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wynn · Feb 26, 2003, 02:34 PM

i spilt coffee into the top left part of my keyboard/power button area :|

i unplugged the ac, shutdown the unit and took out the battery (all while holding the unit upside down so that the coffee wouldn't run into the guts. popped off the keyboard and dried off what i could. now it's sitting on it's side with a fan blowing at it.

should i take it a step further and open up the case completely to make sure that there isnt coffee deep inside?

what a bummer.... poor gigabook....

skyman · Feb 26, 2003, 03:54 PM

Originally posted by wynn:
i spilt coffee into the top left part of my keyboard/power button area :|

i unplugged the ac, shutdown the unit and took out the battery (all while holding the unit upside down so that the coffee wouldn't run into the guts. popped off the keyboard and dried off what i could. now it's sitting on it's side with a fan blowing at it.

should i take it a step further and open up the case completely to make sure that there isnt coffee deep inside?

what a bummer.... poor gigabook....

Once the coffee evaporates you should be just fine.

PBG4 User · Feb 26, 2003, 04:00 PM

I'd give it 48 hours under the fan at least. If you can, remove the bottom cover to make sure there's no pooling in the base.

Good luck!

vmarks · Feb 26, 2003, 07:54 PM

got a dehumidifier? this will take the moisture out more quickly.

wynn · Feb 26, 2003, 07:59 PM

thanks for the hints, guys. is there a site with a diy on how to open up the tibook? i want to be extra sure that all is dry inside before i fire her back up.

thanks!

iChristopher · Feb 26, 2003, 11:53 PM

Was it black coffee? Did you have any real sugar in there? I think sugar is very bad for PowerBooks. I had about 12-ounces of water dumped into my old TiBook and 3-days later it booted back up and worked.

wynn · Feb 27, 2003, 06:28 PM

black with cream. no sugar.

do you, or anyone here, have a site that shows how to open up a powerbook? i want to make sure that everything inside has dried up. my power button feels gooey.

Buck_W · Feb 28, 2003, 12:15 AM

Originally posted by wynn:
black with cream. no sugar.

do you, or anyone here, have a site that shows how to open up a powerbook? i want to make sure that everything inside has dried up. my power button feels gooey.

Do you have the manual that came with it? There are detailed instructions inside. You will need a Torx T-8 screw driver.

If you don't have manual, you can download it online here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50120

serranot · Feb 28, 2003, 02:05 PM

For sale--one used Gigabook. Will not boot in the morning unless coffee is spilled on keyboard. Requires at least one spill every hour or a kernel panic ensues and the sad mac face is displayed. Make offer.

macrophyllum · Feb 28, 2003, 07:07 PM

Must be a bad coffee day. My girlfriend spilled a little coffee on your Pismo.

We disconnected all power and let it dry out. No coffee got inside, just on the keyboard. Now when we start it up some keys act as if they are down all the time, other keys don't work.

Do you think I should clean the keyboard with distilled water? Or is it fried?

Please help... :-(

OpenStep · Feb 28, 2003, 07:46 PM

On the pismo I would just replace the keyboard. I replaced mine and it was under $100 for a brand new one (multiple keys snapped off and Apple wouldn't repair it).

Vond · Mar 2, 2003, 09:13 PM

Originally posted by macrophyllum:
We disconnected all power and let it dry out. No coffee got inside, just on the keyboard. Now when we start it up some keys act as if they are down all the time, other keys don't work.

Do you think I should clean the keyboard with distilled water? Or is it fried?

Wait a while. I submerged my Pismo keyboard in clean tapwater for a really good cleaning, and tried plugging it in after a day of drying. I got strange behavior on a few keys, such as not working, but when I pulled them off, I noticed there was still water under the little nipples which sense the keystrokes - another day of drying and it was back to normal operation and clean as a whistle.

Keyboards for the most part can't be damaged by temporary exposure to liquid. In fact, I have some institutional contact cleaner for PCI boards and the like, which is a liquid - it says to spray it on, let the liquid run off, and wait for any remainder to dry.

vmarks · Mar 3, 2003, 11:25 AM

The difference between tap water and distilled water or the PCI board cleaner is this:

Tap water has minerals in it. The minerals are bad for electronics.

Use distilled or the evaporative PCI board cleaner, but not tap water. On keyboards, this is generally okay, but on electronics like the USB hub in desktop keyboards... less okay.

danbrew · Mar 3, 2003, 11:17 PM

The big question is decafe or regular? If regular, I would *not* try to start the machine. I've spilled decafe on a machine and had no problems - yet, believe it or not, a spill with regular coffee had all sorts of problems.

macrophyllum · Mar 3, 2003, 11:26 PM

It was regular. The keyboard is all messed up despite days of drying. I ordered a new keyboard form e-bay.

finalfantasy · Mar 3, 2003, 11:39 PM

Originally posted by serranot:
For sale--one used Gigabook. Will not boot in the morning unless coffee is spilled on keyboard. Requires at least one spill every hour or a kernel panic ensues and the sad mac face is displayed. Make offer.

haha, how about tea?