Thinkpads Forum

Has anybody tested it? Could you just slowly poor a glass of water over the center of the keyboard and nothing would happen?

I let you know if it ever happens, but no, I don't think anyone will "test" it out on purpose!

Hang on, let me try...
On second thought...

Actually, there is a flow rating for the drain hole(s) somewhere...I forget where now. Technically, that was used as a "threshold" for how much spillage of liquid it could handle.

marlinspike wrote:Has anybody tested it? Could you just slowly poor a glass of water over the center of the keyboard and nothing would happen?

It really depends on how you pour. The spill proof keyboard is designed for accidental water spillage and not for you to pour the water into the keyboard on purpose.

I have tried this on someone else thinkpad T60p 1 month back and nothing really happen. But after pouring the water onto the keyboard, i never switch on the thinkpad. I waited for the water to evaporate before i switch on the thinkpad because NS is a coward.

*I never conduct this experiment using beverages which contained sugar because the sugar will crystallised upon evaporating and will make all parts sticky*

I guess we'll just have to wait a few years to find out, but definitley when I replace my T60 I'm going to holding it flat in one hand and pouring water on the keyboard with the other, while the laptop is running.

NS wrote:I have tried this on someone else thinkpad T60p 1 month back and nothing really happen.

Why would you do such a thing to someone else's equipment?

It is one thing, albeit strange, if one had permission to do that; quite another indeed if it was done without permission.

nonny wrote:

NS wrote:I have tried this on someone else thinkpad T60p 1 month back and nothing really happen.

Why would you do such a thing to someone else's equipment?

Wait first nonny. If i tell you who that thinkpad belonged to, you will most probably said i have done a great job. That T60p belonged to...(the person you guys hated the most)...

NS wrote: Wait first nonny. If i tell you who that thinkpad belonged to, you will most probably said i have done a great job. That T60p belonged to...(the person you guys hated the most)...

This is supposed to mean....what to us again?

NS wrote:Wait first nonny. If i tell you who that thinkpad belonged to, you will most probably said i have done a great job. That T60p belonged to...(the person you guys hated the most)...

Destroying other people's ThinkPads is not something I approve of regardless of whose property it is. And you obviously have no idea about my thoughts of who the biggest problem in the forum might be.

i did pour a glass of water on my thinkpad!!!!!!!!

wow... ... ...

Nothing happen to my X60s so far. it is a superb machine!!!

gunston wrote:i did pour a glass of water on my thinkpad!!!!!!!!

Are you insane man!

hmmm... Try it on your own, and you will get excited with your superb thinkpad

gunston wrote:
hmmm... Try it on your own, and you will get excited with your superb thinkpad

OK, so you're into that S&D stuff... I can understand.

yeah,
i'm loving it

I actually accidentally spilled a water bottle over my keyboard, it splashed everything including the LCD. I mopped up everything on the surface as best I could with a soft t-shirt. Then I wanted to make sure that no water actually got inside between the cracks (bad idea...). I think that when I removed the keyboard to double check the insides, some water that didn't dry off the keyboard rolled down and in.

What happened was that I turned my computer back on and everything was fine. Then I went to dinner and half an hour later when I returned my computer was still on but not responding (the monitor was blank). I tried putting it in standby with Fn+F4 to see if it would work if I took back out of standby, but it just shutdown completely. Uh oh....

Long story short, I took the entire computer apart and found water on/in the LCD ribbon cable and underneath the motherboard. I used a hairdryer to evaporate everything. I put it all back together and tried turning it on with just the batteries. When I hit the power button, the green lights flickered and then just died. I thought to hold down the power button, and so when I held down the button the computer started up and actually got through the ThinkPad splash screen, and then died.

I took both my batteries out and just plugged it in via the AC adapter. This time it started up as normal with just a single push of the power button and made it all the way to Windows. Yay. I popped in my UltraBay battery and PowerManager detected it and said it was fine. I shut down the computer so I could put my 6 cell back in. I slapped the 6 cell, rubbed it down, talked sweetly to it, and blew on it like how you blow on old Nintendo games to get them to work. Then I popped the 6 cell back in, disconnected AC, and ta-da, the computer has acted normal ever since on both battery and AC, and battery life hasn't been affected.

Moral of the story is, if you spill water on your keyboard, you're probably fine. If you spill water on your entire computer, you better say a quick prayer and shut it down fast. Especially if that water gets up where the LCD ribbon cable runs by the hinge, that's a vulnerable spot.

... And please remenber Thinkpads aren't meant to work in beaches, pools or underwater... don't overstimate the equipment quality!

Here is my experience (one year ago).

On my T43, I accidentally poured a half cup of coffee on the keyboard, while I was working (the Thinkpad was obvoiusly on). Without shutting it off, I immediately raised it, and I kept it inclined so that the coffee flowed out from beneath the keyboard through the 2 small drain holes.

The Thinkpad did not suffer any inconvenient, apart from a few keys of the keyboard becoming a little sticky because of the crystallized sugar. The day after I removed the keyboard in trying to clean from the sugar, and to some extent I succeeded altough some "stickiness" remained on a few keys. Nothing dramatic, however. Upon removal of the keyboard I had the confirmation that absolutely no liquid poured inside other components of the Thinkpad.

Really a first class security solution, in my opinion.

Regards
Neb

NS wrote:If i tell you who that thinkpad belonged to, you will most probably said i have done a great job.

It doesn't matter who it belongs to, it is a matter of respecting the property. Respect the 'pad.

This is slightly off topic, but just thought i should throw in a word of caution.

I did spill coke on the keyboard of my old laptop (pre-thinkpad). Not only was there a problem of stickyness in parts that I could not reach, it was exacerbated by ants(the small red biting variety) deciding to nest in my laptop.

I noticed this only too late after I saw them crawling up my arms. ouch !

This happened in India, but I think its quite possible to happen elsewhere too.

Rajeev

Sounds like fun, Rajeev!

Your laptop must have doubled as an Ant Farm.

cool~

rbsrao79 wrote:This is slightly off topic, but just thought i should throw in a word of caution.

I did spill coke on the keyboard of my old laptop (pre-thinkpad). Not only was there a problem of stickyness in parts that I could not reach, it was exacerbated by ants(the small red biting variety) deciding to nest in my laptop.

I noticed this only too late after I saw them crawling up my arms. ouch !

This happened in India, but I think its quite possible to happen elsewhere too.

Rajeev

If you spill coke on it, you are supposed to then pour water on to wash out the coke...

Why not pour rum and it and have a rum and coke? Sorry I couldn't resist...and as much as it sounds frightening to do, pouring water on it to get rid of the stickiness does make sense!

Where are the spill holes on the T43 exactly? I'm having trouble finding them.

eTools wrote:Where are the spill holes on the T43 exactly? I'm having trouble finding them.

experiment it, and you will find the water dripping hole then

Having already spilt the coke, I didn't want to make it worse. The machine was not a thinkpad with spill holes. I turned it upside down a let it flow out and then tried to clean up as best I could.

I however didn't give the full context. I got another laptop a short while later and didn't use this one (the one I split coke on). It lay there for a month. The next time I used it and turned it on. I had ants.

I gave the laptop to a near by repair shop (not trusting myself to cleanup properly) and he cleaned it up using what I think is isopropyl alcohol (the stuff they clean magnetic heads with).

Rajeev

tfflivemb2 wrote:

NS wrote:If i tell you who that thinkpad belonged to, you will most probably said i have done a great job.

It doesn't matter who it belongs to, it is a matter of respecting the property. Respect the 'pad.

Yeah, thinkpads must be treated with care. I forgot...

NS wrote:Yeah, thinkpads must be treated with care. I forgot...

It doesn't matter whether it's a ThinkPad or a shoe. Don't vandalize other people's property.