I have a five year-old Dell laptop and in all that time, I've never spilled anything on it. But I did last night and now my keyboard is acting really weird.
After the spill, I freaked out and turned my computer upside hoping I could drain the water before it did any damage. Most it had gone in the lower right-hand corner. I ran my fingers along the keys hoping to dislodge any water trapped under them before it could seep into the circuitry.
Then I went and backed-up my important documents to my external hard-drive. During this time, the keys were alittle wonky but I was able to get it to work with me. Whether this was good or not, I shut if off and turned it upside down again flat on a towel until there wasn't any most moisture as far as I could tell.
I came home a few minutes ago and attempted to turn it down. It boots up with no problems. Not weird noises or delays. But I can't type in my password. Very few of the keys work and sometimes letters will pop up that I haven't even touched. The touch mouse isn't even responding very well.
I'm wondering if my button-mashing could have screwed with some settings causing my keyboard to act silly. The spill was minor and the problem seems to have gotten worse since last night despite drying out (or maybe it just had time for all the moisture to sink in.)
Is there anyway to save it? I don't want to invest a load of money in it since its old and I'm getting a new computer in May, but until I really want my laptop so I can work on my thesis (I get so much more done when I'm not working at home.) Any cheap repairs or trouble-shooting? I'm not knowledgeable when it comes to computer hardware and such.
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
You could always try a keyboard that plugs into the USB to work on your thesis, a wireless one is about 20$.
Otherwise you would have to replace the keyboard unless you find a way to fix it, that runs about 100$, although i hear you can get it for alot less.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
I've spilled... let's see... water once and tea twice on either external keyboards or laptops. The laptop (water, than tea) was fine both times immediately, while the keyboard took two days to dry out, and then was fine. What I've been told by the hardware experts in my life is that it can take a few days for all of the moisture to evaporate, and that there's not much you can do, other than waiting, or perhaps taking a hairdryer to it.
If the keyboard doesn't work, you can invest in a USB plug-in keyboard. They're very cheap on Newegg. It'll decrease your mobility some, but you can still use it in coffee shops and the like.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
I see a couple of replacement keyboards for my laptop model for under $40 but not from websites I've done business with before. I'll hook my dad's keyboard up to my laptop later and see if it will work that way.
Any way I could tell if the problem goes deeper? I might just replace the internal keyboard if I can get a good price on it. But what's the chance that it may still not work? Especially since my touch mouse acts like its "sticking."
Do you think removing the keyboard might help it dry faster? I do live in Louisiana and we've been getting a combination of cold and humid weather which I imagine isn't helping. I'd feel safer taking a blow-dryer to a disconnected keyboard as opposed to my entire laptop.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
You only spilled water on it, right? I'd give it a day or two more to dry, and then, if it still isn't working, try ordering a replacement keyboard from a store that has a good return policy. If it doesn't work, at the worst you're just out shipping costs Although, really, if I were you, I'd just go with a USB keyboard and be done with it. But maybe the hassle would be too much for your habits...
You're lucky your dell has lasted as long as it had. Five years is a long time for a Dell laptop. Pieces of junk, really, but nice and cheap. (I own one too.)
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
Its crashed quite a few times and I've already had to replace the hard drive, but otherwise I'm proud of it for doing so well, especially since I bought it for college and it was built during the big back-to-school rush. I'll be trading it out in May for a MacBook and couldn't be more excited.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
My niece uses a separate keyboard with her laptop since water was spilled on it last December. It's cumbersome, but keeps her laptop in use.