HELP!!! Wine spilled all over my brand new macbook!!
Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and new to Mac in general. I picked up my new Macbook a mth ago right after Apple updated it. I have been very happy about it and have very much convinced that I can leave the windows world behind..
Well, tonight, I am typing on this forum with my windows pc after my gf spilled red wine all over it!! Yes, the machine was on at the time!! the wine was all over the keyboard, some of the wine seemed to have went inside the keyboard between the keys and some spilled over to the vent at the back of the keyboard!! I quickly put paper towels on top of the keyboard in hope of it absorbing most of the wine. I could hear the fan getting real loud and then the macbook turned itself off. My gf turned it back on, there was nothing on the screen, but we could hear the sound when os x starts up. Still nothing on the screen, then it turned itself off again.
Now I turned the macbook sideways, and I noticed that the wine was coming out from inside the machine!! I kept it tilted for a while to make sure all the wine was out. I took the battery out. the battery compartment was clean. I took a look at the ports (usb, fireware, etc.), everything was clean too, no sign of wine.
My question is, if i turn it on tomorrow and it doesnt work, will apple cover it? Is there anything i can do besides what i've done to help? Let's just say, the video is really fried, how much would it cost to repair?
Sorry for such a long read...i hope you guys will understand my fustration right now! Any help is appreciated!!
I am new to this forum and new to Mac in general. I picked up my new Macbook a mth ago right after Apple updated it. I have been very happy about it and have very much convinced that I can leave the windows world behind..
Well, tonight, I am typing on this forum with my windows pc after my gf spilled red wine all over it!! Yes, the machine was on at the time!! the wine was all over the keyboard, some of the wine seemed to have went inside the keyboard between the keys and some spilled over to the vent at the back of the keyboard!! I quickly put paper towels on top of the keyboard in hope of it absorbing most of the wine. I could hear the fan getting real loud and then the macbook turned itself off. My gf turned it back on, there was nothing on the screen, but we could hear the sound when os x starts up. Still nothing on the screen, then it turned itself off again.
Now I turned the macbook sideways, and I noticed that the wine was coming out from inside the machine!! I kept it tilted for a while to make sure all the wine was out. I took the battery out. the battery compartment was clean. I took a look at the ports (usb, fireware, etc.), everything was clean too, no sign of wine.
My question is, if i turn it on tomorrow and it doesnt work, will apple cover it? Is there anything i can do besides what i've done to help? Let's just say, the video is really fried, how much would it cost to repair?
Sorry for such a long read...i hope you guys will understand my fustration right now! Any help is appreciated!!
Comments
I'm pretty sure AppleCare does not cover this type of incident, but to be perfectly frank, I would pursue it tactfully.
For others, my understanding in such an incident is that you shut the computer off and remove all power sources immediately. Drain the computer as you did and wait several days for it to dry before turning it back on. I don't know that this would have saved you, but it is a safer approach.
Good luck... and hopefully others have some suggestions.
I am at the apple store now...waiting for the Genius. Hope they would do something about it...
Do you have household insurance?
Gave me quite a scare! I was going to contact my house insurance next once I knew what the damage was :P
Thanks guys!!
Using your machine while that stuff is still in there can hasten the process by heating it up and "caramelizing" it.
If at all possible, you should try to clean the boards in your machine, with a cleaning solution recommended for PCBs. Not sure how hard it is to get at the innards of a MacBook, probably not for the unexperienced. Check around to see if anyone in your area can provide this service. With the right tools cracking it open isn't that big a deal, and it will almost certainly be cheaper than a new machine.
Sorry, I don't mean to bum you out, but if you spilled wine "all over" a laptop there is almost certainly dried wine on some of the component parts, and that ain't good.
So I went back to the apple store today, the guy was really helpful and ran diagnostic on it. He said everything passed. I have spoken to him about the suggestion of cleaning the inside of the macbook, he said apple doesnt do this work. However, I could contact a reseller who would. I suggested that if the inside of the macbook is cleaned thoroughly, and that no sign of spillage remains inside, 3 mths down the road, if my macbook starts acting up again, could i get a warranty repair from apple. He said I could, but suggested that I go to another apple store for warranty repair. He said there are 2 systems they use to record incidents. One is stored locally about the discussion I have with the tech at the genius bar and another(which apple has access to) is the work performed by the tech on the machines. If I take it into another apple store, they would not know that I ever spilled anything on it.
i have set up an appointment with a resller on monday. He is going to take it apart and assess the situation for me. He suggested that under the keyboard and trackpad, there is a membrane that seals off the logic board. Chances are, my keyboard assembly may have been damaged. However, I had liquid spilled into the macbook thru the vent in the back, that may have gotten onto the logic board. He suggested that I may have to replace the keyboard out of my pocket and he would clean up everything else inside so that if i something goes wrong with the logic board, apple not knowing the spillage, will replace it for me. I will have more once the machine has been looked at and will update you guys.
Sorry, I don't mean to bum you out, but if you spilled wine "all over" a laptop there is almost certainly dried wine on some of the component parts, and that ain't good.
Thanks for the heads up Addabox...i rather be safe than sorry...well i dont know if it is too late already, but hopefully, with everything cleaned out, I might be able to sneak in a warranty repair if something serious does happen. The logic board would cost me 1200 + tax to repair...not what i want to do for sure!
Thanks for the heads up Addabox...i rather be safe than sorry...well i dont know if it is too late already, but hopefully, with everything cleaned out, I might be able to sneak in a warranty repair if something serious does happen. The logic board would cost me 1200 + tax to repair...not what i want to do for sure!
Good for you, you're doing the smart thing. FYI, you can check to see if the keyboard is the problem yourself by plugging in an external USB keyboard and seeing how that goes.
Hopefully, the spill was contained by the keyboard membrane and that's the only problem (you can get a replacement for $100-$150).
That, plus whatever the guy is charging for disassembly/cleaning is for sure going to be cheaper than a new logic board.
Good for you, you're doing the smart thing. FYI, you can check to see if the keyboard is the problem yourself by plugging in an external USB keyboard and seeing how that goes.
Hopefully, the spill was contained by the keyboard membrane and that's the only problem (you can get a replacement for $100-$150).
That, plus whatever the guy is charging for disassembly/cleaning is for sure going to be cheaper than a new logic board.
The hibernation problem occured after I left it on for an extended period of time. At the moment, I am not going to power the macbook up and let it sit so that i can test it out with your suggestion. I worried that it may damage the logic board in the process. Thanks for the suggestion tho
The hibernation problem occured after I left it on for an extended period of time. At the moment, I am not going to power the macbook up and let it sit so that i can test it out with your suggestion. I worried that it may damage the logic board in the process. Thanks for the suggestion tho
All great news! Good to hear the Apple guys are being helpful. Good to hear your machine has not died. Addabox's warnings are right on target and it sounds like you are making the "tactful" moves I alluded to earlier.
Hopefully, this bad experience has even further won you into the Apple camp. Good luck.
Do you have homeowners? I know someone asked already. If so, try and have it replaced. I agree with adda:
Using your machine while that stuff is still in there can hasten the process by heating it up and "caramelizing" it.
Why does that not sound appetizing to me?
Sho:
Do you have homeowners? I know someone asked already. If so, try and have it replaced. I agree with adda:
Why does that not sound appetizing to me?
Mmmmmm, PCB candy......
Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and new to Mac in general. I picked up my new Macbook a mth ago right after Apple updated it. I have been very happy about it and have very much convinced that I can leave the windows world behind..
Well, tonight, I am typing on this forum with my windows pc after my gf spilled red wine all over it!! Yes, the machine was on at the time!! the wine was all over the keyboard, some of the wine seemed to have went inside the keyboard between the keys and some spilled over to the vent at the back of the keyboard!! I quickly put paper towels on top of the keyboard in hope of it absorbing most of the wine. I could hear the fan getting real loud and then the macbook turned itself off. My gf turned it back on, there was nothing on the screen, but we could hear the sound when os x starts up. Still nothing on the screen, then it turned itself off again.
Now I turned the macbook sideways, and I noticed that the wine was coming out from inside the machine!! I kept it tilted for a while to make sure all the wine was out. I took the battery out. the battery compartment was clean. I took a look at the ports (usb, fireware, etc.), everything was clean too, no sign of wine.
My question is, if i turn it on tomorrow and it doesnt work, will apple cover it? Is there anything i can do besides what i've done to help? Let's just say, the video is really fried, how much would it cost to repair?
Sorry for such a long read...i hope you guys will understand my fustration right now! Any help is appreciated!!
I had a worse experience with liquids. Came home the other day and my wife told me that my 8 month old son had knocked over her diet coke into the MACBOOK. She tried to clean it but it was a goner. By the way I just got it 3 weeks ago! I took it to the genius desk and they opened it. It was still wet inside. The tech told me that they will have to send it out for repair. Repair Price ... $800 ! I don't know how long it will be before I get it back.
I wanted to give an update I dropped off my mac on a Tuesday and had it back on Friday. I just wanted to pass on some positive vibes. It has now been a couple weeks since I got it back and I have found everthing working fine. Hard drive was also saved so I didn't lose anything. Beside the $800 price tag I had a good experience with Apple
I've actually had success, with smaller electronic devices, of (after removing all power sources, of course) completely submerging the item in distilled water, and energetically agitating it for a while (to force water into all the crevices).
The electronics damaging potential of tap water is due to the mineral content, which acts as a conductor when first spilled and then dries to leave a conducting residue.
Distilled water, not so much, and therefore can be used to flush something like wine or cola off the electronic surfaces.
The trick then is to prevent the other side-effect of water, oxidation, which means you have to get everything very dry as quickly as possible.
Disassembly is the best bet, but as I say I've had pretty good success with this technique, and I usually just use a hair dryer to force warm air through the case of the device, and do so at some length.
Worked on a portable DAT recorder, which is a pretty sophisticated little machine, even compared to a computer.
I remember spilling my Capt' n Coke on my MBP about 3 months ago.
Did all the necessary precautions. Turned it off, dried it for 48 hours, brought it into the Apple Store for diagnostics. Everything is fine except the illumination on the keyboard is shot.
I consider myself lucky given the circumstances.
I spilled wind on my keyboard and I heard a sound coming from it and then the screen went blank. Brought the laptop in and wiped it off. Turned it on it side and some wine was coming out.
Took the back off of the computer and cleaned as much as I could tried to dry it with a hair dryer.
I put back on and tried to turn on and it will not turn on. I plugged the electric cord in and the green light doesn't come on
Linda