Drink malfunction

Mark · 07-12-2009, 17:15

Oops. Yes, I finally did it. 20+ years with no spillages and it's finally happened.

The bottle was placed in front of my laptop. When it went flying it somehow completely missed the most expensive bit of kit (the laptop). Most of it landed on an old scanner and my keyboard - neither of which I'm particularly bothered about (the keyboard needed replacing anyway and I've got another scanner). However, the control buttons on my big monitor caught a splash and have been affected.

So, does anyone have any tips for salvaging things? I can always try the warranty trick on the monitor but I'd rather try to save it.

Thanks.

PS - unfortunately it wasn't just water, which may have some bearing on the outcome.

Will · 07-12-2009, 17:17

Alcohol based thinner (isopropyl alcohol being ideal) with cotton buds, or thin bit of cloth or card to slide between the buttons.

Mark · 07-12-2009, 18:19

Don't want to take the thing apart as it's under warranty, but I'll give those a shot. I also have access to compressed air if that is any use.

Mark · 07-12-2009, 19:37

The drinks malfunction triggered two other problems today. Firstly I had to power down everything in here to clean up the mess and reset the KVM. When I switched back on, I got a battery failure alarm from my UPS and my Linux server refused to boot.

Luckily the battery fault is advisory (it just means I won't be protected for power failures until I get a new one). The Linux problem was because I'd upgraded to the latest udev but was still running 2.6.24. Udev no likey. I was able to manually reconstruct /dev enough to build a 2.6.31 kernel and it all seems good now.

That's my three. Thankyouverymuch.

PS - Going to leave the monitor powered off until the weekend (I'm currently using the cheap 19" TV from the bedroom) and then hook it back up and pray. I'll do the same with the old keyboard before chucking it, just in case.

Del Lardo · 07-12-2009, 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark

Oops. Yes, I finally did it. 20+ years with no spillages and it's finally happened.

The bottle was placed in front of my laptop. When it went flying it somehow completely missed the most expensive bit of kit (the laptop). Most of it landed on an old scanner and my keyboard - neither of which I'm particularly bothered about (the keyboard needed replacing anyway and I've got another scanner). However, the control buttons on my big monitor caught a splash and have been affected.

So, does anyone have any tips for salvaging things? I can always try the warranty trick on the monitor but I'd rather try to save it.

Thanks.

PS - unfortunately it wasn't just water, which may have some bearing on the outcome.

What was in the bottle?

Mark · 07-12-2009, 19:46

Diet Coke. Bad sticky news - second only to coffee I believe. I'm hoping that as it was only a splash I'll be OK. We'll see.

Feek · 07-12-2009, 22:17

That could have been a lot worse, no sugar in it.

Mark · 11-12-2009, 21:40

It seems you were correct...

It's Alive!!!

Plugged everything back in and it all works. May chuck the keyboard anyway though as it is very well abused.

Thank you. Thank you. A thousand thank yous.

Feek · 11-12-2009, 22:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark

May chuck the keyboard anyway though as it is very well abused.

Is that the keyboard you posted a picture of on OcUK? If so, then YES! Throw it in the nearest skip and pick up a replacement, they're pretty cheap these days at £20-£25 ish.

Mark · 11-12-2009, 22:37

Already unpacked the replacement (I bought four of those keyboards). The old one has been vastly cleaned up since that pic was taken, but it's still full of god knows what. The one at work is also full of similar, but at least it's clean. Eating at my desk is bad.

On that note, I'm minded to keep the old one for a month or two (until I've got eating space away from the PC). That'll be the ideal time for it to go (I want to stop eating in front of the PC as that'll help my eating habits and health).

07-12-2009, 17:15	#1
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Drink malfunction Oops. Yes, I finally did it. 20+ years with no spillages and it's finally happened. The bottle was placed in front of my laptop. When it went flying it somehow completely missed the most expensive bit of kit (the laptop). Most of it landed on an old scanner and my keyboard - neither of which I'm particularly bothered about (the keyboard needed replacing anyway and I've got another scanner). However, the control buttons on my big monitor caught a splash and have been affected. So, does anyone have any tips for salvaging things? I can always try the warranty trick on the monitor but I'd rather try to save it. Thanks. PS - unfortunately it wasn't just water, which may have some bearing on the outcome.

07-12-2009, 17:17	#2
Will BBx woz 'ere :P Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 2,147,487,208	Alcohol based thinner (isopropyl alcohol being ideal) with cotton buds, or thin bit of cloth or card to slide between the buttons. __________________ *No No!*

07-12-2009, 19:37	#4
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	The drinks malfunction triggered two other problems today. Firstly I had to power down everything in here to clean up the mess and reset the KVM. When I switched back on, I got a battery failure alarm from my UPS and my Linux server refused to boot. Luckily the battery fault is advisory (it just means I won't be protected for power failures until I get a new one). The Linux problem was because I'd upgraded to the latest udev but was still running 2.6.24. Udev no likey. I was able to manually reconstruct /dev enough to build a 2.6.31 kernel and it all seems good now. That's my three. Thankyouverymuch. PS - Going to leave the monitor powered off until the weekend (I'm currently using the cheap 19" TV from the bedroom) and then hook it back up and pray. I'll do the same with the old keyboard before chucking it, just in case. Last edited by Mark; 07-12-2009 at 19:42.

07-12-2009, 22:17	#7
Feek ex SAS Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: JO01ou Posts: 10,062	That could have been a lot worse, no sugar in it. __________________

11-12-2009, 21:40	#8
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	It seems you were correct... It's Alive!!! Plugged everything back in and it all works. May chuck the keyboard anyway though as it is very well abused. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand thank yous. Last edited by Mark; 11-12-2009 at 21:44.

07-12-2009, 18:19	#3
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Don't want to take the thing apart as it's under warranty, but I'll give those a shot. I also have access to compressed air if that is any use.

07-12-2009, 19:46	#6
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Diet Coke. Bad sticky news - second only to coffee I believe. I'm hoping that as it was only a splash I'll be OK. We'll see.

11-12-2009, 22:37	#10
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Already unpacked the replacement (I bought four of those keyboards). The old one has been vastly cleaned up since that pic was taken, but it's still full of god knows what. The one at work is also full of similar, but at least it's clean. Eating at my desk is bad. On that note, I'm minded to keep the old one for a month or two (until I've got eating space away from the PC). That'll be the ideal time for it to go (I want to stop eating in front of the PC as that'll help my eating habits and health). Last edited by Mark; 11-12-2009 at 22:41.