Thinkpads Forum

hello all,
i've done some searches but can't find any answers that help. here's my problem:

i was working on my T61 while flying home last night. i was sitting in the aisle seat and the fight attendant leaned over me to hand a drink to the passenger in the middle aisle. as she did so, she spilled water on my laptop. it was not a lot of water and it only seemed to spill on the bottom, right-hand portion of the keyboard.

to be safe, i immediately saved my work and powered down the machine. i then dried up the water as best i could. i turned the laptop upside down to let the water drain out. then i just let the machine sit out and dry for the rest of the flight.

when i got home a couple of hours later, i checked the machine and it appeared to be dry. i was able to power up the machine. however, after a few minutes of working, things started getting weird. pages automatically started scrolling as if the arrow keys were depressed. again, i shut the machine directly from xp (no hard reset).

this time, i unplugged the ac adapter, removed the battery, then removed the hard drive, dvd player, palm rest, and finally the keyboard. i didn't really see any more water, but i let the components dry overnight.

before putting the machine back together, i attached my drive to another machine and verified that the drive is still good. so i'm relieved that i at least have my data. however, after putting everything back together, the T61 will not power up.

when i push the power button, nothing happens. i don't hear any sounds, no lights blink, nothing. it is almost as if the keyboard is not even attached. strangely, when i plug in the ac adapter, the battery and ac lights light up green. this gives me some level of confidence that the motherboard is not fried.

could it just be that the keyboard has gone bad? is there anything else i can try? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,
bA

From your description, you've done correctly. It doesn't seem to be very serious. You may just need to find a new keyboard or simply give a little more time to dry the keyboard.

Before you look for a new keyboard, check if you've installed the keyboard properly. I mean, check if the small plug beneath the keyboard was firmly plugged in.

i've verified that the keyboard is reinstalled correctly. still, no luck.

is there anyway to check the keyboard using a multimeter? the replacement keyboards run about $100. i would like to isolate the problem as much as possible before spending that kind of money to fix the problem.

thanks,
bA

I agree that another keyboard should be tested to verify if the keyboard is ok. If you can't borrow one let me know and I can send you one to try.

Brad

sorry i haven't had time to update this post. i've been back on the road.

it turned out that the issue with my machine was in fact related to the keyboard. a kind soul on this message board offered me a replacement keyboard to test with. as soon as we hooked it up, my machine fired right up. in fact, i'm typing this post using my new keyboard!

thanks to all those who offered help. this forum really is a great resource. can't say enough how helpful the members here are. thanks again!

-bA

hey, looks like im a little late but i had the same issue as you.
i knocked over a water bottle and only got a little bit of water on my keyboard. i dried all the components and it wouldn't turn on like you described.
i ordered a new keyboard and it works now.