07-31-2007, 09:08 PM

hiya there. I accidently just spilled water on my macbook pro. it was on and I immediately wiped it up and went to see if my touch mouse worked, which it did, then went away to get a blow dryer and paper towels and it stopped responding. I turned it off and (yes I know, a stupid move) turned it back on, and got the blinking question mark folder of death. I immediately turned it off, took the battery out, and set it in front of a fan.

any suggestions? should I let it dry a few days? remove the keyboard? take it in tomorrow? it's somewhat imperitive that I have access to it, as I need it for school and such...ugh, but I have learned. I feel like *such* an idiot.

07-31-2007, 09:14 PM

Sorry about your Misfortune. I'd say let it dry for a while before you take it to the Apple Store. And I won't suggest taking it apart as that might void the warranty. Good Luck.

Come to think of it, what's the deal lately with all the people spilling water on their MacBooks & MacBook Pros lately!!!

Not to mention the guy that peed on his iPod!

Hope it is not a new trend, that would be a bit scary!!

Again Good Luck with your MBP and hope it makes a full recovery.

07-31-2007, 09:18 PM

dude, this is the like the 5th "i spilled water on my macbook" thread i've seen in the course of 2 days! they should sticky a procedure on how to prevent/treat this.

if i see a "protect your macbook from water spills" product...i am definitely investing in it.

07-31-2007, 09:20 PM

How much water got on it? Did a lot get inside?

For sure dry it out for a while.

07-31-2007, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by Austin

if i see a "protect your macbook from water spills" product...i am definitely investing in it.

There already is one... its called "any-other-table-or-surface-that-isn't-anywhere-near-my-notebook". Very easy to find, and if you actually keep a liquid on it, you are safe.

The method of prevention is called "simple-just-don't-drink-any-liquids-while-using-your-notebook-and-keep-anyone-who-has-liquid-far-away-from-you" method. This too, is very easy to follow. It may not be the preferred method of some, but it is a guaranteed to keep spills from happening and causing damage to your notebook.

07-31-2007, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by dtravis7

How much water got on it? Did a lot get inside?

I'm not quite sure, it got nowhere near my keyboard, just sort of the lower edge of it, a bit looked as though it seeped in through the touchpad. I turned it on it's side immediately as I patted it down because I wasn't sure how much had gotten in, and it seemed as though it was working fine until I stepped back to dry it up.

07-31-2007, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Austin

dude, this is the like the 5th "i spilled water on my macbook" thread i've seen in the course of 2 days! they should sticky a procedure on how to prevent/treat this.

I know, I know. I'd seen most of the previous posts but it looked like their computers wouldn't turn on at all, so I wasn't sure what to do. Can't quite figure out if the blinking question mark folder is worse or just as bad as a monitor/computer that doesn't turn on it all. ;p

07-31-2007, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by MinaMACMan

Sorry about your Misfortune. I'd say let it dry for a while before you take it to the Apple Store. And I won't suggest taking it apart as that might void the warranty. Good Luck.

Come to think of it, what's the deal lately with all the people spilling water on their MacBooks & MacBook Pros lately!!!

Not to mention the guy that peed on his iPod!

Hope it is not a new trend, that would be a bit scary!!

Again Good Luck with your MBP and hope it makes a full recovery.

Thanks for your kind words. I'm going to dry it for at least two days and then try and turn it on, I suppose...just have to wait it out. I feel like such a dolt, I've never done this to any of my laptops before because I've always been very careful to not leave open water/etc around my notebooks...sigh. Thanks again though.

07-31-2007, 10:26 PM

Since the majority of the spill collected toward the bottom of the keyboard, chances are the only damage was to the hard drive, superdrive, and possibly the bluetooth adapter (I believe that's sort of wedged in near the hard drive, as I recall).

I would definitely keep the battery out of it and do not expose it to power for at least a few days (maybe even a week).

If in the event something like this were to happen again, the best thing to do is to IMMEDIATELY remove ALL power (including the battery), to prevent a short. Keep the power removed until you are certain any traces of liquid have dried.

07-31-2007, 10:26 PM

Give it a week at least. Water takes awhile to dry when its stuck in small crevices like a computer. The longer you wait, the safer you'll be.
It's better to wait a week and possibly rescue the computer than turn it one when it might be still wet and probably just hand over Apple another $2500.
Just my 2 cents though.
Bryan