Almost (or may have already) screwed up a fairly new Netbook, need tech advice

eastcoasteddie · #1 03-01-2010, 04:32 PM

So I bought an Asus 1005HA netbook in August, still under 1 year manufacturers warranty.
Yesterday morning, I power it up and begin to sitdown with my coffee (no freeze-dried taster's choice, I drink the fancy gourmet s***). can you see where this is going?

And as I'm putting the coffee down, about an inch or 2 away from the table, the cup slips out of my hand and spills the entire cup on the table.

Only about 5-8 drops or so hit the keyboard around the TAB button and near where the screen pivots in that corner. As I'm trying to move all my stuff away from the coffee spill, and reaching for the netbook to turn it off, the screen goes black and it shuts off by itself.

I spent a great deal of time and effort to clean it up with paper towels & q-tips with a bit of rubbing alcohol. I also set it on its side and let any coffee drain out of it (which it did)

I was able to power it up after a few tries of it shuting down at the Windows opening screen. It started to work yesterday evening, but the keyboard did nothing.

I kept it on for most of the evening, and I took it to work today and kept it on, hoping that any heat it generates will evaporate any moisture still in it.

I also had an idea to bleed compressed, dry nitrogen into the air-flow vents (I use nitrogen at work), and the keyboard functions started coming back.

At this point, about 85-90% of it is back, but it still acts a bit funky; such as:
pressing either 9 or 0 will prompt both 9 and 0 to come up. Hitting either ( or ) will give me both. Hitting the ' will give me ' and 2, etc. Also, the touch pad works, but for some reason, I can't "tap" to select anything, until I open the "mouse menu" in Control Panel, and then it works.

I went back to where I bought it and they said that I have to contact Asus since it's been a while ( I didn't mention the coffee...play dumb). They'd swap it out for me if it was like a month old, but not 6.

Do you think it's screwed, or should I give it another couple of days to dry out?

I think if I send it to Asus, they'll probably investigate and find some old coffee and charge me to fix it....or they may just send me a new one....what'cha think?

hover · #2 03-01-2010, 04:51 PM

I would have never powered it up until I was sure it was dried out...I think yer in fer a repair bill.

eastcoasteddie · #3 03-01-2010, 05:05 PM

how do you know when it's dry??? it was about 5 hours before I powere it up again.

Nappa · #4 03-01-2010, 05:21 PM

Does it smell like coffee? Most standard warranties are voided when water/liquid is involved.

**bassybill** · #5 03-01-2010, 05:26 PM

I did something similar a few months ago with a newish laptop. I claimed on my home contents insurance to get a replacement.

eastcoasteddie · #6 03-01-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Does it smell like coffee? Most standard warranties are voided when water/liquid is involved.

yeah, I know.....that's why I'm a bit nervous about sending it in...
But the odor is subsiding.....it used to smell so good, I wanted to open it and lick the coffee out...
I have it on right now, and I don't smell any coffee anymore (out of the fan exhaust)

McHaven · #7 03-01-2010, 05:28 PM

I had a recent spill experience with my Acer laptop. They fixed it free of charge. I sent it in as a "power issue". Generally, ASUS and Acer both have such little markershare in the US that they are willing to do out of warranty repairs and/or voided warranty coverage. You can always try sending it in. Or, if it is functioning again, buy a replacement keyboard and install it yourself.

eastcoasteddie · #8 03-01-2010, 05:31 PM

I cleaned it up so well, that when I took it to the place I bought it from, they guy who looked at it said "doesn't look like any damage from water or anything....I'd send it in as a malfunction"

eastcoasteddie · #9 03-03-2010, 02:41 PM

I called tech support and after the usual things they had me do to narrow the problem down (drivers, system restore), they deemed that the keyboard is malfunctioning.

I'm having them send me a new keyboard, it is rediculously easy to swap out, takes about 4 minutes. I took the keyboard out yesterday to look at it and to see if there were globs of dried up coffee under it or in it....barely any. There was just one spot that had very minimal evidence of liquid on it, and that was on a steel plate covering the motherboard & stuff.

Hopefully the keyboard is the problem.

But I've been thinking...and please bare with me in my thought process. I really don't kow much about how each piece of hardware works in conjunction with one another; perhaps any IT guys can correct my thinking....

The keyboard has a ribbon cable that plugs into the motherboard. What are the chances that the keyboard IS functioning properly, but the motherboard is not interpreting the information that the keyboard is sending...and types out funky wierd stuff on a few of the keys. Or is that just not a possibility? Is what you type directly related to the information that the keyboard sends to the motherboard in plain [computer] language, and does not rely on any kind of interpretation?

If no one can answer this, I guess I'll just wait for the keyboard and see if that fixes it. If not, I'll be sending my netbook out and prepare to be billed...!

blendermassacre · #10 03-03-2010, 04:42 PM

there is a chance that the motherboard isn't responding, but the only way to know is by switching out for a new keyboard.

Nappa · #11 03-03-2010, 06:34 PM

Do you have any other keyboards? (USB keyboards commonly used with desktops)

eastcoasteddie · #12 03-03-2010, 07:03 PM

nope, I'm in the stone age...no USB keyboards...

ErebusBass · #13 03-04-2010, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eastcoasteddie

I called tech support and after the usual things they had me do to narrow the problem down (drivers, system restore), they deemed that the keyboard is malfunctioning.

I'm having them send me a new keyboard, it is rediculously easy to swap out, takes about 4 minutes. I took the keyboard out yesterday to look at it and to see if there were globs of dried up coffee under it or in it....barely any. There was just one spot that had very minimal evidence of liquid on it, and that was on a steel plate covering the motherboard & stuff.

Hopefully the keyboard is the problem.

But I've been thinking...and please bare with me in my thought process. I really don't kow much about how each piece of hardware works in conjunction with one another; perhaps any IT guys can correct my thinking....

The keyboard has a ribbon cable that plugs into the motherboard. What are the chances that the keyboard IS functioning properly, but the motherboard is not interpreting the information that the keyboard is sending...and types out funky wierd stuff on a few of the keys. Or is that just not a possibility? Is what you type directly related to the information that the keyboard sends to the motherboard in plain [computer] language, and does not rely on any kind of interpretation?

If no one can answer this, I guess I'll just wait for the keyboard and see if that fixes it. If not, I'll be sending my netbook out and prepare to be billed...!

You're just going to have to install the keyboard and see if that fixes it. If it doesn't, they might send you a new computer if you play dumb.

MIJ-VI · #14 03-04-2010, 04:07 AM

I'd expect that some local computer shops may carry netbook-sized variants of these for a test fit before purchase:

Laptop Keyboard Protector Shield that's Disposable

eastcoasteddie · #15 03-04-2010, 04:35 AM

is that saran-wrap?

Buslady7803 · #16 03-04-2010, 08:54 AM

i have the same netbook...ah well, i think you'll be fine. i was gonna say replace the kb. so i'll be quiet now... :P
ASUS is one of the better makers anyways

need4mospd · #17 03-04-2010, 09:04 AM

My wife sloshed a couple drops on to the keyboard of my out of warranty Asus and the thing is ****in toast. It was literally a couple drops that splashed out as she set the coffee down. She knew exactly what to do and yanked the battery out before it could shut itself down. I took as much of it apart as possible and cleaned it and let it dry for 24 hours. The keyboard didn't work right when I booted it up, but it seemed like everything else worked. I found a replacement keyboard for like $20, but it never worked right after that and it eventually stopped booting up.

eastcoasteddie · #18 03-16-2010, 07:13 PM

UPDATE:

got the new keyboard today. Popped it in and everything works great.
whew!!!!!1!1!1!