Well, I think I might have just killed my laptop

[Kitsune]

In the "Stupid Things Common Sense Would Have Prevented" Files, I was eating a bowl of Lucky Charms when my spoon slipped and splashed milk all over my laptop's keyboard. So, I mopped up what I could with a paper towel and used a hair dryer on whatever I couldn't.... So now not only can I not type capital P, O, L, or use :, ", or >, but other keys will also give out intermittently. Yes, I know, eating near a keyboard is stupid, but I've always done it, and I've spilled things in far more critical places that the keyboard, and it's never given me any sort of trouble before on any computer.

And of course, my warranty doesn't cover Acts of Complete and Utter Stupidity....

[NYC]

1. It may not be as bad as you think.

The letter "e" actually got worn through with a hole. I was desperate, so took a useless key (En in a box) of the same size, and switched them.

I was surprised to see that under the keys, things look fairly well sealed. There don't seem to be open holes leading down into the computer. All I saw was a contact point, and a rubber nipple that goes between the key and the contact point.

If it doesn't straighten out in a few days, carefully pry off one of the keys, and see if there is sticky dried milk under there.

Good luck.

[Kitsune]

3. yeah, I know how keyboards are set up

I fixed them back in high school because idiots with too much time on their hands stuck about 100 staples into the keyboards randomly...you can imagine how much fun that was...

Also, a month ago I took a cheapo keayboard to pieces to make a Dvorak keyboard out of a Qwerty...of course it had the completely wrong plug, I later noticed, so I couldn't hook it up to my laptop.

I'm very leery about messing with the keys on my laptop. I'm terrified that I'm going to permanently damage the little thingers that hold them down or something. >_< Heck, I'm not even sure if laptop keys are engineered to come off that way...

[grasswire]

5. I've spilled into my keyboard several times

The immediate thing I do is turn the damn thing over. In a big fat hurry. Let gravity carry the fluid away from the contacts. The last spill resulted in a stiff control key but otherwise fine.

[Limbought]

2. Acts of Complete and Utter Stupidity....

I know a lady that kept a plant on the top of her CPU, one day she over watered it & shorted the whole system out. She was determined that her warranty should cover the damages.

[HEyHEY]

4. Sure blame it on the Irish

Typical

[NJCher]

6. laptop keyboards are crummy anyway

Just plug in a regular-sized keyboard for the moment.


Cher

[NJCher]

7. oh and btw

Isn't there something ironic about Lucky Charms frying your keyboard?

There's a message there somewhere.


Cher

[kayleybeth]

8. That sucks

I've ruined so many keyboards by spilling stuff on them that I now only buy the cheap $12 ones from Office Depot. That's the desktop PC though. I've never spilled anything on my laptop keyboard, not yet anyway.

[Robb]

9. If it's a goner, may I suggest

a Viking funeral for it. Invite some friends, douse the thing in gasoline or lighter fluid, stick it on a toy boat and ignite, gently pushing out into a lake or out to sea.

This is surprisingly fun and cathartic. :)

[KG]

10. Count Chocula is much better for keyboards

trust me on this.

[Kitsune]

11. Update:

Well, it's the morning now and I just turned it on and tested it out after leaving it turned upside down all night long. Everything works....EXCEPT the left shift key with Home and End. Works fine with everything else. *is massively confused* I'm gonna leave it upside down the rest of the day and hope that the left shift key decides to return to the land of the fully functional.