T61 & Liquid Refreshments

[rlchapin]

The T61 and liquid refreshments don't seem to go together or do they? I have had my new machine for 5 days. Spilled coffee this AM over the left front corner. Some coffee went into the keyboard (very little). A bunch of it spilled over the touch pad and through the touch pad buttons. And some oozed out the left front corner, there are some vents there and the left speaker holes had some coffee seeping out.

Now it gets interesting. The machine shutoff on its own in about 1 to 2 seconds after the spill. After some loud expletives, I figured it was toast. I then unplugged it and took the battery out. I then proceeded to remove the keyboard and palm rest. There was absolutely no coffee inside the machine that I could see. The palm rest and touch pad had some on it. So I disconnected the touch pad and cleaned that up. I then put the keyboard back on figured I would fire it up and see if anything happened.....

It worked!!!

I decided to leave the touch pad disconnected (no big deal since I don't use it). I put the palm rest back on and I am typing this forum post on my machine, about 40 minutes after the spill.

Anybody know why the machine shutoff so quickly. Does the keyboard have sort of liquid sensor?

I am a very lucky man this morning!!

Have a nice day all, because no matter what happens to me today it is a good day. I don't think I will be buying lottery tickets today. i think I used up all my luck

-Bob

[carbon_unit]

I don't think there is a liquid sensor anywhere. The keyboard is supposed to catch small spills and direct them to the drains on the bottom. I'm not sure about the touch pad and it's buttons. I don't know why it shut off but hopefully you will be OK. Count your blessings.
There was a video of engineers pouring water into a running Thinkpad's keyboard but it seems to be gone now. http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=15753

[rlchapin]

It is not working. It worked fine for 2 hours and then i got up for a minute I came back the screen was frozen. Nothing would come up. I used the power button to kill it.

I then tried to reboot the power would come on but it would not go any further (2 seconds, no images on screen). Tried that 4 or 5 times and then it booted, but the keyboard did not work or the trackpoint. I put an external USB mouse on it and I could navigate.

The date had also reset to 1/1/1988.

I then shut it down and tried to reboot but same problem that I had before, power comes on and it doesn't go anywhere.

Now it has no power, nothing, no lights, nothing. When I plug in the power it is dead, nothing, zip.

How could it be fine for 2 hours and then deteriorate?




Bad Day

-Bob

[rlchapin]

The mystery continues....

I left it plugged in with the cover closed. I was sitting there despondent looking at my "fried" new machine when all of a sudden the lights on the cover came back on and it started to boot with the cover closed. I opened the cover and it booted up. The date came up as 1/1/1988 again. I reset it, did a backup of my data files, and then rebooted again. It rebooted properly with the correct date.

I am not sure what to do now. Anybody have any suggestions for things I could try to see if i have any impending failures?

I have a feeling the hard drive is going. It has been making a few strange noises since I got it, i was going to call Lenovo about it tomorrow. Could these issues be related to that and not the coffee incident from this morning? I know this is a stretch.

Thanks for any and all replies.

-Bob

[carbon_unit]

Are you still under warranty? What kind of coverage do you have? If you have Thinkpad Protection, send it in and get it fixed.

[rlchapin]

It's still working.

No TP Protection, only 3 Year Warranty.

[ryengineer]

You can send it out to IBM EasyServ (a.k.a Solectron) for repair services nevertheless if they determine a spill had occurred they would charge you a big figure for repairing it.

There's no liquid sensor as carbon_unit said, if there were something like the following would've happened:

Liquidproof.

Consider buying Thinkplus Protection Service with future purchase(s).

[GomJabbar]

You may be in luck - at least a little bit. You might still be able to purchase Accidental Damage Coverage.

Protection service, home and business equipment

ThinkPad and Lenovo 3000 Protection accidental damage coverage provides you that added security of protecting your notebook investment from unplanned expenses caused by an accident under normal operating conditions such as a drop, electrical surge or spill. Accidental damage is not covered under the standard product warranty or extended warranty service plans.

ThinkPad and Lenovo 3000 Protection accidental damage coverage must be purchased within 30 days of your new ThinkPad or Lenovo 3000 notebook product order, and your service term begins concurrently with the product warranty.

Highlights:
Problem determination with parts and labor coverage for our notebook components for accidental damage
Courier service for depot repair
24x7 telephone access to our technical support specialists

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/accessories/se ... kplus.html

[ryengineer]

I think GomJabbar has nailed it.

[Hellbore]

There is probably some liquid on the motherboard that you didn't see when you openened it up.

You really shouldn't be using it until it has a chance to fully dry. The chances of something being damaged are much greater if you are using a wet piece of electronics. If allowed to dry, the chances of it surviving are greater.

You should leave it in a warm, dry place for a few days and give it time to fully dry before using it. What you are doing now is very risky, using it when there might be liquid in it.

[rlchapin]

Thanks for the link for TP Protection in the first 30 days, Ill give Lenovo a call about that...

....and I agree that I probably should not have used it as soon as I did.

[rlchapin]

You may be in luck - at least a little bit. You might still be able to purchase Accidental Damage Coverage.

Thanks all and especially GomJabbar. I purchased the 3 Year Protection Package this morning.

-Bob

[hodad]

It sounds like you've got everything under control but FYI:

Should (God forbid) this happen again, IMMEDIATELY shut the thing down. Tilt the box toward the non-CPU side and pour any remaining liquid out. Remove the palm rest and keyboard. Set the machine down on its edge (like an open book) and blow a fan with cool air across it for 24 hours. (No blow dryer).

A family member spilled a LARGE tumbler of water across the back of my open T61, washing across the key board and palm rest, and my machine is working fine after utilizing the above course of action.

[ThinkPad]

Liquidproof.

Consider buying Thinkplus Protection Service with future purchase(s).

Those are some pretty interesting videos

[sircas]

It sounds like you've got everything under control but FYI:

Should (God forbid) this happen again, IMMEDIATELY shut the thing down. Tilt the box toward the non-CPU side and pour any remaining liquid out. Remove the palm rest and keyboard. Set the machine down on its edge (like an open book) and blow a fan with cool air across it for 24 hours. (No blow dryer).

A family member spilled a LARGE tumbler of water across the back of my open T61, washing across the key board and palm rest, and my machine is working fine after utilizing the above course of action.

This is the best way to deal with a spill on your Laptop (Investment).

I could not have said/explained it any better! Great Info Here!!!

Sircas

[eyecon82]

Good thing you got it under protection now..

also if you used amex..they automatically have a 90 day accidental damage/theft coverage on it

[Truthfinder]

The best way to handle this is NOT to drink soda or coffee while at the ThinkPad.......................BUT, accidents do happen. Glad you were able to pick up the Accidental Protection plan.

Anyway, check to make sure your insternal battery didn't get any liquid / sugar in it. You may want to remove this battery and clean it up.

Liquid has a way of running into places that are not even close to the original spill.


Best of luck.

[eecon]

The best way to handle this is NOT to drink soda or coffee while at the ThinkPad.......................BUT, accidents do happen. Glad you were able to pick up the Accidental Protection plan.

Anyway, check to make sure your insternal battery didn't get any liquid / sugar in it. You may want to remove this battery and clean it up.

Liquid has a way of running into places that are not even close to the original spill.


Best of luck.

Consider investing in an external KB, , mouse, minidock and monitor when using at home with your favorite brew .... let that KB become the sacrifical annode

[acasto]

The best way to handle this is NOT to drink soda or coffee while at the ThinkPad.......

I can't imagine that even being an option. Actually, thinking about it, I can't remember a time when I've been at my Thinkpad without coffee or something

It would be nice if Lenovo made a spill resistant Thinkpad coffee mug out of the same materials as the Thinkpad itself and included one free with every protection plan purchase.

[rlchapin]

Agreed. No coffee around my computer? Why would i bother ever turning it on

Anyway, after 6 days it has been fine. No residual issues.

Thanks for help & support in these difficult times.

-Bob

[fbrdphreak]

I had a similar experience with my X60 Tablet. Hazelnut coffee with cream & sugar ALL OVER the keyboard. I was in a coffee shop too, so no disassembly there. I cut it off, pulled the battery, cleaned it up well and headed home.

Note: my system did not shutoff, I had to kill it.

There I disassembled the keyboard and found zero coffee inside. There was some small traces around the edge of the plastic, but nothing on the internal components. I did see residue from where the drain did its job. I let it dry a couple hours and began using it again.

All was well for an hour+ till it cut off suddenly. I pulled things apart and found no trace of liquid inside. Giving up, I planned to send it in for service but switched to my backup Z61p.

I ended up removing the keyboard on a hunch, and it boots perfectly. I put my wife's X61T keyboard on it, booted fine, and ran PC Doctor. All results good. Left it running for several hours - still good.

A new keyboard is on it's way and my tablet isn't dead!