortunate for me. Will someone list my options? I have a headache.
Click to expand...

You mentioned Photoshop? Do you use that often? Also, I'm assuming you're a student, yes?
 
You would probably want to go with either a 15 inch or 17 inch for design, unless you have an external monitor you use your MacBook on. Also, as previously mentioned, an SSD would be perfect for you needs as you won't have any seeking time when opening files.

Shoot me a PM and I'll give you a more detailed suggestion based on your needs. :)
 
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