Coffee Spill

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WalkmanX · #1 Post by **WalkmanX** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 4:33 am

Long time reader but first time poster. I bought my T40 right before Christmas when IBM was having a sale of their certified used equipment. I found this forum soon after and have been reading dailiy =)

Everything has been going well until tonite. I was studying and my T40 was in sleep mode w/ the lid closed next to me when my friend accidently spilled a cup of coffee(from the vending machine) on it from where the battery is. Coffee immediate covered 45% of the top cover and rushed underneath the thinkpad =\

I quickly picked it up, shook off the excess coffee and dried it with paper towels. The Keyboard/LCD was not touced, the battery connectors were dry, the DVD-ROM drive had a few drop on it when I took it out, I think coffee made its way in to the hole around the VGA port. I went over ever surface and crack and tried to soak up as much fluid as I can. I waited 5mins and powered the thing right up. It has been working fine so far, smells like coffee but the battery discharges and charges normally, no weird noises or burnt smells of any kind, and my external monitor is working properly when hooked up.

Should I be worried? Do you guys think it's necessary for me to open it up and give it a thorough inspection? Any input is appreciated.

LESSON LEARNED: Always always keep fluids away from the Thinkpad.

RS_003 · #2 Post by **RS_003** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 4:59 am

Well, if you know how to open laptops (as in: done it before) I would do it.

But if you never done it before, don't do it.
Never fix something if it isn't broken

sugo · #3 Post by **sugo** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 7:49 am

It's very easy, only 4 screws from the bottom and you can take the keyboard out.

If you do find coffee spills, rinse it with distilled water and let it dry for at least 3 days before powering up.

Leon · #4 Post by **Leon** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 11:15 am

"........my friend accidently spilled a cup of coffee(from the vending machine)....."

If you MUST spill, Thinkpads prefer Starbucks!

seriously, though, you were very lucky, and I'm really glad that your Laptop made it through.....

Welcome to our Forum!

Plinkerton · #5 Post by **Plinkerton** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:49 pm

If you MUST spill, Thinkpads prefer Starbucks!

I must disagree. iBook and PowerBooks prefer Starbucks. They are concerned with looking trendy, and hitting all the hotspots.

Thinkpads, on the other hand, are pure business. They like Espresso, or black coffee from the authentic Italian cafe down the street.

Starbucks makes the worst coffee I've ever tasted, and I should know...

DeMoZ · #6 Post by **DeMoZ** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:49 pm

My six year old daughter recently spilled MILK over my T42 when it was open and running!!! Needless to say it shut down immediately and I started ripping the hair out of my head with her in shock… but then after opening it and cleaning it, it started up and is to this day working fine without any problems… so I guess it is okay with black coffee or plain milk… but I wonder what happens if you have milk in your coffee

p.s. very little of the milk actually got beneath the keyboard so I guess that the keyboard design saved my ThinkPad…
We don't have Starbucks here in Denmark so I can't comment on that but will say that it's way cooler to have a ThinkPad (computer that you can actually use) then an i-(whatever).....

#7 Post by **RonS** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:53 pm

If you ever spill anything on a notebook, you should IMMEDIATELY disconnect all power sources - wall power and batteries. A circuit can't short if there's no power, and it may save the life of your laptop.

WalkmanX · #8 Post by **WalkmanX** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 8:30 pm

update: ITS STILL WORKING!!!

I took off my keyboard yesterday to check for additional signs of coffee. The motherboard was all clean, no signs of dried up coffee. However, dried up coffee made my cd drive stick but I cleaned it up with a moist towelette thingys and it works like new now.

I'm glad I got a thinkpad

a cuppa coffee down, what else can I get my friend to spill on my thinkpad?

beeblebrox · #9 Post by **beeblebrox** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 11:51 am

Actually, I think Thinkpads would prefer anything but Starbucks.

Starbucks usually sells well roasted coffee, which contains way more acid than usual ground coffee. Scientifically speaking, milk and water do not affect any circuitry because water is a very poor electric conductor. However adding traces of acid or salt (e.g. coffee or coke (phosporic and citron acids) adds a lot of trouble, because of more released H3O+ ions in the liquid. The increased conductivity of the "treated water" causes electric shortcuts, which usually disturb the electronics. Very rarely somethings goes permanent short.
you should turn off power immediately, do not shut down the notebook but pull the plug and battery. Then rinse the electronics with distilled water, let dry a few days and finally use a hot hair drier.
It should work without problems.

May I recommend the space surrounding the Thinkpad a restricted "coffee-mug" No-Fly-Zone? That helps a lot...

Leon · #10 Post by **Leon** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 2:49 pm

As an individual whose degrees include that of EE, and as a person of partially Italian heritage who likes nothing better than a real Italian Espresso with proper crema on top, I formally apologize for, retract, and otherwise disavow my hastily made Starrbuks post.... mea cuulpa

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