BIG TROUBLE PLEASE HELP ME!

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T41mbi · #1 Post by **T41mbi** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:47 am

I am in panic mode right now! I spilt a glass of water over my THinkpad and its not turning on!

I am in so much deep $hit, this thinkpad took me a considerable amount of time to save up for, im a student and hardly have the cash lying around to purchase another one or pay a repair bill which I would imagine would cost in the high hundreds/thousands.

I need your help guys! One of the best things with IBM is their support...but I doubt they will cover the costs of the repair after the technician discovers that it was my fault! Is their any way I can cover my tracks? Any advice! Anything I am so desperate I need my baby back!

Please guys help me out.

THis happened only moments ago so i have yet to report it to IBM I am willing to do what ever is neccessary (lie, cheat, cover it up) BECAUSE I simply can't afford another computer nor a big repair bill..

gpvillamil · #2 Post by **gpvillamil** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 7:50 am

Don't try to turn it on.

Stand it on its forward edge leaning towards you so that water will drain out, and not into its internal components. Leave it like that for 24 or 48 hours.

You may be lucky.

#3 Post by **jdhurst** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:02 am

What I would do first is to remain calm.

1. Make no more efforts to turn it on.
2. Take out the battery.
3. Remove the hard drive and set it aside. I open the laptop and turn it on edge with the drive up to prevent any liquid getting into the drive.
4. Remove the CD Rom or whatever from the Ultra Bay and set it aside.
5. Remove the Keyboard (there is an online manual, and it is a fairly simple operation). Get someone who is adept with small tools to do this if you are afraid. Set the keyboard aside.
6. Look at the remains. Is there much water in there? Dump it out. If it is very wet in there, open any NIC and Memory doors underneath to let the air flow.
7. Let all of this dry for a few hours. Make certain the main system unit is dry.

Now, the keyboard might work and it might not, but it is not deathly expensive.

When everything is truly dry (don't rush it), reinstall the keyboard, reinstall the hard drive, put back any doors underneath, reinstall the CD Rom or whatever, put the battery back in.

Now, I think I would try starting the machine without plugging it in to AC (unless the battery was also flat when this happened). If it starts and runs properly, you should be OK. If it starts but the keyboard won't work, consider replacing it. If the machine looks clean and you did the user disassembly and reassembly neatly, you could always tell IBM it stopped working. Don't know what they might surmise.

Water generally does not hurt electronics if it is splashed on, drained off and allowed to dry thoroughly. Water is not sticky and does not leave a residue, so I hope you mean what you said that you spilled water.

Good luck. ... JDHurst.

T41mbi · #4 Post by **T41mbi** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:04 am

GOOD NEWS (I THINK)

I WAS DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THE IBM SITE AND FOUND THIS:

http://www-605.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... Id=2278379

i purchased this laptop in March So do you think ill be covered?

Greg Gebhardt · #5 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:05 am

DO NOT TURN IT ON.

IF you can open up the keyboard. Remove the Hardrive, battery and CD unit. Turn it on it edge and let dry with a fan, etc. I would wait at least two days before trying again.

If it was only water there is a chance that it may come back to life. If after a few days it will still not start you might be looking at a motherboard replacement, sorry.

First Light · #6 Post by **First Light** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 8:40 am

The IBM Thinkpad Insurance page you found says "This program is applicable only for ThinkPads purchased in Singapore,"

T41mbi · #7 Post by **T41mbi** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:20 am

thats a [censored] shame

Do you think if i let it dry out for a few days (so all the evidence of water goes) the technicians will be able to tell it was my fault?

Sorry I am not usually so crooked! But I just put down $3000 on this baby and have no cash around to buy another one.

T41mbi · #8 Post by **T41mbi** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:46 am

OK Thanks for your suggestions about how to try and fix this.. some of the advice (although appreciated) was a bit confusing... i have posted a pic of what I have time (not 56kb/s friendly) Please tell me if this is what you meant

JHEM · #9 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:36 am

Yes, that's what was meant about opening it up and letting it possibly drain. (BTW, I took the picture off as it's no longer of interest now that your question is answered.)

Take the memory and the WiFi card out as well just to make certain there's no water hiding in the connectors. Open the bottom memory compartment and remove any installed memory, then leave the compartment open. Get a can of air or two from your local Radio Shack and spray the insides liberally. Let it stand as in the picture for a day or two, preferably with a fan blowing on it on Low speed.

Did you use a credit card to purchase this unit? Check with the CC company and see if you have any sort of a purchase protection plan! It usually comes standard with any of the "Premium" gold, silver, platinum, etc. cards and offers insurance against any loss for 30 days or more.

Regards,

James

Leon · #10 Post by **Leon** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:00 pm

T41mbi wrote:
http://www-605.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... Id=2278379
The IBM Thinkpad Insurance page you found says "This program is applicable only for ThinkPads purchased in Singapore,"

Great free insurance, I know where I'll buy my next laptop.....

s0larian · #11 Post by **s0larian** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:10 pm

Exactly the same happened to me a few years ago with my IBM 600X. I tried to turn it on again (I asume a big mistake!) and got a Bios error message. I sent it to the IBM service (without telling them about the water accident), they changed the board, and I got it back repaired after a few days. No questions were asked, so they didn't discover the water as a cause and the garantie covered the costs.

Leon · #12 Post by **Leon** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:22 pm

not completely honest of course, but it's up to each to decide where to draw the line.... in any case, from the scientific standpoint, it's probably not possible for them to figure it out if the water has completely dried with no remains...(unless, of course, they have a moisture sensor buried somewhere inside)...I know that digital camera manufacturers routinely deny warranty claims for water damage....

TheVelho · #13 Post by **TheVelho** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 3:53 pm

Hi, I know a guy who spilled a glass of beer on his laptop, he dried it, sent it to the service and they changed the damaged parts.

Dry it well and send it back, IBM's a big company full of $$$$ (you gavem 'em 3000$) it won't kill them to pay few parts back.

Good luck.

Hangfire · #14 Post by **Hangfire** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 4:34 pm

Sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing. Let it dry and keep us posted.

jsmit86 · #15 Post by **jsmit86** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 5:03 pm

If it's any consolation, I had a flooded basement about 3 years ago where several electronics components got submerged. Amazingly, all of them ended up OK with NO major repairs. (Including a very old PTV I hoped would be totalled!

)

The recovery company told me that they basically just open it up, dry it out, and test it. If it works, they are done.

The water was not really dirty, but it was not exactly drinkable either.

I also recently had my 2 year old pour a full glass of MILK into our 7" portable DVD player. I actually poured clear water into the unit to flush out the milk, dried it out with a fan, waited a day and fired it right up!

Based upon this, I think your biggest potential problem may be the keyboard. If the water gets trapped in the switches, it may need replacing.

Best of luck!

T41mbi · #16 Post by **T41mbi** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 9:52 pm

JHEM,

I have gone out and purchased some compressed air. And have cleaned my fan (it was very dusty)... getting it all ready etc..But i dont know how to remove the Wi-Fi Card?

And No I paid for the laptop is cash at the California Computer store on flower so no extra warranty options

JHEM · #17 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Aug 24, 2004 11:07 pm

Watch the movie: http://www-306.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-50233 and you'll learn how to remove the WiFi card.

Regards,

James

T41mbi · #18 Post by **T41mbi** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 12:32 am

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN

I AM PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT MY T41 SEEMS TO BE UP & RUNNING.

I would like to thank you all for your advice and support! In particular JHEM

Not even half a glass of water over the keyboard could stop my Thinkpad from malfunctioning.

Thanks to all of you!

Greg Gebhardt · #19 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 5:05 am

T41mbi wrote:LADIES AND GENTLEMAN

I AM PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT MY T41 SEEMS TO BE UP & RUNNING.

I would like to thank you all for your advice and support! In particular JHEM

Not even half a glass of water over the keyboard could stop my Thinkpad from malfunctioning.

Thanks to all of you!

If so, you are very lucky.

Drink from a distance in the future.

egibbs · #20 Post by **egibbs** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 6:10 am

Actually, there is an old war story about IBM and water that I've heard from several sources, so it might even be true.

Back many years ago IBM was competing to build Mission Computers for the B-52. They had a MC running on the bench for a show and tell with the Government, and one of the Government guys asked an IBM engineer whether the thing wuld meet the MIL-SPECs for water resistance. The IBM engineer said "I don't know - let's see." So he went and got a cup full or water and threw it into the cooling fan.

The computer never missed a beat, but a bunch of IBM managers nearly had heart attacks.

I wasn't so lucky - I spilled coffee (milk and sugar) on my TP once and it cost me $900 to get IBM to fix it.

Ed Gibbs

Leon · #21 Post by **Leon** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 9:16 am

that will teach you to drink your coffee black.....

BIG TROUBLE PLEASE HELP ME!

BIG TROUBLE PLEASE HELP ME!

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