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First of all, I want to say the following: if it has already happened that you spilled coffee, beer or tea on the keyboard, then you should not panic. First you need to turn off your computer and disconnect the keyboard on the back of your PC. The next step is to disassemble the keyboard. And dry
And it is described what to do if you spilled kefir, yogurt or fermented baked milk on the keyboard.
This figure shows the “bottom” of the keyboard. The screws that need to be unscrewed in order to disassemble your keyboard are marked with a red marker. Of course, the location of the screws for different brands and models of keyboards is different. After unscrewing all the screws, carefully remove the bottom cover without overturning the keyboard. ATTENTION! It is necessary to disassemble the keyboard either on a large, clean table or on the floor. when removing the bottom cover, the rubber shock absorbers of the buttons may pop out.
In this picture, green markers show some traces of the "work" of the above drinks. There is one more problem. Before me, the keyboard was already disassembled and several shock absorbers were lost (marked with a red marker). In the future, we will take these "rubber bands" from the duplicate keyboard.
The figure shows the layers of a keyboard PCB. We have 2 conductive layers and one ashing layer. They need to be carefully separated and wiped with alcohol. Do not spare alcohol on electronics! Never wipe the electronics with vodka or nail polish remover! Use only alcohol and cotton wool! No rags or water! Usually the layers are soldered together in one or two places. If your keyboard is "basement assembly", then such a soldering may not be! Therefore, after separating the layers of the board, carefully adjust them when assembling after cleaning!
Assembly is carried out in the reverse order of disassembly. Make sure that all the shock absorbers are located with their tops towards the button itself (down). The spots on the PCB layers were exactly aligned and centered on the button.
Here is a assembled and clean keyboard! Buttons without shock absorbers are marked with blue marker - they are "sagging". You can ask for the necessary shock absorbers at a PC repair service center or ask your friends for a broken keyboard. By the way, maybe he has the same problem as you did! But now you are a specialist in this matter!
A few simple steps to rescue your device from getting liquid.
Accidentally spilled liquid often causes damage to your favorite device. What if you suddenly spill water, beer, cola, tea or coffee on your laptop? Spilled liquid is dangerous with several complications at once: from a short circuit, if you do not de-energize and turn off the computer, to sluggish, prolonged corrosion of the interior of a laptop .. We offer step-by-step instructions for saving a flooded laptop.
Spilling water on your laptop: 3 urgent steps
1. Unplug the laptop and remove the battery
From the moment you spilled the liquid, seconds went by. Forget about conventions and the correct shutdown of Windows, data can be restored, but the laptop risks going to the landfill forever. Feel free to pull the cord and remove the battery from it. This will stop the destruction associated with the process of electrochemical reactions.
Simply disconnecting from the mains will not be enough, so be sure to remove the battery. This is necessary in order to secure the motherboard, on which, even after turning off the laptop, the power circuits work.
2. Disconnect peripherals
Everything is simple here, if a printer, hard disk, USB flash drive is connected to the laptop or a disk is lying around in the drive, then they must be removed.
3. Wipe liquid from the laptop case
In this case, it all depends on the volume of the spilled liquid. If the volume of the "spill" is small, no more than 20-30 milliliters (about 1/7 cup):
- turn the laptop over to prevent liquid from entering deeper into the case
- quickly wipe the case with the materials at hand (any handkerchief or paper towel will do).
If the volume of "tragedy" is more significant: turn the laptop on an edge so that the ventilation holes are at the bottom, and gently shake it to drain as much water as possible.
What to do next?
Now you have some time to think. No need to try to turn on the device and check if it works! Most likely, it will work, but it is also likely that your computer will die at the most unexpected moment, taking valuable information with it.
First, you should immediately come to terms with the fact that you will not use a flooded laptop for at least 1-3 days. Secondly, you need to assess the scale of the tragedy - the severity of the damage depends on what kind of liquid you spilled on the keyboard or laptop. Consider the destructive effect of popular fluids.
Water
If you flooded the laptop with water, then it can get to any elements inside the device, including the motherboard, which is fraught with the loss of the device. Water, although weak, but the electrolyte, can lead not only to a short circuit, but also cause slow, but sure, electrochemical corrosion. However, it is a relatively harmless liquid, so the chances of saving the device are quite high.
Tea, coffee, beer, drinks with sugar or milk
If you spill tea, coffee, beer, a drink with sugar or milk on your laptop, then the situation is worse, since they all contain various acids. For example, tea is a combination of a huge amount of substances, some of which, for example, tannin, have an acidic reaction. If you spill a sweet drink on the keyboard, it will leave a sticky sugar trail after it dries, and the keys will stick.
By the way, the beer loved by many also contains a number of acids, albeit weak ones. As a rule, devices that are dipped in beer will function normally for several months, which is why device owners mistakenly think that the problem is over. Over time, the motherboard or hard drive is destroyed by the chemical elements present in the beer.
You should also be wary of juices: they are quite aggressive, as they also contain acids, for example, citric or fruit.
Cola and other carbonated drinks
The biggest danger is soda. These are corrosive liquids rich in chemicals that can oxidize and destroy, for example, the same motherboard. In particular, soda often contains acid of medium strength - orthophosphoric acid, which is used for brazing.
If you spill half a glass of cola, then consider that the bill has gone on hours. It is not always possible to immediately take a laptop to a service center. Keep in mind that not every service center will tackle the problem, and if they do, they may not get to your device right away.
Thus, if cola, tea, coffee, beer or wine gets inside your laptop, you need to rinse the device under water, regardless of whether you plan to carry it to a service center or not. Do not forget to first de-energize the device and remove power supplies from it. This will flush out most of the hazardous chemical elements trapped inside the device.
Pour plenty of water into the area where you spilled the drink to rinse it off. The motherboard is almost not afraid of water, to a greater extent you run the risk of flooding only the films under the keyboard. Remember, the main thing is not to turn on your laptop until you have done the following.
Carry to a service center or save yourself?
Then you have to make a choice: run with your laptop to a service center or start saving the device yourself. We recommend you the first option to increase your chances and get at least some guarantees. However, not everyone is looking for easy ways. If you are good at technology or do not trust service centers, or, finally, do not want to spend extra money, you can try to bring the laptop "to life" by your own efforts.
How to save a laptop by yourself?
- Disassemble laptop and keyboard
Please note that this may not be easy. It is not always easy to unscrew all the screws on the bottom, often some of them can be hidden under peel-off legs and panels, which are held by some latches, fastened under the keyboard, display hinges, and so on. However, as a rule, all common laptop models have guides and disassembly videos. Visit the manufacturer's website for information, google or Youtube ... In order to reduce the search time, enter "parse * laptop model name *", or better "* laptop model * disassembly".
Disassemble the laptop into the minimum possible components and check where the liquid has managed to get. The main thing is to remove the CMOS battery on the motherboard, as it constantly powers the board, which is enough for a short circuit in the future. It is easy to find it, it is quite large, round and it is difficult to confuse it with something.
As for the keyboard itself, you will have to disassemble and sort it out separately, having previously photographed or recorded the location of the keys on the keyboard. Next, just remove the keys with a thin screwdriver or any thin improvised tool, as a rule, you can pry them from the bottom. Then "pull out" the pushers and spring elements. In this case, three films will remain on the keyboard substrate: two conductive, with tracks, and a separating film-dielectric between them. On older keyboards, the films are either not glued together or are glued together at only a few points and are easy to separate. However, on new ones, they are often glued together more reliably and it will be more difficult to paste them - here you cannot do without a hair dryer. We warn you that the gluing process involves certain skills, so it would be better to stop at this stage and hope that water did not get between the films, after all, they are pretty tightly glued.
- Clean and rinse
Pay special attention to the keyboard and the motherboard, you can even check it with a magnifying glass.
If any plaque or darkening appears on the motherboard, use a lint-free cloth or soft toothbrush to wipe dry residues from the spilled liquid.
Then carefully, without sparing effort and attention, clean off all foreign matter with an alcohol solution, after which - with distilled water. If distilled water is not available, plain water can be used. However, the problem is that ordinary water contains impurities of metal salts and can leave them on the board after washing, which can subsequently cause a short circuit. Therefore, we recommend buying distilled water from a pharmacy or auto shop.
If the area of \u200b\u200bthe affected area is large, then remove the board, disconnect everything you can from it, rinse it with warm water and leave it to dry for at least 1-2 days. In the same way, you need to check and rinse all the rest of the interior of the laptop and parts of the disassembled keyboard, getting rid of stains and sticky areas wherever you find.
- Dry your laptop
Now there is little left to do - dry up everything that you washed. It is believed that you need to use a hairdryer, but we do not recommend that you do this. First, a hair dryer can blow hot dust into various areas and contaminate them. Secondly, there is a risk of overheating and melting various elements. Thirdly, if moisture remains somewhere, then the air stream will send it even deeper into the case.
Dry within 24-48 hours in a warm, dry place without exposure to direct sunlight. Place the case, board, films, keyboard on supports or a grill over some surface so that air can circulate around the parts. You can even put the ingredients in a bowl of rice, as dry rice draws out moisture well.
- Assemble and test the device
After a day or two, assemble the keyboard and laptop, turn it on and check the overall performance. You can check the keyboard in any text file, but it will be easier to go to Keyboardtester.com and check all the keys there.
If everything is functioning normally, then consider yourself lucky. If only the keyboard does not work, then you will have to replace it with a new one or just buy an external one.
- If the laptop does not turn on, then you will have to contact a service center or buy a new one.
To summarize, let's say that it is possible to protect yourself from such incidents. If you are using a laptop as a replacement for a stationary computer, then you can put it on a stand, move it away from you and use an external keyboard and mouse. However, as a rule, a laptop implies mobility, and this option is not suitable for everyone, in which case you should not take risks and drink drinks dangerously close to the laptop.
Let us remind you that on our website you can see the results of laptop tests. Our experts checked the quality of popular models in the laboratory and, based on the results of the tests, made a rating of notebooks.
Do you want to understand other important issues? Read
What's the first thing to do?
So the glass of water is half full. The other half is already in the laptop.
The first thing to do is disconnect the charger and remove the battery... The faster you pull it out, the better the chances of salvation.
Even if the laptop is turned off, the power circuits on the motherboard are still working. As you can imagine, this threatens to short circuit and buy a new computer.
Unfortunately, MacBook owners cannot simply pull out the battery. therefore immediately press the power button until it turns off completely.
Together with the battery all peripheral devices must be disconnected, as they can also fall prey to water.
Then quickly flip the laptop with the keyboard down... Water will gradually begin to flow through the holes between the keys. Remaining liquid can be wiped off with a cloth or paper towel.
The main thing is accuracy. Do not press the buttons, because this can drive the water even deeper under the keyboard. Keep the device in this state for at least a couple of hours.
What's next? Can I turn it on and check it already?
When your laptop feels completely dry, don't try to turn it on... There is still liquid under the chips on the motherboard. Perhaps the device will even work, but after a while water and corrosion will still win. Then you will be provided with an expensive repair.
The perfect solution is do not risk and urgently take the flooded device to the professionals, or rather, to the service center. No one can cope with your problem better than masters.
And if I'm on vacation, am I too lazy to go somewhere or am I confident in myself?
The success of self-healing depends on skill. If you went to the radio circle and are sure that you can disassemble and - most importantly - assemble a laptop, do it yourself. Turn on the video guide (there are such for almost any laptop model) and just repeat.
Well, then unscrew all the screws that you find... The first step is to remove the motherboard and remove the CMOS battery from it (look at the photos to see how it looks). Because of it, a short circuit can also occur, since it powers the "motherboard".
Look at the board. If you see a white coating or darkening on it, take a soft toothbrush and gently clean the problem areas.
Then you need to walk over them with alcohol, and you need to wipe everything off, do not be lazy. After alcohol (not inside!), Repeat the procedure with distilled water. Unlike ordinary water, distilled water does not contain any impurities of salts and metals that can destroy the elements on the board.
If plaque is present almost over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe "motherboard", remove everything that you can remove from it: processor, WLAN module and memory. After that, rinse the board with warm distilled water and leave to dry for at least a day.
Can I just blow dry and reassemble my laptop?
It is better not to dry with a hairdryer.It can blow out hot dust or, even worse, melt some elements on the board. For the same reason, in no case should you put accessories on the battery.
Perfect option: leave laptop elements in a warm and dry room for at least a day (or even better for two days). Before that, do not even try to collect and turn on the laptop.
You can also put the parts in a container with rice, because rice is an excellent absorbent that is found in almost every home. It perfectly draws out excess moisture.
What water, I spilled soda (actually beer)!
The situation is more complicated. Soda and sugary drinks can kill your laptop much faster than regular water, because they contain a lot more acids. They not only accelerate internal corrosion, but they can also ruin the keyboard. Therefore, do not leave the laptop to dry, but immediately disassemble it or take it to a service center.
If you act quickly, there is a chance that you will save expensive equipment drenched in any liquid.
Many of you today, especially children and adolescents, can get into trouble with your laptop. Through carelessness or inattention, carried away by a movie or, you can easily overturn a glass of liquid on the laptop keyboard. Such a seemingly harmless case can easily disable an expensive computer, and perhaps permanently. In this connection, many careless users today are interested in such a tricky question - if the laptop has been filled with beer, what to do? Today I will tell you a couple of simple recipes that will help you save a laptop flooded with water, beer or coffee.
I will share with you a secret - liquid and electricity should never be connected. When these two physical phenomena meet, the liquid wins. It can simply destroy all electrical circuits of any equipment, including a laptop. Moreover, in such a situation, you yourself can get an electric shock if you are not careful enough.
I hope you are not reading this article on a laptop covered in beer? Remember, never use computer equipment until you dry it.
Spilled beer on laptop keyboard - what to do?
The first thing to do is to make sure your hands and the shutdown button are dry. If you need to wipe off moisture from them, it is best to use a regular towel.
Now boldly and as quickly as possible turn off your flooded laptop. Please note that in this case you will not have time to comply with the rules for the correct shutdown of Windows. If you have spilled beer on your laptop keyboard, what to do - you have to take risks! Just press and hold the power button. The computer turns off within five seconds. This is if the power control circuit is not covered.
The next thing to do as quickly as possible is to unplug the AC adapter. Just unplug the adapter from the surge protector or wall outlet. If the battery is removable, try to remove it as soon as possible.
Now you, at least, will not suffer from electric shock. Next, disconnect all external devices connected to the beer-drenched laptop - all sorts of mice, cables, flash drives and other devices. Open, unscrew with a screwdriver and remove anything that can be easily removed from the liquid-filled laptop case. For example, the RAM and hard drive can often be removed after only two or three screws have been removed from the laptop's bottom lid. It depends on the laptop manufacturer's design.
If the drink or liquid you spill on your laptop turns out to be quite sticky or aggressive (alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, beer and dairy products containing sugar), then you should immediately contact a professional technician. You will not be able to clean the motherboard and other laptop components of such corrosive liquids on your own. This requires a special tool, cleaning agents and certain skills.
I flooded my laptop with clean water - what's next?
But if you spill water or vodka on your laptop, then you have a high chance of drying it yourself.
First, blot all accessible surfaces thoroughly with a dry towel. Then remove everything from the table and cover it with several layers of another towel. Open a laptop that's flooded with water as wide as possible so that the screen and keyboard are practically on the same plane. Now turn it over with the screen and keyboard down, press it against the towel. Leave the laptop in this position for several hours so that all the water is glass and absorbed from the dry cloth.
Take your time to turn on your laptop. Better if a day passes before this moment. Turn the laptop over to the working position, reinstall all removed components, screw the cover back on, and try turning it on. If the laptop does not turn on, well, it's time to contact the specialists.
Of course, a lot here depends on luck, on the area of \u200b\u200b\\ u200b \\ u200bfilling with liquid. I know of cases when even a laptop drenched in beer resurrected and then worked for a long time. I do not recommend using all kinds of hair dryers and stoves for drying - overheating can do even more harm. I hope now you understand what to do if you flooded your laptop with beer - you should not rush, be patient, luck, dry rags and a screwdriver. And be lucky!
Sometimes liquid gets on the keyboard of the laptop, which can be dangerous for it. In order not to repair a flooded laptop, you need to act quickly, and these actions may differ depending on what kind of substance entered the input device. Next, we will tell you what to do if water, beer, sweet tea or coffee is spilled on the device, as well as how to proceed to prevent a laptop flooded with beer or water from breaking down in the future.
What to do if the device is flooded with water
If the user has flooded the laptop, immediately after that it must be disconnected from the power supply and the battery removed - do not click on "Shut down" and do not wait for the laptop to turn off itself. Nevertheless, a film is glued to the keyboard, which protects the motherboard if moisture is spilled on the device. Therefore, when the liquid gets in a small amount, if it is pure water, and not beer or tea, coffee, then you need to do the following:
- wipe off remaining water with a soft cloth;
- then remove the device and dry it properly.
If the last point is not performed efficiently, then moisture will remain between the films of the polyethylene printed circuit board filled with beer or water, which will eventually lead to corrosion damage to the conductive paths and the failure of the input device.
You do not need to disassemble the keyboard to dry it out with clean water. In a ventilated room or under a radiator, it will dry completely in about a day.
How to remove a keyboard from a laptop to dry
Some users have difficulty removing the input device from their laptop. But on modern mobile computers, it is quite easy to dismantle it, since it is attached to ordinary plastic latches. Dismantling should be done according to the following scheme:
After it is completely dry, the keyboard flooded with beer, water or tea can be replaced. If it's dry well, make sure the device turns on and the buttons work. Problems with the further operation of the laptop, over which the user poured a clean, non-aggressive liquid, should not arise further.
What to do if the device is flooded with corrosive liquids
When the user spills beer or sweet tea, coffee on the keys, sticky marks remain on the surfaces after drying. At first, the keys of the input device may start to stick, and after a while, after the oxidation of the conductive paths on the board (usually a spilled beer is active in a day), the keyboard will stop working. To avoid this, it will have to be removed, completely disassembled and cleaned. Disassembly must be done in the following order:
Wipe the board with a damp soft swab. Try to use only distilled water. A corrosive liquid like solvents or alcohol can remove not only leftover beer, but also severely damage the conductive paths of the board.
If the laptop turns on, but individual keys stop working, you can clean their contacts on the board. To do this, you will have to cut off the corresponding rubber caps on it with a clerical knife, and gently wipe the unprotected contacts, thereby removing the dried beer and tea. The caps themselves must also be thoroughly cleaned.
After carrying out the described procedures, you should start assembling the device. In place, the caps can be glued with superglue, trying to use the minimum amount for this, so that the substance does not get on the components of the printed circuit board, which can also damage the keyboard.
