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[Kryten]

There I was this morning, on-site at one of my corporate clients offices doing my stuff. Bloke pops by and asks if I want anything to drink. I ask for a coffee. Big mistake! He comes back, mobile phone in one hand, hot coffee in the other, totally distracted, trips and all the coffee spills on my laptop (15" MacBook Pro).

I truly believe that my screams were heard all the way on the other side of the world.

Immediately turned it off, unscrewed the bottom cover, removed the battery, hard disk and memory. I'm now at home and, as yet, I haven't attempted to switch it on. Will probably try later this evening. I just hope to God it starts okay.

Bloomin' customers!! I say shoot 'em. Shoot 'em all and then cut their goolies off (those that have any) with a very blunt knife!!!

Not very happy at the moment!

[Wooster]

Ouch!  


See this: http://www.woostyandkeas.com/forum/index.php/topic,7464.msg116526.html#msg116526

Might be an option if you whip the screen off....the question is, do you have the cojones to try it? 

(I'd think long and hard myself  )

[Kryten]

I've decided against switching it on tonight. I have opened it up and removed all internal components (motherboard, optical drive, fans etc etc). They are all now lying on top of my anti-static mat in the garage. Copious amounts of electrolube has been sprayed on each component. I've removed the display from the main body and have also taken that apart as much as I can.

Tomorrow, put it back together and, assuming no damage was caused during the spill while it was on, all should be well again.

The potential saving grace here was my quick reaction when it happened. I immediately turned it upside down and then pressed and held down the power button until it switched off. While it was still upside down I unscrewed the bottom cover and removed both memory modules and battery. A lot of colourful anglo saxon expletives were eminating from my facial orifice at this time, all of them directed at the guilty party.

Had a chat with the MD who was apologetic and offered to do all in her power to make everthing well again. They are a good client so I'm keen to get it fixed with no financial cost to them; apart from a goodwill drink or two... or three at a local pub.

[Splinter]

Hell, that must have been one of those bite your lip moments!
Had a few near misses myself Kryten, but not that bad.
In my post/thread about 'In the shop today', is a similar but different story. Like you, the bloke was rational, but of course his was a pc. He put it in a very dry, warm place, took the side off and pointed a fan at it for a week.
Maybe leave switching it on a few days more just in case?

[Wooster]

I nearly busted a punters iPhone today.
I was swapping out an IP Phone and the handset thumped onto it as I was lifting the old one away.
...it was ok but the screens on those things are made out of bloody eggshells. 

Still it could be worse, one of the engineers went through a roof a couple of years ago and put his foot through a students printer.  

[Kryten]

Latest news. Both good and bad.

The good - After taking it apart yesterday, generous sprays of electrolube, letting the individual components dry overnight and putting everything back together this morning, it started up and mostly is fine. All operating as they should including ports - firewire, usb, display, ethernet etc.

The bad - Some keyboard buttons not working at all - Command key, Return key, and a few of the letters. Works fine with external keyboard attached but obviously top case plus keyboard will need replacing. Additionally the backlit keyboard display feature not working. Also, there are four LSI (Liquid Submersion Indicators) on the underside of the top case and keyboard which, in normal circumstances are white in colour. They are now red, indicating, obviously, that there has been a spill.

So, it'll be £200 ish for a new top cover including keyboard and all will be well again. That said, I'm always suspicious of liquid damage to sensitive electronics. What may appear fine now can cause problems at a later stage.

Had another chat with the MD of the company concerned. She's asked for a full report and she'll put in a claim for any repairs/replacement against her company. I advised her that, as far as the keyboard is concerned, if the new replacement does not work then that may mean additional costs as something else will need replacing. "Whatever it takes, do it" was her reply.

They are one of my better clients; their annual investment in the services I provide for them is quite substantial so I'm keen that the initiative to get things sorted comes from them without me having to resort to letters and stuff. I am both happy and relieved that that is the case.

[Splinter]

You're lucky to be dealing with reasonable and sensible people.
Long may it continue

[Kryten]

You're lucky to be dealing with reasonable and sensible people.
Long may it continue

Oh. they are very good Splinter. Both as clients and as people. Okay, I was angry yesterday and I may have gone overboard with the anglo saxon expletives that were directed at the poor sod, but it was an accident and I have subsequently spoken to him and apologised for my language. I try and have the same relationship with all of my clients and, with the vast majority, I am successful. Alas though, with some, it's an uphill struggle.

[Splinter]

Good to hear!
I've got one or two who like to show me how to repair their machines. That is until I go all Basil Fawlty on them, which ususally does the trick 

[corroded]

See, I've discovered a way to let a professional know that I know what I'm talking about... assuming I actually am. With BT when I had a problem with a line, which had a lot of crackle on it causing the ADSL to drop the engineers would normally blame internal cabling.

So once he got in the house I started referring to the BT box by it's product number (NTE5) and told him I'd tested connected both with the wire that ran upstairs, a short wire both from the external plate and from the test socket under the faceplate... and that the router was having a good connection, with decent SNR and attenuation values, barring the dropouts.

No fuss at all, replaced the wire between us and the box...

I figure it's the better way then 'I work in IT and know what I'm talking about' some people do. Whereas if you help them out, they kinda generally realise you know what you are talking about and don't give you the Fisher Price version!

[Kryten]

Replacement top case + keyboard arrived earlier today. Just finished removing all components (again) and connecting them into the new top case. Fired it up and everything works perfectly. I'm still a tad apprehensive about it's future (as I mentioned before about my reservations with regards to water damage) but for the moment I am happy. Email with invoice attached sent to client. I also called them with an update on what I did including my, very slight, apprehensions.

@Corroded and Splinter - Hehe, yeah I know what you guys mean. I tend to approach those situations from an opposite view though. I play dumb thus allowing the "expert" to dig themselves in a hole and then I throw in a curved ball which totally surprises them. Good fun.

On the other hand, there have also been situations where, whilst on-site, I successfully carry out a repair and yet have absolutely no idea what I did that fixed the problem. It's in those situations that the client asks what the problem was and how I fixed it. I then go into major geek mode. Within ten seconds they switch off and ask if I want a drink. I breath a sigh of relief and move on.

[Splinter]

I can certainly relate to that Kryten. Makes me think of 'The hand of God' (la mano de Dios).
Only this week a lady brought her machine in saying it wouldn't start up. (I always ask them to come back later, rather than watch over my shoulder......until the problem is fixed)
Plug it in and hey presto. I don't charge for that kind of stuff, but simply warn them that it probably will happen again, particularly if I can't locate the fault. Just let it die (usually a psu) and bring it back.
I seem to have accumulated so much stuff that appeared to be at death's door and has suddenly sprung back to life. 650W psu's, monitors, mobos etc