Spilled water on my current laptop. Need advice BAAAAD!

Hey all. Let me get straight to the point.

I spilled water on the bottom right hand side of my laptop sometime last night. I immediately turned the computer off, and held is upside down - attempting to drain all the water from it (about half a cup's worth).
I let it sit out all night in this position, figuring if I let it dry out - all would be well.

Boy was I wrong roll

I woke up this morning and attempted to boot it, and everything seemed to be going fine. The Windows logo came up, and it looked like it was booting up fine.
But about 10 seconds later, I get this black screen- with the words "No bootable devices found". shock

I didn't really have time to mess around with it all that much (already late for work x ) but I'm feeling pretty hopeless about the whole situation. cry

Has anyone had any experience with this type of situation? From what little I know, I feel I did the right thing by turning it off and leaving is like that over night.
What could that error message possibly mean? I have a feeling the entire computer didn't get fried - maybe just one specific part.

I've got this computer as a graduation present from my mom, so not only wasn't it cheap, but it means a lot to me as well. oops

If anyone could take a few minutes and help me out, I'd be sooo appreciative.

Wait a few more days, if it still dosent work dump rubbing alcohol on it.

it might still be wet, if it has a removable battery, remove it. if possible remove the top cover and use a hair dryer to soak up any leftover moisture.

It sounds like the water hit your hard drive and its the hard drive that isn't operating correctly.

After another couple days, and after those steps, put the battery back in and try booting it again. If it doesn't work, send it in to the manufacturer to fix, it will be cheaper to fix than to buy a new one most likely.

What brand is it?

Its a Dell Inspiron 8200

got in back in 2001 i believe.

Bootable devides = ATAPI CDROM and your Hard Drive.

Considering it claims none are bootable. You can try booting from a cd just to test its working. Next, worst comes to worse replace the HDD.

[quote378e730af7="clearestchannel40"]Bootable devides = ATAPI CDROM and your Hard Drive.

Considering it claims none are bootable. You can try booting from a cd just to test its working. Next, worst comes to worse replace the HDD.[/quote378e730af7]

you dont want to do that youself given it still has a warranty, or else hes going to void it. Not to mention notebook hard drives are 1. Expensive, 2. Your going to lose the information/operating system.

not true. he may have just damaged the boot sectors. if you can boot from cd, boot a Knoppix distro of linux and run disk checks

this way you can diagnose the problem

[quotea1d8416a2f="clearestchannel40"]not true. he may have just damaged the boot sectors. if you can boot from cd, boot a Knoppix distro of linux and run disk checks

this way you can diagnose the problem[/quotea1d8416a2f]

because everyone has a bootable copy of linux laying around

it'll just need more than a day to dry, try the hair dryer, you should be able to remove the top cover without making it obvious that you did to the support company.

im on the phone with dell tech support right now.
My warranty is good for another two months!

WOO HOO!

congrats!! my bro spilled koolaid on my keyboard and screwed the i,k, and 8 keys what an idiot...

[quote37fe8a48be="dudeextrem2000"]congrats!! my bro spilled koolaid on my keyboard and screwed the i,k, and 8 keys what an idiot...[/quote37fe8a48be]Don't you mean [b37fe8a48be]oolad[/b37fe8a48be]?

[quotea617d1a3dd="Peinecone"][quotea617d1a3dd="dudeextrem2000"]congrats!! my bro spilled koolaid on my keyboard and screwed the i,k, and 8 keys what an idiot...[/quotea617d1a3dd]Don't you mean [ba617d1a3dd]oolad[/ba617d1a3dd]?[/quotea617d1a3dd]

lol You sure scraped by with those remaining 2 months. Glad it worked out.

huh?

That's too great!
Every once in awhile, life throws some good luck our way.
Then again, a leprechaun like yourself shouldn't need it. lol

Well, give me your paypal and I will send you $2000 to cover you for the laptop if anything happens.

[quotea67818be0f="clearestchannel40"]not true. he may have just damaged the boot sectors. if you can boot from cd, boot a Knoppix distro of linux and run disk checks

this way you can diagnose the problem[/quotea67818be0f]

how in the world would water get into the hard drive itself. The hard drive itself is in a enclosure. You cannot have water hitting the platters. If a hard drive was to die of water damage then it would be a goner, cause the mainboard on it would fry

Wood,

I sometimes get this error with my Inspiron 8200 without any reason at all. I wait a while, turn it back on and it is fine ;) Thank god I'm selling it this summer! Dell sucks big time twisted

[quoted29dbf5660="Peinecone"][quoted29dbf5660="dudeextrem2000"]congrats!! my bro spilled koolaid on my keyboard and screwed the i,k, and 8 keys what an idiot...[/quoted29dbf5660]Don't you mean [bd29dbf5660]oolad[/bd29dbf5660]?[/quoted29dbf5660]

++KMA... that's funny b/c it's soooo stupid.

[quote3a9c2732a9="wood"]im on the phone with dell tech support right now.
My warranty is good for another two months!

WOO HOO![/quote3a9c2732a9]

Good for you. However if Dell finds out that you spilled water on the laptop, that's your fault not theirs, and they may not cover replacement.

In fact most electronics companies do not cover water damage to their devices. I work in the IT department at my company and I can't tell you how many phones dropped in toilets, laptops used as impromptu umbrellas, PCs with coffee on the mobo, etc that I've seen. And typically if the company knows that you caused the damage, unless the tech is really cool they aren't going to cover the cost of replacing whatever you broke.

So if you haven't called Dell yet for warranty replacement, don't mention the water when you do so. Although if a tech has to come out and replace your system board, you may be screwed because they can typically tell even if you "dried it out"

My .02

I agree that you should let it sit out for a couple days though, maybe even pass over it with a hairdryer for a couple minutes. If you can open up the chassis and get the hairdryer in there that's even better. Dell has downloadable service guides on their website. Good luck.

[quote9b2d4a0d30="Bryan"][quote9b2d4a0d30="wood"]im on the phone with dell tech support right now.
My warranty is good for another two months!

WOO HOO![/quote9b2d4a0d30]

Good for you. However if Dell finds out that you spilled water on the laptop, that's your fault not theirs, and they may not cover replacement.

In fact most electronics companies do not cover water damage to their devices. I work in the IT department at my company and I can't tell you how many phones dropped in toilets, laptops used as impromptu umbrellas, PCs with coffee on the mobo, etc that I've seen. And typically if the company knows that you caused the damage, unless the tech is really cool they aren't going to cover the cost of replacing whatever you broke.

So if you haven't called Dell yet for warranty replacement, don't mention the water when you do so. Although if a tech has to come out and replace your system board, you may be screwed because they can typically tell even if you "dried it out"

My .02

I agree that you should let it sit out for a couple days though, maybe even pass over it with a hairdryer for a couple minutes. If you can open up the chassis and get the hairdryer in there that's even better. Dell has downloadable service guides on their website. Good luck.[/quote9b2d4a0d30]

why isnt anyone mentioning dumping on rubbing alcohol? ?

[quote0d0f49d7ac="Bryan"][quote0d0f49d7ac="wood"]im on the phone with dell tech support right now.
My warranty is good for another two months!

WOO HOO![/quote0d0f49d7ac]

Good for you. However if Dell finds out that you spilled water on the laptop, that's your fault not theirs, and they may not cover replacement.

In fact most electronics companies do not cover water damage to their devices. [/quote0d0f49d7ac]

I purchased the 4 year Extended warranty. This covers EVERYTHING.

If I wanted too, I could throw it out the window and send it back for a new one, no questions asked.

Well worth the extra $100 or so i.m.o.

[quotedcca6c99de="wood"][quotedcca6c99de="Bryan"][quotedcca6c99de="wood"]im on the phone with dell tech support right now.
My warranty is good for another two months!

WOO HOO![/quotedcca6c99de]

Good for you. However if Dell finds out that you spilled water on the laptop, that's your fault not theirs, and they may not cover replacement.

In fact most electronics companies do not cover water damage to their devices. [/quotedcca6c99de]

I purchased the 4 year Extended warranty. This covers EVERYTHING.

If I wanted too, I could throw it out the window and send it back for a new one, no questions asked.

Well worth the extra $100 or so i.m.o.[/quotedcca6c99de]

dude get a new 1

[quote7d8a5be546="Phbs83"]Wood,

I sometimes get this error with my Inspiron 8200 without any reason at all. I wait a while, turn it back on and it is fine ;) Thank god I'm selling it this summer! Dell sucks big time twisted[/quote7d8a5be546]

I wouldn't say that. On Tuesday I installed a sound car while my dell was running and it shorted out the USB and Ethernet connections. I called day promptly, ladie had me on the phone for an hour and a half trying to figure out what was wrong. I just got my new motherboard today, cost me NOTHING. )

[quoteb0eed277f1="Collateral"][quoteb0eed277f1="Phbs83"]Wood,

I sometimes get this error with my Inspiron 8200 without any reason at all. I wait a while, turn it back on and it is fine ;) Thank god I'm selling it this summer! Dell sucks big time twisted[/quoteb0eed277f1]

I wouldn't say that. On Tuesday I installed a sound car while my dell was running and it shorted out the USB and Ethernet connections. I called day promptly, ladie had me on the phone for an hour and a half trying to figure out what was wrong. I just got my new motherboard today, cost me NOTHING. )[/quoteb0eed277f1]

That's different than what wood has. He has CompleteCare where they come out and repair/replace your computer. You appear to have a standard warranty and frauded them out a new motherboard. How computer ignorant do youhave to be to try to install something with the computer running?

[quote73f402d447="doylnea"][quote73f402d447="Collateral"][quote73f402d447="Phbs83"]Wood,

I sometimes get this error with my Inspiron 8200 without any reason at all. I wait a while, turn it back on and it is fine ;) Thank god I'm selling it this summer! Dell sucks big time twisted[/quote73f402d447]

I wouldn't say that. On Tuesday I installed a sound car while my dell was running and it shorted out the USB and Ethernet connections. I called day promptly, ladie had me on the phone for an hour and a half trying to figure out what was wrong. I just got my new motherboard today, cost me NOTHING. )[/quote73f402d447]

That's different than what wood has. He has CompleteCare where they come out and repair/replace your computer. You appear to have a standard warranty and frauded them out a new motherboard. How computer ignorant do youhave to be to try to install something with the computer running?[/quote73f402d447]

How'd I fraud them? They completely understood, I told her what I did and she said it was fine and I would be getting another one. I'm stupid, thanks. 8)

[quote2b8365b3f3="Collateral"]How'd I fraud them? They completely understood, I told her what I did and she said it was fine and I would be getting another one. I'm stupid, thanks. 8)[/quote2b8365b3f3]

You told them "I tried to install something with the computer running and now the Ethernet and USB connections don't work..."?

Either Dell forgot to add the line to their India Support Script "Make sure owner turned computer off before installing accessory," or you got really lucky.

[quotec324dc9d79="doylnea"][quotec324dc9d79="Collateral"]How'd I fraud them? They completely understood, I told her what I did and she said it was fine and I would be getting another one. I'm stupid, thanks. 8)[/quotec324dc9d79]

You told them "I tried to install something with the computer running and now the Ethernet and USB connections don't work..."?

Either Dell forgot to add the line to their India Support Script "Make sure owner turned computer off before installing accessory," or you got really lucky.[/quotec324dc9d79]

WTF? No. I told them I tried installing a sound card while the computer was running and now my ethernet wasn't working. I explained how it said my cord was unplugged when it wasn't. She had me do various tests to finally conclude I did infact short out my USB and ethernet connections. Also, They are located in Austin, Texas, not India wink

[quote0eb847eda4="Collateral"]
WTF? No. I told them I tried installing a sound card while the computer was running and now my ethernet wasn't working. I explained how it said my cord was unplugged when it wasn't. She had me do various tests to finally conclude I did infact short out my USB and ethernet connections. Also, They are located in Austin, Texas, not India wink[/quote0eb847eda4]

your total lack of a clue actually prompted me to log in to respond.

WHY would you try to install ANYTHING, with the exception of a USB device into a running computer? Are you so busy that you can't be troubled with shutting down the computer for the 60 seconds it takes to install a sound card? What did you expect was going to happen? Would you have called dell and complained if you had stuck a pencil in one of the fans and it stopped working while you had the case open? Would you have called Dell and complained that the CPU stopped working after you took off the fan and replaced the thermal paste with syrup?

good god man.

And nearly all of Dell's customer support is based in India - they just opened a third call center there. Dell's headquarters are located in Austin.

[quote9809214e98="doylnea"][quote9809214e98="Collateral"]
WTF? No. I told them I tried installing a sound card while the computer was running and now my ethernet wasn't working. I explained how it said my cord was unplugged when it wasn't. She had me do various tests to finally conclude I did infact short out my USB and ethernet connections. Also, They are located in Austin, Texas, not India wink[/quote9809214e98]

your total lack of a clue actually prompted me to log in to respond.

WHY would you try to install ANYTHING, with the exception of a USB device into a running computer? Are you so busy that you can't be troubled with shutting down the computer for the 60 seconds it takes to install a sound card? What did you expect was going to happen? Would you have called dell and complained if you had stuck a pencil in one of the fans and it stopped working while you had the case open? Would you have called Dell and complained that the CPU stopped working after you took off the fan and replaced the thermal paste with syrup?

good god man.

And nearly all of Dell's customer support is based in India - they just opened a third call center there. Dell's headquarters are located in Austin.[/quote9809214e98]

Dude, enough of the flaming. Obviously I was having a brain fart or wasn't thinking at the moment. Now please, Shut the fuck up.