Need Help Recovering from a Spill

I accidentally spilled soup over my keyboard today. The screen immediately shut and I had to manually turn off the laptop. I followed a teardown video on youtube and removed the keyboard and palm rest. I dried everything that i saw was wet. The bottom portion of the motherboard that is right under the left palm rest was pretty wet. The rest of the laptop is mostly dry. So i took a paper towel and dried the parts that were wet. I put it back together and now the laptop won't even turn on.

2 Problems right now:

I really need to recover the information from the hard drive. The HDD is completely dry. I tried to insert the HDD to another laptop, a Dell Latitude, but it wouldn't boot up. Like I got past the initial "Black Dell screen" where you get to press boot options. After that screen, it will say "Loading Files" or something like that and then it will just go back to the Dell screen shortly after. How do I make the HDD work on another laptop? This is the most urgent issue.

Secondly, I am out of warranty so what would be the best way to fix it? How much am I looking at to get it fixed? I live in Canada by the way.

Thanks for your help.

 

well for one, it's better to use a mobile hdd enclosure, something like Amazon.com: Acomdata USB 2.0 2.5-Inch SATA Hard Disk Enclosure HDEXXUP-240-BLK (Black): Electronics

instead of using it as a boot drive on another laptop (so you don't have to mess with drivers and other proprietary software it may have).

just use the Dell latitude's own harddrive boot it up and plug in the enclosure to access your files.

with the cost of fixing it, it really depends on where you'll have it fixed and what actually was damaged + cleaning what's left of the soup and replacement parts if necessary.

 

Thanks, I will buy one of those at my local computer store. As for fixing it, what is the most expensive part? The motherboard? And where is the best place to get it fixed? If it's gonna cost me like $400, I'm not sure if it's worth it to fix.

 

This is way to common unfortunately... its best to clean it and be certain its dry before attempting power up. Using a paper towel will not suffice. I'm not picking on you but hoping the next guy doing a search finds this first.

Geekz nailed it. You cant easily boot from that hd in another system. An enclosure is not too expensive or for a small fee you can have your data transferred for you by a shop to other media. Software is a different story and no point copying it usually.

If REALLY lucky:
Take out battery, do NOT power it up until you are certain the MB is clean and dry. If air drying while still in the case it may take DAYS. You only get one shot at this usually so likely its too late but you can use something like this:
Electronic Circuit Board Cleaner Spray Can - Jaycar Electronics
Precision Electronics Cleaner - RadioShack.com

It evaporates fairly quickly and should do a good job of removing the soup (no doubt salty).

 

If you have already tried to boot it, you've already fried your motherboard, and it is likely that the method others suggested will not work anymore.

The hard drive should be okay, try the enclosure the others have suggested.

As for the motherboard.... it should already be dead.. Should cost you a lot, depending on the model of the laptop you have.

 

That's unfortunate to hear. I thought the paper towel + hair drying would do the trick. But I will still try the suggestion with the electronics cleaner. I guess I will call Dell and see how much it will cost. It's sad that my laptop has to suffer an untimely death.

 

R2 motherboards are reasonably cheap around $250 on ebay, as Ryan has already said if you ever in future spill liquid on your keyboard. Immediately power off, clean up what you can see then strip down to the mobo even remove any component and clean under it, remove what ever you can see then, wash every wet component with IPA. Clean everything until it is spotless - leave until totally dry then recheck for sticky spots, find any re clean cos you haven't done a proper job the first time.

Once totally dry and clean reassemble and cross your fingers cos you may have been slow on the shutdown and it's fried anyway!!!!

 

I had my prior laptop get a full cup of water spilled on it and it was shut off by short before I could do much. Flipped it over and yanked the batt - easier than M11x.

Took it apart but did not have anything to clean it or anything to dry it with so it sat for more than a day! Used the cleaner and canned air then assembled. Got lucky only one mem bank failed.

The reason you might get lucky is that whatever shorted it might still be there so cleaning it might still save you. Slim chance but no harm trying.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. How do I go about cleaning the motherboard and components? Do I just submerge them into the electronics cleaner/isopropyl alcohol?

 

When I spilled juice on my m11x, the display goes off, but the laptop is not turned off by holding the button. Turned off only when I pulled the battery. In those two minutes of my life I panicked the most Then I examine it in minute detail, all rubbing alcohol and dried one day. The keyboard does have to wash in the shower to get rid of sugar.

After half year, still works like a charm. Good luck with you.

 

is a spill like this covered under accidental damage at Dell?

 

It should be covered under house insurance. At least in the UK it would be.

Also if you have a pc in your house you'll probably find you have a spare sata connector on the mainboard. Its easy to just plug your M11x HDD into a spare port (don't forget the power cable too) boot off the usual drive in the pc and then copy your data. Saves buying a 2.5" caddy.

 

I went and bought an enclosure today and was able to recover the necessary files. I also bought a bottle of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol as well as a can of compressed gas in order to clean the motherboard. How do I go about doing this?
I was thinking of pouring the Isopropyl into a tray and then just submerge the motherboard and other components into it. Shake it a bit and then lift it back up. After it dries, I will just the compress gas and blow out any loose debris.
Also, since I am extremely busy for the next couple of weeks, it is ok to wait until afterward to clean it? Will my success rate of recovering the laptop decrease?

 

If I remember correctly, over time, contacts may be oxidized.

 

There is no right answer only anecdotal evidence

Submerging might be ok as some do it that way but I'm not sure if the M11x is best served that way or not

Personally I would spot clean with qtips. If the whole board is soupy then maybe dunk it.

I would clean it NOW and let it dry while you travel. I have not used the alky and not sure what mix is best so in absence of good info would use the canned air to help the cleaning/drying

 

Thanks for the tips. If I use a QTip, wouldn't the cotton get stuck on the motherboard?

 

Portions of the mb might have "hooks" that grab but a quality brand wet qtip does not fall apart easily. This is just an idea though. Go with your gut on what it's going to take. Remember this might not even work

I suspect you need either scrubbing or pressure to really clean this thing. A towel isn't any more practical in my view than qtip. Even microfiber can get caught on the mb.

I doubt the entire board is contaminated