Spilled coffee on keyboard of laptop. Help.

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brucev

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HP Pavilion laptop computer. Spilled a splash... not more than a teaspoon of coffee. No smoke or odd noises. Currently have it sitting upside down open so the air can circulate. Have wiped off all the exterior of the computer.

Very much need to know ... if I take this computer to Staples or a similar store, can they transfer the date to a new computer. Could they save the data to a external hard drive?

My wife said everything is backed up on the cloud, carbonite. May not have my terms straight.

Just need to whatever information someone might could give. Need to know what to do. Not concerned about having to replace the computer. Big concern is the data ... files. Really need them. Any information would be appreciated. Sincerely. bruce.
 
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The hard drive can be pulled and put in a USB housing to transfer files, but first, the keyboard could likely be replaced. If the coffee was black (no sugar or cream to gum things up), it can be sometimes be cleaned. If there is sugar / cream, that really messes things up.

Once it dries out, they could load it up using an external keyboard and test to see if any keys are lost. I've done that more than once. But yes, the Staples and Best Buy folks see that every day.
 
It's unlikely a teaspoon of coffee has killed your laptop. Heck, I once spilled about a cup and a half of diet coke on my work laptop. Diet coke literally poured out of it as I held it up by the corner. After it dried, that sucker booted right up without a hitch!

Leave it to dry like you are doing. Remove the battery if you haven't already done so. A fan blowing over it also couldn't hurt. Wait at least 24 hours, then power it back up. Odds are it'll work fine. And even if it doesn't it's even more unlikely that your hard drive was destroyed by that errant teaspoon of caffeinated elixir, so even if the laptop is toast the data is almost certainly recoverable.
 
Did not know to turn it off. So... remove battery. THen cut off? Will it be able to be turned back on? Just real worried about the data. Sermons back to 2012. Really really need them if at all possible. I found one of those memory stick things. Stick it in the side?
 
The usb "memory stick" only works when your system can copy to it. Just sticking it in the side is not useful unless you know what you are doing.

I made the assumption that you had powered it down. If you have not, you could just unplug the power and pull out the battery to be sure it powers off and dries out without shorting out first.

The hard drive can be removed (by someone who is knowledgeable on that system) and put into a special external housing to copy the data even if the processor or keyboard were proven to be toast. It is done every day. You just don't want to do anything while it is wet / damp.
 
Awww, Bruce... The temptation to mess with you is sooooo high!

But, I think the advice to turn it upside down and let it drip off and dry out, for starters, is a good one. Give it some time.

Good luck.
 
Bruce, I would unplug. No need to have it plugged in while it is drying off.

Heck, yer laptop can run out of power, dead as a door nail, and when you plug it back in, after a bit, everything comes back.
 
GGGRRRR ;)

Unplug the power supply from the laptop. With the battery out, it will shut down hard. There is a reason to do that instead of unplugging the power supply from the wall, but it is too late for me to be going to details.

Leave it 24-36 hours to dry out.
 
I'm guessing a spoonful of coffee won't cause any issues once you dry out, but if you have files important to keep, you should develop a back-up regimen. Keeping copies on an external drive and a cloud storage service like Dropbox is fast and easy.

Good luck.
 
Using my wife's computer to type this. Took the battery out last night and let it sit all night under a fan. Computer was left opened up and places upside down so that any remaining coffee would drain out. There was virtually nothing that came out.

Computer appears dry. Plugged it in and turned it on. Started normally. Some keys on the keyboard work normally while those at the bottom center don't respond. This prevents me from putting in the password and proceeding.

Given that the computer will turn on and that the problem seems to be with some keys on the keyboard, would it be possible for Staples to clean it so that the keys work? I'm hoping to only have to buy a laptop.

All my sermons are on a program called Corel Word Perfect. My wife said the computer was bought about 2009 so it would be the WP program at that time. Looks like Corel is no longer popular. Most of my files are not large ... one to three pages, usually double-spaced.

If I buy a new computer would they be able to transfer the stuff off my old computer? Would I need to buy a new Corel program? If I can just get the files printed off, then I can file them the old fashioned way on paper until I can figure out what to do about a computer, up to date word processing program, etc.

Profoundly appreciate the help I have received. If the sermons and bulletins can be saved, that's what matters. It is eight years worth of work. My wife says the pictures and everything is backed up on the cloud and talked about carbonite. We have a wireless network at the house so I'm hoping that means my computer is safe. Fixing to leave for Staples. Hope for the best. Sincerely. bruce.
 
bigwheelzip said:
Just buy a stand alone keyboard to bypass the non-functional one.
If your laptop has a USB port free, then I'd get a wired keyboard. If not, there are wireless bluetooth keyboards like this:

The best bluetooth keyboard
Click to expand...

Thank you profoundly! Sounds like a workable idea. This would give me a way to get my stuff saved to a separate device, print off the material on paper and time to shop for a replacement computer. My wife is pushing me to buy a Mac. They are supposed to last and have few problems. This computer only lasted 8 years. Guess they don't make 'em like they used to. Sincerely. bruce.
 
I didn't mean it to be a stop-gap measure. I meant for it to be a permanent work around. I've used wired keyboards connected to laptops for years, simply because I like the keyboards better. No reason you can't do the same, assuming you do your work at one location, like an office desk.

Apples doesn't make their own hardware. It is the same as everyone else uses. The only difference is the operating system. My husbands MacBook battery bulged out of the case after just six years, and the letters wore off the keys very quickly. They don't have better hardware.
 
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I'd maybe suggest that while you back up your files to the cloud, it may not be a bad idea to pick up a small portable hard drive (or usb flash drive depending on your laptop's saved file size) and on occasion copy your files onto the spare drive. That way you have a second backup should you need to access something on another computer or while traveling and can not access the web.
 
8 years is a long time in computer years. Good advice here to get a portable hard drive. They aren't very expensive, and you can back up all of your data on one. Do it regularly, like once a week or so.
 
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