i drowned my macbook

[carly1979]

last night i managed to pour half a glass of water on my mac book

it was running at the time, and immediately switched itself off and has shown no signs of life since.

we turned it upside down to dry.... didn't think to take the battery out or try drying it with a hairdryer at the time.

i know there's loads of threads on this kind of thing and loads of advice online, but i just wondered if anyone here has any suggestions? it happened about 12 hours ago now- do you think it's too late to rescue it? i heard that if you leave it too long the water will oxidise and then you're screwed

also, the macbook was only about a month old (i know), if we tried to send it back under the warranty once it dried claiming it just stopped working, would they see the water damage? i'm guessing yes.

help? anyone?

totally gutted. cannot afford to be spending that sort of money again to replace it.

[Genesis F5]

On the bright side, at least it wasn't milk.

Immediately switching off doesn't sound good. Do try to dry it out as much as possible. Take it out and leave it in the sun (if the sun is shining). A hair dryer probably won't work as the water most likely worked its way down into the unit. Outside will provide an even application of heat to warm the inside and hopefully evaporate any residual water.

[hanratty21]

Lots of google info on this one...
http://www.google.com/search?q=macbo...ient=firefox-a

I'd give apple a call (anonymously) and ask the question as a hypothetical to them...if the answer is not what you want to hear...hang up fast!

[carly1979]

it's wet and miserable outside at the moment

will try to get it drying out inside somewhere warm.

[shorty116]

had this happen to me. a friend (back then ;-) ) had spilled gin tonic on my macbook pro. it did not turn off, i've done that myself and removed the battery. had to replace the keyboard because the background light and some keys stopped working everything else seems fine - occured half a year ago.

goto ifixit.com to learn how to take you macbook apart and let it dry for at least 5-8 days before trying to turn it on again. but the self-turning-off part doesn't sound too good and apple (or any other computer manufacturer) can tell if it has a water damage, because some of the inner parts immediatly change color (don't know if it's rust, but some kind of chemical reaction). if you manage to turn it on it could still break down again even after several months.

some people might try to "convince" an insured friend, that it could have possibly been his/her fault… here in Austria almost every household insurance (translation?) covers stuff like this…

[carly1979]

yeah it is most likely covered by our contents insurance. i'm just reluctant to claim on the insurance as it'll up the premiums. but not sure it'll up them by £600 (the cost of a replacement), so i will most likely end up making a claim.

will take the battery out as soon as i get home (maybe too late?!), and let it dry out for a few days before trying to start it up again anyway.

hanratty- good idea. not sure they'll answer it, but might give it a try anyway. nothing to lose except the cost of the call!

thanks for the suggestions.

[ctranter]

Damn sorry to hear about that. I nearly died when I dropped my macbook - the 'please please please boot up' wait was agonizing. I got away with a broken iSight and a big dent.

[carly1979]

yeah, it wasn't a happy evening. and the fact i have to wait as long as possible really before trying to switch it on again is really horrible.

must admit though, i'm pretty much resigned to the fact that i killed it.

[CVO Chris]

Get it insured, wait a week, tell them it happened after you insured it.

It's not very honest but the only advice I can offer!

[jAQUAN]

You guys are killing me. I just took my macbook on a road trip and now its sitting on the couch all zipped up in its case. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to remove it. This thread casts a bad omen.

carly I don't mean to make light. It's painful even reading your story. My fingers are crossed it works out for you.
You can tear apart the Mario doll if you want.

[carly1979]

haha. i would tear it apart, but then i'd want to take photos..... and then i'd want to edit those photos...... and i only have photoshop on my macbook

chris- thanks. it'll be covered by my contents insurance, so will probably have to claim through that.

when i got home yesterday i took the battery out and there was still a fair amount of water in there.... i'm going to wait til friday before trying to turn it on.

[carly1979]

RIP macbook. it's dead

[gerbick]

Oh damn. Sorry to hear that Carly.

[jAQUAN]

Its just wrong that they could die so easily. I know agua is bad bad but apple should be a lot cooler about fixing/replacing.

[WannaBe_80z]

I think that all laptop keyboards should be water sealed.

[Genesis F5]

Toughbooks are water-proof. The problem is that their profile is so low nowadays, they trip anything pushed towards em'. There could be a very profitable market in laptop risers.

[jAQUAN]

I've been looking for the original iStand but no-one sells them.

[Oaf]

I left my iBook open overnight on my desk, when I went back the following morning there was a faint burning smell.

The cat had piddled in the keyboard.

One dead iBook.

So never leave your laptop open if you've got animals!

[fx.barrett]

^ lol =)) Ok, that's the saddest way for a iBook to pass... RIP
Sorry to hear that your macBook died too Carly

[carly1979]

hoping to claim off the insurance and get ourselves a cheaper laptop this time round.... hopefully only have to pay £50 excess. could be a lot lot worse.