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Operating System Specific Discussions => Other Operating Systems => Topic started by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 12:44:33 PM

Title: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 12:44:33 PM
Late Christmas Eve I was celebrating in my preferred manner, namely at home with a large glass of rum and my girl friend.

Both of our laptops were on the table, with my one playing some documentary from the 4oD website... Then disaster happened. I knocked over my glass of rum... It flew majestically through the air and landed upside down upon the glowing keyboard of my 15" MacBook Pro. With a fizz and a pop, the machine went dead.

I paused for a second, with my instincts urging me to push the power button and make it work again, the tears welling up inside me, for this is not a new machine but with 8Gig RAM and a 2.8Hgz dual core processor I was hoping for at least 2 more years out of it... but somewhere deep in my brain, a voice kept me from hitting the power button. I yanked the power cord out, flipped the machine over and pulled the battery. OK, I thought, all power sources removed this is my last best hope.

I grabbed my tool kit and removed the back of the machine. Looking inside I found a fair bit of rum soaking the chips, so with the corner of some tissue paper I carefully soaked up all liquids I could see... Then I went to bed.

The next day my girl friend and I went down to see her mother, so I left the machine to "dry out" for the next 3 days. When we got home I check the board and it was clear of any liquid, so I attached the power cable to see if the indicator light would illuminate... it did not. Resigning myself to the inevitability of a new laptop purchase, I reassembled the laptop.

With the battery now in place I opted for one last try of the power button. Nothing.

Then my girlfriend, reached over and held the button down... the machine lurched into life... and appears to be working fine... also the sticky keys on the keyboard are now much less sticky! Win-Win!

So if you spill on your electronics, get the power off ASAP, and don't turn it on until you are sure it's dry.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Krischan76 on December 28, 2011, 12:54:32 PM
Quote from: bloodline;673234
So if you spill on your electronics, get the power off ASAP, and don't turn it on until you are sure it's dry.
Or drink pure alcohol since it does neither conduct electricity nor become sticky when dry. ;-)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Kesa on December 28, 2011, 01:35:18 PM
HAHA! This happened me last year. I spilt sparkly wine on my laptop keyboard when just a wee little bit drunk. Not much more than a small amount went into the keyboard then it shut off after getting the blue screen of death. Luckily everything was OK except the hard drive and the sticky keyboard. The keyboard never became unsticky and was forced to replace the hard drive. When i opened it up the day after it happened the hard drive was all sticky and had stains of coffee powder :confused: all over it. I never unplugged it but i did try tipping it upside down.  

Also last year i went surfing and forgot to take my phone out my pocket and only realized it was in there as i walked out the water and noticed my thigh was vibrating. I tried putting it in a bowl of dry rice so the rice would absorb the water but nothing happened (i think that's a prank off the net). I learnt afterwards that with salt water you have less than 30 seconds to take the battery out but with fresh water it doesn't matter how long it is in the water. It should be fine. I'm curious to how rum and alcohol would affect electronics...
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Kesa on December 28, 2011, 01:37:26 PM
Quote from: Krischan76;673237
Or drink pure alcohol since it does neither conduct electricity nor become sticky when dry. ;-)

No thanks. I don't want to die!

Anyway isn't pure alcohol ethanol which is poisonous?  :confused:
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Krischan76 on December 28, 2011, 01:43:38 PM
Quote from: Kesa;673243
No thanks. I don't want to die!

Anyway isn't pure alcohol ethanol which is poisonous?  :confused:


The amount makes the poison. ;-) (Methanol is way more dangerous.)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: _ThEcRoW on December 28, 2011, 01:46:27 PM
Did you need to open the case and desolder the battery to unplug it?. On my MacBook pro 15, the battery isn't at hand, like on the 13".
Good that you managed to get it running.

Quote from: bloodline;673234
Late Christmas Eve I was celebrating in my preferred manner, namely at home with a large glass of rum and my girl friend.

Both of our laptops were on the table, with my one playing some documentary from the 4oD website... Then disaster happened. I knocked over my glass of rum... It flew majestically through the air and landed upside down upon the glowing keyboard of my 15" MacBook Pro. With a fizz and a pop, the machine went dead.

I paused for a second, with my instincts urging me to push the power button and make it work again, the tears welling up inside me, for this is not a new machine but with 8Gig RAM and a 2.8Hgz dual core processor I was hoping for at least 2 more years out of it... but somewhere deep in my brain, a voice kept me from hitting the power button. I yanked the power cord out, flipped the machine over and pulled the battery. OK, I thought, all power sources removed this is my last best hope.

I grabbed my tool kit and removed the back of the machine. Looking inside I found a fair bit of rum soaking the chips, so with the corner of some tissue paper I carefully soaked up all liquids I could see... Then I went to bed.

The next day my girl friend and I went down to see her mother, so I left the machine to "dry out" for the next 3 days. When we got home I check the board and it was clear of any liquid, so I attached the power cable to see if the indicator light would illuminate... it did not. Resigning myself to the inevitability of a new laptop purchase, I reassembled the laptop.

With the battery now in place I opted for one last try of the power button. Nothing.

Then my girlfriend, reached over and held the button down... the machine lurched into life... and appears to be working fine... also the sticky keys on the keyboard are now much less sticky! Win-Win!

So if you spill on your electronics, get the power off ASAP, and don't turn it on until you are sure it's dry.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 02:05:11 PM
Quote from: _ThEcRoW;673246
Did you need to open the case and desolder the battery to unplug it?. On my MacBook pro 15, the battery isn't at hand, like on the 13".
Good that you managed to get it running.
My MBP is a Late 2008 model, so I have a removable battery... Which has the disadvantage of a much smaller capacity than the soldered one.

The rum was actually "spiced rum", and thus my machine now has a pleasant aroma of vanilla :)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Kesa on December 28, 2011, 02:07:34 PM
Quote from: bloodline;673249
My MBP is a Late 2008 model, so I have a removable battery... Which has the disadvantage of a much smaller capacity than the soldered one.

The rum was actually "spiced rum", and thus my machine now has a pleasant aroma of vanilla :)

Cool! My smells like watermelon and coffee.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: HenryCase on December 28, 2011, 02:53:31 PM
Quote from: bloodline;673249
The rum was actually "spiced rum", and thus my machine now has a pleasant aroma of vanilla :)


Sailor Jerry's? That stuff is boss! Sailor Jerry's and Coke tastes like Frosties (the sweets, not the cereal)! :-)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: TheMagicM on December 28, 2011, 03:14:37 PM
which brand rum?   I had some Kraken and Pyrat on Monday.. fixing to buy about 4 bottles of various kinds for my bday coming up in January.  :)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 03:37:00 PM
"Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum", a friend of mine worked on the promotion for that brand this summer and I picked up quite a taste for the stuff ;)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: jj on December 28, 2011, 04:14:55 PM
Glad to see you are a rum drinker.  Been addicted to it since a two week holiday Jamaica several years ago.
 
I two have more than once tipped drinks in laptops.  Mine have niever switched themselves off but I have always yanked power supplies and batt retty quickly myself.
 
My dell I currently use has had three drinks poured in it and is still working fine.
 
I very much like captain morgans, lambs is far too rough.  My friend only yesterday gave me a lite of morgans spice, so will be having a few of those when i get home from work thjis evening.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 04:59:25 PM
Quote from: JJ;673278
Glad to see you are a rum drinker.  Been addicted to it since a two week holiday Jamaica several years ago.
 
I two have more than once tipped drinks in laptops.  Mine have niever switched themselves off but I have always yanked power supplies and batt retty quickly myself.
 
My dell I currently use has had three drinks poured in it and is still working fine.
 
I very much like captain morgans, lambs is far too rough.  My friend only yesterday gave me a lite of morgans spice, so will be having a few of those when i get home from work thjis evening.
I've been a dark rum drinker for years (sometimes mixed with ginger beer for a nice kick)... but only recently turned on to spiced rum.

Actually this reminds me of the time I opened up my beloved A1200 to put it into a new case in 2002 (The old one was in a horrible state), as I lifted the mother board out it appeared to be stuck to the lower half of the case... Closer examination revealed the adhesive to be a sticky brown, sweet smelling "gunk"...

I thought back to 1993... I used to rest mugs of hot chocolate on the vents at the back... sure some would spill down there, but the machine never gave out so I just continued this practice... Hardy beasts the Amigas :)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Tripitaka on December 28, 2011, 05:29:25 PM
I drink rarely these days but when I do, I too prefer a dark rum (and have done for over 20 years). OVD with a good cola is my preferred choice. Fentiman's curiosity cola is a particularly good mixer.

Maybe we should have a rum appreciation social group.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: zipper on December 28, 2011, 05:39:12 PM
Just took some Cappuccino mixed with a little Capt. Morgan...
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: Lando on December 28, 2011, 09:55:23 PM
I'm happy your MBP was ok in the end.

Last year I had my Macbook Pro in a thin fabric backpack, and it slipped from my shoulder when I was reaching for something and landed on the tiled floor at work, the laptop hit the floor right on the corner from like 5 feet and made a loud noise.  I didn't even want to take it out because I was afraid of what I might see.  When I finally did open it, there was a ding on the corner of the aluminum casing and... that was it, no cracked screen, no other visible damage and everything worked perfectly.  I was so relieved.  Thank God for Apple build quality.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 10:28:23 PM
Quote from: Lando;673318
I'm happy your MBP was ok in the end.

Last year I had my Macbook Pro in a thin fabric backpack, and it slipped from my shoulder when I was reaching for something and landed on the tiled floor at work, the laptop hit the floor right on the corner from like 5 feet and made a loud noise.  I didn't even want to take it out because I was afraid of what I might see.  When I finally did open it, there was a ding on the corner of the aluminum casing and... that was it, no cracked screen, no other visible damage and everything worked perfectly.  I was so relieved.  Thank God for Apple build quality.
About 6 years ago I had a 12" PowerBook in a rucksack... I was sitting on the tube and when we got to Kings Cross, everyone got up to get off the train. My bag fell over and a large gentleman stood on it... I heard creaking and splintering, and my mind could only imagine the state of my laptop inside :'(

When I got to my destination I opened my bag, expecting to find a PowerBook kit... Only to discover the machine was fine... And is still in use with my father to this day!
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: ajlwalker on December 28, 2011, 10:42:13 PM
How curious.  Something similar happened to me this festive period.

After relieving myself of a nice satisfying stool and flushing, I proceeded to put my N95 in my jeans pocket.  Somehow it missed and tumbled directly into the toilet bowl.

Without thinking, I instantly thrust my hand into the water and recovered my still illuminated phone.  I immediately switched it off, flipped it over and ripped out the battery.  I also stripped off the outer casing and proceeded to flick the phone into the sink which removed a LOT of water.

After dabbing dry and leaving for 24 hours, it functions perfectly.  The only issue is some cloudiness behind the TFT screen.  I may at some stage strip the phone down and clean that up.  I would like to get another 4 years out the phone after all.

I might add I have never had anything like that happen to me before.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: bloodline on December 28, 2011, 11:50:44 PM
Golden rule here is remove all power sources as soon as possible :)
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: gizz72 on December 29, 2011, 04:32:05 AM
@Bloodline
Glad you got it to work again. :whew: You know, your story kinda reminds me of an old 80's movie, the same thing happend to this computer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Dreams_(film)). :cheers: Happy New Year!
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: fishy_fiz on December 29, 2011, 05:19:35 AM
While I cant share others appreciation for rum, I had a few expecriences with feeding  electronics liquid this year. The 1st instance was from my house flooding. I was in my bedroom cleaning and happened to glance at my doorway which had a large, growing shadow. Upon closer inspection it turned out it wasnt a shadow, but rather the carpet darkening from water. Looking out into the lounge I discovered my lounge was somewhat flooded (maybe 5 or 6 inches of water). I quickly, but cautiously (so as not to disturb the water too much) moved to the power points, which were about an inch from being submerged, turned them off and unplugged the cords (was a little intimidating I must admit,... couldve been seconds from electrocuting myself while wadding through the water).

This was bad enough, but to make it worse I had a house inspection a few days later, so the house was somewhat pulled apart and I had half of my belongings on the floor, ergo submerged. My xb360 was more or less completely submerged, my old 68cm tv was sitting in my inhouse lake, my subwoofer and amp also fairly submerged, my media centre pc, and a few other bits and pieces. I was gutted, thinking Id lost a considerable amount of gear. About a week later I was pretty satisfied that things wouldve been dried out, so cautiously tried all the items I expected to be dead, and discovered, much to my relief that everything had come good again. The only damage done was to the old 68cm crt tv, but even that works fine after about a minute (seems to take about 60 seconds to warm up now).

Then about 6 weeks ago there was a massive hailstorm here. Was crazy, Id never experienced anything like it and I was expecting to roof to cave in at some point. Was quite a spectacle watching golf ball sized hail fall in heavy sheets from the sky. After about 20 minutes it did indeed damage my roof enough that water was getting in at certain points. Two of which were directly above my a1200, and the aformentioned old 68cm tv. Unfortunately it has been effectively pouring water straight into the top of both. They mustve copped at least a few litres each before I noticed and took action.

Another week or so later I decided to try them, expecting the worst, only to find they were both fine with no signs that dirty water had been pouring straight into them.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: jj on December 29, 2011, 10:56:09 AM
I too am starting to appreciate spiced rum but still prefer your normal every day dark rum.
 
I will drink white rum also but its not the same. mmmmmmmm  Cuba Libre, reconised the world over.
Title: Re: A Happy Story for the Holiday
Post by: tone007 on December 29, 2011, 11:05:08 AM
http://www.krakenrum.com/