Posted on 09/20/2004 9:37:37 AM PDT by finnman69
Please no spilled milk jokes.
Ok, spilled milk into my Inspiron laptop keyboard, (PIII 700 Mhz, 256k RAM, 30 GB HD, Win 98). I turned it over and powered down. I disconnected it, battery out, drives out, HD out, keyboard removed and all dried out for 36 hours. Cleaned out all the visible residue which seemed confined to the QWERTY area and some on the circuit board where the power button was (not the mother board).
It now powers on and functions normally with the exception of the keyboard not working (5-6 keys mis typing), I figure it needs replacement, ok. But more ominously the fans are not powering on and I notice a slight whirring noise near the fans (never heard this noise before), but only when the AC adapted is plugged in, not when it's just on battery power.
Thinking about sending it back to Dell, NOT UNDER WARRANTY. So im looking at $270 just to get it looked at. I could order the keyboard and put it in myself no prob. Have not run the diagnostics yet and am planning to do that tonight to check the fan status and see if errors pop up. Am praying it's not the motherboard as I dont want to spend the $ on a brand new computer. Just bought a brand new HD.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Use an external keyboard.
"Please no spilled milk jokes."
You gotta be kidding...With a thread like this? :)
For a gamble take it apart and throw into a tub of water for 48 hours and hope it dissolves off all the dried milk crud. Distilled water is best.
For $270 I wouild be spending $5oo more for a new one.
Use an external keyboard.......
TEST it with one. Try out the USB and the ps/2 port.
The laptop is worth 300 dollars in todays market. You could easily spent that trying to fix it.
I'd suggest ebay if you're on a tight budget, or for ~700 you can hit newegg.com and find a laptop in the 1.6 Gh range.
Already priced a new desktop....would be spending over $1000....
First, change your password to BOSCO.
I recovered a Gateway that wouldn't power up at all by tearing it completely down, cleaning the MB with a damp cloth and Q-tips, then putting the MB on top of a lampshade for a few days to completely dry. Worked like a charm.
The KB will probably be a write-off. You can try rinsing it out and drying it, but I haven't had much luck with that.
See what the diagnostics tell you.
I dunked them several times in the equivalent of distilled water and dried them very slowly in a slightly warm oven, relubed them (I know how), had them cleaned and retimed during two weeks of leave, and they continue to work this day.
The relevance to the present computer situation? None, but a good story containing helpful hints nonetheless....
From experience I can say that cat pi$$ is as bad as soft drinks on keyboards, but plain water also ruins the contacts. If the liquid got into other electrical contacts they are probably also needing cleaning, but the keyboard will be unreliable from this time on even if cleaned.
Already priced a new desktop....would be spending over $1000....
You can get great Dell desktops for $379 and less. At most you may have to add some memory which has been down in price.
Must go here for great DELL DEALS--->>>
http://www.gotapex.com/
(I don't own a Dell. My current computer is a Microstar nForce board screwed onto a piece of plywood with plastic standoffs)
A friend of mine who is a police honcho at a large airport here suggested such to me when I mentioned my daughter's ginger ale mishap with her laptop.....
Send it back to Dell, try a local repair shop, or try this if you are the gambling type:
http://www.computing.net/howto/simple/keyboard/
I figure the KB is gone, I can order a new one for $35 from Dell. Im mostly worried abotu the fans not coming on and frying everything. I will run a full diagnostics myself. I did it recently when my HD went bad and I replaced it.
Try cleaning the electrical contacts for the fans. If that doesn't cure it, something on the circuit board may have gotten splashed, perhaps a thermostat, and that would be major.
Put it in the dishwasher, then, using a hammer, whack all the water out.
Remind me not to have a Pepsi at your house.
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