Most end laptop users all know the issue of a glass or cup being knocked over and covering the laptop in coffee or drink. What to do to rescue your expensive laptop. Tech-Wales gives you some tips to rescue your laptop and prevent the loss of work and data.
Electronic components and liquids do not mix well. If your laptop gets wet due an accident with a glass or mug on your desk it can cause considerable damage. It can even create a dangerous situation in which you get a power shock from your laptop. This is not a rare problem and it happens a lot.
That is why a common question is what to do when a laptop gets wet? Let’s start with the most important thing: switch off the laptop immediately after the water damage incident. Disconnect the plug and remove the battery. The faster you do this, the better.
Switch everything off
If you have knocked over a glass of water it is very important to dry the case, on and off button, keyboard and other things that you see. Start with the on / off button to switch the system off immediately. If there is water on it, it can enter the machine from the surface when you press the button, so start when the laptop is still on.
When the area around the power switch is dry, press and hold the power button until the system turns off. Disconnect the power cable and remove the battery if possible. This ensures that the damage does not escalate any further and also that you do not electrocute yourself.
Disconnect components
Disconnect all components from the laptop like printer, external hard drive and mouse. Then open everything you can open: panels on the back, doors that protect ports, the memory modules, the hard disk, everything you can reach. With most laptops you can loosen the bottom and then you can click or unscrew RAM modules and you can unscrew the hard drive.
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Drying the laptop
Do not use a hair dryer to dry your laptop. This can cause damage to the system through heating or to blow liquid to sensitive components. A hairdryer is not a good approach. Just use a soft towel to carefully dry the case. Remove as many parts as possible and place them all on a towel. Allow the entire device to rest so that gravity can do its job and accumulated water can run down to be absorbed by the towel. Feel free to leave the laptop that way for one night or more. Then reassemble it and try to start it again.
Tech-Wales hardware
However we do understand that removing parts from a laptop is not part of your skill set. Also when there is a smell of burning or the system won’t restart you will need a professional to look at your laptop. At Tech-Wales we have an expert team to help you with your business laptop should it be damaged or if it needs repair or if you require a new laptop. Feel free to contact us or have a look at our computer hardware services.