spilt wine caused keyboard problems, pls help

[Helen]

Not sure if anyone can help apart from advising to go to a repair shop but here goes! My daughter knocked my wine over our brand new laptop the other day. I turned it upside down and dryed it with towles and it worked fine for an hour or so. Now most of the keys don't work but they ALL do in the password box when I log on. An external keyboard works fine. I have tried the recovery disc as there wasn't anything I needed to save on the laptop but it changed nothing. I don't really have the funds to take it to a repair shop and wouldn't know where to take it if I did. Any suggestions? Would removing the keyboard and cleaning it help and if so how do I do it? Thanks in advance, Helen:)

[Tootech]

Hi Helen,

 

Could be an easy fix but not always.

 

A repair shop is faced with a bit of dilema as the first fix is to remove the keyboard, check it all over and maybe clean the internal components. If that doesn't work (and I doubt it will) a replacement keyboard is in order.

 

The dilema is that if the laptop doesn't run properly after the keyboard replacement you still have to pay as the repair shop has paid out for it.

 

From there you are looking at total stripdown to clean all of the connectors and plugs - can help, and then reassembly to check it again.

 

Its worth having a look on ebay for a 2nd hand keyboard - they are cheap enough and in alot of cases are fairly easy to fit.

 

What is the make and model of your laptop? we can have a look at the keyboard removal process, and advise you further.

[Helen]

Thanks for your help :) It's a samsung r510. It's definitely worth replacing the keyboard then and hoping it will sort the problem. Only thing is I have tried to remove a keyboard before on an old acer and couldn't even get it out lol.

[Jelly Bean]

Helen a friend of my Kirsty spilt a whole pint glass on her older Dell laptop a few weeks ago.

 

My advice I gave her was to tip the latop on one edge and let the water drain from the laptop and leave it propped up for a few days to dry out then try and see if it will work,lucky for her it dried out and all is fine.

 

I noticed you dried the laptop off then a little switched it on.

 

You should do as I told Kirsty leave it proped up for a few days to dry out properly.

 

Then see if it works.

 

I would not advise you yourself to remove or replace the laptop keyboard,did you not take out insurerance on the laptop when you bought it?

[Tony D]

If you're going to trash the keyboard, before doing so, remove it from the laptop. Wash it gently in water is a drop or two of dishwashing detergent. Rinse thouroughly and let it dry throughly. This might disolve the dried wine which may be causing short circuits in the keyboard. It may be worth a try.

[Helen]

Thanks again for your help. No I don't have insurance or even accidental damage with the contents :( Samsung have advised the keyboard would probably need replacing but I didn't mention that wine was spilt on it. I know if I send it back to them, once opened the spillage will be obvious so the warranty would be void :( I can only find 1 store online that sell the correct keyboard for £55. I'm worried if I take it to a repair shop they will charge me such an amount that it wouldn't be worth doing. Hence why the cleaning or replacing option sounds the best atm. I will try and find instructions online and see if it's easy enough, if not I won't bother as I may cause more damage :(

[maynardvdm]

Hi

 

Have a look here, i could not find specific instructions, but these are general guidelines:

 

Learn How To Remove A Laptop Keyboard

 

How to Replace the Keyboard in a Laptop | eHow.com

[Tootech]

A genuine repair shop should charge you about £45 plus the cost of the keyboard.

 

Its normally a case of removing the panel above the keyboard, taking out 1 or 2 screws underneath, disconnecting the keyboard and replacing it. All in an hours work or less.

 

I can't find a service manual so I can't advise you how to do it. Have you thought about asking Samsung for a repair quote?

[Plastic Nev]

As well as the links Maynard gave, and also Tootechs advice, have a look on this site for general laptop repair help-

Laptop Repair Help

Also, perhaps obvious, but please remember to remove the laptops battery and charger connection before starting to disassemble it.

Nev.

[BeeCeeBee]

When I was living in Ireland I spilled coffee on my laptop keyboard and basically destroyed it. I dealt with a UK company off ebay called ACD Electronics. I don't have a link but I am sure you can find them. I got a brand new (Chinese manufacture ) keyboard that has served me well. It was under 20 stirling if I am correct. I had a small problem with one of the keys but did not want to return it and be without a keyboard. They actually got in touch with the manufacturer and had them mail me a replacement key and hinge.

 

So If you feel comfortable replacing the keyboard they may be worth a try.

[Dalo Harkin]

This might disolve the dried wine which may be causing short circuits in the keyboard. It may be worth a try.

 

Last time I checked a dried material made from Grapes would not conduct anything ;)

 

I have seen allsorts used to dry lappys and mobiles and my personal favourite is the rice, get some rice (straight from packet no need to cook :D)

And put the object in pan with the rice and the rice absorbs the water/liquid.

It works on phones, lappys have plenty of ventilation holes so you may want to remove everything you can before attempting this

[Tootech]

Last time I checked a dried material made from Grapes would not conduct anything

lol - its normally the sugar that causes problems.

 

The drying out isn't the problem, its the residues that are left behind :)

[Dalo Harkin]

He he sarcasm at its finest, was the intended outcome :D

[RandyL]

I've had all sorts of liquids cause problems on electrical components in all sorts of devices. Beer, wine, sodas, koolaid and water for example.

 

In a few lucky cases no damage was done after drying but not usually the case. There is also the issue of corrosion and acidic or alkaline materials.

 

In some cases the devices worked fine. In most cases they only worked fine temporarily. In one case I got free movie channels for a week before the cable box quit working altogether.

 

There might be unseen damage which is impossible to determine without inspection or cleaning or replacing of parts.

 

But the bottom line is that going inside a laptop for all but basic repairs is probably not a wise thing to do unless you are skilled or confident.

 

That's my opinion.