A new keyboard only costs ~$30. If you want to test to see if this is the problem before paying $30, try removing the keyboard and using an external keyboard. If the problem persists without the spilled on keyboard plugged in, then you may have problems with the motherboard. I suspect that only the keyboard is to blame.
I would recommend, however, that you don't contact Dell and told them you spilled something ;-) especially if it is water, since it evaporates and leaves nothing behind there is no way (that i know of - maybe im wrong) to prove that you spilled water in it if its an issue that needs to be taken care of by repair
Unless it was distilled water, it has minerals in it that will stay behind when the water dries up (mineral deposits). It is not actually the water that causes shorts or other problems, it is the minerals in the water. You can safely dump pure distilled water all over operating electronics and not have any problems. The problem that happens in that scenario is that water has Oxygen in it and it reacts most metals and causes corrosion which then causes minerals to be in your water and will cause shorts, etc.
To get back to the point, an expert can look at electronic equipment and tell that it got wet, regardless whether or not the water has evaporated. Of course, the tech service technician is not going to be an expert.
thanks for the replies. i ended up waiting it out and the beeping went away. for the week following the mishap i had an occasional beep on startup or a stuck key once i logged into the OS. every time a stuck key occurred i would just tap that key a couple times and everything would be fine.
i haven't had any beep or stuck keys in a few days so i think i'm in the clear. the water i spilled was bottled spring water. hopefully it doesn't ever happen again...i about had a heart attack when i saw the water disappearing into the keyboard.
to recap for anybody else that ever does this (i hope i'm not the only one):
turn it off immediately and unplug the adapter from the wall. soak up whatever you can with a towel or cloth. don't move the cloth around, push it down into the keyboard. leave the laptop opened and if you have one, aim a hairdryer or fan into the keyboard. wait a few hours for the water to evaporate (wait longer than i did...12-24 hours should suffice). turn it back on and hold your breath. if it beeps repeatedly, wait it out...it should stop and boot into the OS. this means you have stuck keys. whenever you notice a key is stuck, hit the offending key firmly with your finger. this may happen occasionally for a little while until all of the water and residue is gone. of course, you could open up your laptop immediately and try to hand dry it, but i didn't want to mess with that.
hope that helps somebody. thanks again.
Message Edited by oversight_failure on 09-09-2003 09:36 PM
I have same problem i.e. my computer beeps during the start up. Looks like because of the stuck key only. But not sure which one. Also, my END keyboard key does not work.
Please note that this has started suddenly and not because of any water spillage etc.
nkrick
97 Posts
0
August 26th, 2003 20:00
A new keyboard only costs ~$30. If you want to test to see if this is the problem before paying $30, try removing the keyboard and using an external keyboard. If the problem persists without the spilled on keyboard plugged in, then you may have problems with the motherboard. I suspect that only the keyboard is to blame.
mhargr03
61 Posts
0
August 30th, 2003 23:00
nkrick
97 Posts
0
September 9th, 2003 21:00
Unless it was distilled water, it has minerals in it that will stay behind when the water dries up (mineral deposits). It is not actually the water that causes shorts or other problems, it is the minerals in the water. You can safely dump pure distilled water all over operating electronics and not have any problems. The problem that happens in that scenario is that water has Oxygen in it and it reacts most metals and causes corrosion which then causes minerals to be in your water and will cause shorts, etc.
To get back to the point, an expert can look at electronic equipment and tell that it got wet, regardless whether or not the water has evaporated. Of course, the tech service technician is not going to be an expert.
oversight_failu
2 Posts
0
September 10th, 2003 01:00
thanks for the replies. i ended up waiting it out and the beeping went away. for the week following the mishap i had an occasional beep on startup or a stuck key once i logged into the OS. every time a stuck key occurred i would just tap that key a couple times and everything would be fine.
i haven't had any beep or stuck keys in a few days so i think i'm in the clear. the water i spilled was bottled spring water. hopefully it doesn't ever happen again...i about had a heart attack when i saw the water disappearing into the keyboard.
to recap for anybody else that ever does this (i hope i'm not the only one):
turn it off immediately and unplug the adapter from the wall. soak up whatever you can with a towel or cloth. don't move the cloth around, push it down into the keyboard. leave the laptop opened and if you have one, aim a hairdryer or fan into the keyboard. wait a few hours for the water to evaporate (wait longer than i did...12-24 hours should suffice). turn it back on and hold your breath. if it beeps repeatedly, wait it out...it should stop and boot into the OS. this means you have stuck keys. whenever you notice a key is stuck, hit the offending key firmly with your finger. this may happen occasionally for a little while until all of the water and residue is gone. of course, you could open up your laptop immediately and try to hand dry it, but i didn't want to mess with that.
hope that helps somebody. thanks again.
Message Edited by oversight_failure on 09-09-2003 09:36 PM
vilas
6 Posts
0
February 10th, 2005 20:00
Please note that this has started suddenly and not because of any water spillage etc.
Vilas