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1 posted on 05/02/2008 8:24:30 AM PDT by Hildy
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To: Hildy

Spend $600 for a new laptop and transfer your files from your old hard drive.


2 posted on 05/02/2008 8:25:37 AM PDT by Always Right (Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?)
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To: Hildy

I’ve pulled out my memory and hard drive and was able to salvage everything. Just remove it as soon as you can


3 posted on 05/02/2008 8:26:20 AM PDT by shadeaud
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To: Hildy

DO NOT turn the laptop on and remove the battery RIGHT NOW!


4 posted on 05/02/2008 8:26:58 AM PDT by Mr. Jazzy (The United States Marines. The finest and most feared fighting force in the history of mankind.)
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To: Hildy; rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; GodGunsandGuts; CyberCowboy777; Salo; Bobsat; JosephW; ...

5 posted on 05/02/2008 8:27:05 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: Hildy

Try this:

Hold it upside down and use a warm hair dryer to blow up in between the keys. Might take a while. Also leave it upside down for several hours so the liquid can drip out with gravity.

Been there, done that. Best of luck.


6 posted on 05/02/2008 8:27:28 AM PDT by EggsAckley
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To: Hildy

you can remove the hard drive and get an IDE external port to plug it into any other computer through the USB interface. Those are sealed pretty good.

Lapjobs can’t take liquids in them like a regular keyboard- I have hosed down my regular keybord in the kitchen sink and it still works. (I had a backup spare before i tried that)


8 posted on 05/02/2008 8:30:00 AM PDT by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help)
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To: Hildy

They have keyboard condoms just for this occasion.


9 posted on 05/02/2008 8:31:12 AM PDT by wolfcreek (I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
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To: Hildy

Yeah, it can be saved, but you will be a few days without it.

First, make sure it is unplugged and that the battery is out.

Second, with a soft damp cloth, clean off as much milk as you can.

Third, fill a small tub with about an inch of water and submerse your laptop, with the screen in the upright position in it. Do not let the water get higher than the hinge level, that is important.

Now let the laptop soak for about four hours, replace the water, and let it soak for another four hours.

The waiting will now begin. Get a soft cotton towel and lay the laptop, keyboard down on top of it. Do not allow the keyboard to be pressed into the towel, just lightly resting on it, or even just off of it a bit.

You need to make sure the laptop completely dries before starting it again. This usually takes about 3 days.


10 posted on 05/02/2008 8:32:42 AM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: Hildy

Have a bagel for breakfast instead. If you do drop it on your laptop, the only result will be that for the rest of the day the computer will print only in Yiddish. Good luck!


11 posted on 05/02/2008 8:34:03 AM PDT by pabianice
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Got coffee?

12 posted on 05/02/2008 8:34:11 AM PDT by evets (beer)
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To: Hildy

Here is an Obama “after the fact” solution:

Next time, pry yourself away from FR for five minutes while eating.

Good luck.


15 posted on 05/02/2008 8:39:37 AM PDT by Retired Greyhound
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To: Hildy
I spilled my cereal and milk on my laptop computer keyboard this morning.

This happened to me, but with a desktop at work. I took the keyboard out and washed it in a deep sink and blew it out with a air hose, then dried it in a oven at work at 125°F for 24 hours and it was fine.............

18 posted on 05/02/2008 8:43:08 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: Hildy

In case you haven’t done it already, REMOVE THE BATTERY and POWER CORD.

I’ve done this before and read much of it being done. It is very likely the hard drive is safe. The exception in my experience would be if the fluids damaged the hard drive circuitry on the motherboard (been there done that). In that case, the controller built into the drive could be damaged (though the data might still be recoverable professionally).

On the other hand, it is possible that the computer could reboot in some form when the innards are dried.

I suspect you’re looking at a new computer but recoverable data (that expectation would be the middle of the bell curve).

In any event, good luck.


20 posted on 05/02/2008 8:44:55 AM PDT by Petronski (When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth, voting for Hillary.)
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To: Hildy

What kind of cereal was it?


31 posted on 05/02/2008 8:57:53 AM PDT by Hegemony Cricket (Friends with umbrellas are outstanding in the rain.)
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To: Hildy
So long as nothing got into the hard drive, take it out, hook it up to the proper adapter, and access it using a desktop.

I can't say whether the rest of the laptop can be repaired or salvaged. You may be better off buying a new one.

37 posted on 05/02/2008 9:13:37 AM PDT by rabscuttle385 (Republican...because not everyone can be on welfare.)
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To: Hildy
Hooboy. I feel your pain. Great advice in 7 and 29. Unfortunately, milk has "stuff" in it (casein, notably) that forms deposits. The good news is that heat doesn't coagulate it. The bad news is that it forms a sort of clear, hard scum (ask me how I know!).

Not to be too repetitious, but remove all electricity (battery and charger) until it dries and get the HD out (and the memory too if you can reach it). It's probably too late as I write this, but canned air will at least clear where you can reach with it.

Life happens. I have a friend with a newborn. Newborn met open laptop. I shall say no more. ;-)

38 posted on 05/02/2008 9:23:17 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Hildy
If you have to replace the computer I would suggest a MacBook but then it may have been a Mac that was the product of a cereal assassin .....I have been a PC user for years and this is my early moms day present....I love it !!!!!

Just the same I hope you can salvage your computer... good luck !!!

40 posted on 05/02/2008 9:39:01 AM PDT by Kimmers
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To: Hildy
I spilled my cereal and milk on my laptop computer keyboard this morning...

Mine wasn't a laptop, so it might make a difference but, the same thing happened to me a few months back and I posted a thread for help. My son spilled his cereal on my keyboard. The letters were coming out all jumbled and couldn't be read because they mad no sense. It dried on it's own and was normal again.

43 posted on 05/02/2008 10:05:46 AM PDT by processing please hold ( "It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.")
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To: Hildy; Allegra; pabianice; Petronski; SIDEWALKING

This calls for a SpillSock.

49 posted on 05/02/2008 11:19:58 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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