Coffee spill onto notebook "New Hardware Found"

Like a coffee crazed fool I tipped over a cup of coffee into my dual core HP Compaq... the thing is about a year old and still sells for over $2,500 on HPs website, so obviously I was a little bummed to say the least.

After removing the keyboard and letting it "dry" overnight I'm mercifully able to boot into Windows...

Unfortunately, I keep getting "New Hardware Found Wizard" popping up for:

IEEE 1394 Hardware Controller
PCMCIA
Mass Storage Controller

These are the devices that are on the same side as the coffee spill...

Any suggestions? The Local HP Service center wants to replace the motherboard... but obviously the processor and GPU (FireGL v5200) are functional or I couldn't boot.

 

Lucky for you, engadget recently just did a piece on what to do if you spilled something on your laptop:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/20/what-to-do-if-you-spill-liquid-on-your-laptop/

But if you're still under warranty, it may just be best to send it back to HP. Opening up your computer and risinging the components in water will most definately void any warranty you have left.

 

Well I too am a coffee crazed fool, I've done similar in the past but have been lucky enough to towel it in time and didn't have any problems. It sounds to me like you should atleast send it in to be checked out, aside from the CPU, everything like the GPU and the connectors are built into the motherboard.

 

I cannot think of anything to do.In the best case you might be able to open the Notebook and clean the splattered parts - make sure that doesn't void your warranty (with alcohol but make sure you have disconnected the battery and the AC supply)

 

I suggest you to use a contact cleanner to do this job.