genius needed
by John at 8/17/2004 03:40:00 PM
This weekend I screwed up big time. I spilled coffee on Wendy's laptop during a game of indoor fetch with Goose and Diva. I was showing off, trying to make an over-the-coffee-table shot, when I hit her coffee mug with the soccer ball that shouts "He shoots! He scores!"
Anyway, the laptop was closed and in standby mode, and I quickly wiped the coffee off the cover and the sides. I didn't think any had gotten inside the case, but I let it sit for an hour or so to be sure before we tried turning it on.
When we did, nothing happened. No lights or HD or fan sound. It just sat there insolently uncommunicative, as still it does to this day.
I figure that I probably need to send it out for repair. First, though, I want to backup it's HD to another computer, so I bought a converter that will let me plug the laptop drive into my desktop IDE and power cables. I should have the converter Wednesday.
Anyone know any possible quick fixes before I send it off? I read something about removing the CMOS battery to get the laptop to restart, but I think I'll have to take the whole computer apart to get do that. I also tried just hitting the secret reset button on the bottom of the case, but no luck. It is in warranty (limited), but I'll have to tell them that I broke it with coffee, so I imagine it won't be a free repair. The laptop is a stock Sony Vaio PCG-FRV37.
Anyway, the laptop was closed and in standby mode, and I quickly wiped the coffee off the cover and the sides. I didn't think any had gotten inside the case, but I let it sit for an hour or so to be sure before we tried turning it on.
When we did, nothing happened. No lights or HD or fan sound. It just sat there insolently uncommunicative, as still it does to this day.
I figure that I probably need to send it out for repair. First, though, I want to backup it's HD to another computer, so I bought a converter that will let me plug the laptop drive into my desktop IDE and power cables. I should have the converter Wednesday.
Anyone know any possible quick fixes before I send it off? I read something about removing the CMOS battery to get the laptop to restart, but I think I'll have to take the whole computer apart to get do that. I also tried just hitting the secret reset button on the bottom of the case, but no luck. It is in warranty (limited), but I'll have to tell them that I broke it with coffee, so I imagine it won't be a free repair. The laptop is a stock Sony Vaio PCG-FRV37.
Yuris, I was actually wondering whether this was God's (or John's) way of telling me that getting the Windows machine was a big mistake.
If I do end up needing to get a new machine, I will seriously consider a PowerBook - I promise!
It took several hours and I ran into a few snags along the way (the converter had an extra pin where there shouldn't be one, the included brackets didn't fit the 2.5" drive so I couldn't securely mount it in the desktop, and I had to compile NTFS support for the kernel because RH9 has it turned off by default), but I was able to get all the data off the broken laptop's HD. So that's good.
Next up: finding out how much it will cost and how long it will take to fix the problem.
Cost: $137 + parts + shipping + insurance
Time: unknown
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