What to do if water gets into your laptop: IT first aid
For various reasons, our favorite laptop computers are often found with liquids: either spilled tea, or knocked over a bottle of beer. The first thing that comes to mind is frantically counting how much money will now have to be deducted from your budget for repairs or a new device. “Popular mechanics” by a real example shows how to save a well-flooded laptop, and how likely it is to fully restore its working capacity.
Today’s patient is the “workhorse” of our technical editor, accidentally drenched in a red, semi-sweet carbonated liquid. Notebook Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E570 will serve as an excellent illustration of the general principles of disassembly, as well as processing the main elements of their design to minimize the negative effects of moisture.
Disclaimer: Popular Mechanics is not responsible for the actions of the experimenters who followed this instruction, all manipulations you perform at your own peril and risk. The article is not a guide to action and is only a recommendation in nature.
First aid rules
As soon as even a small amount of liquid gets on the laptop, it must be completely de-energized as quickly as possible: disconnect the battery and the power cord. If the battery is non-removable, the computer must be shut down urgently. To do this, the power button is held for 2-5 seconds, sometimes longer. This works on almost all modern gadgets. And there is no need to regret unsaved documents – if the computer survives, there is always an opportunity to restore them; if it dies, it will be much more difficult to do this.
You need to disconnect from the device everything that is inserted into the connectors and expansion ports: mice, flash drives and any wires. It remains to remove all traces of moisture from the case and put it on its side on some napkins to drain. During the time it takes to clean the workplace, the bulk of the liquid will escape from the laptop. In this state, he will go to the nearest comfortable working surface for preparation. It is strongly not recommended to connect anything to it or try to turn it on even after a few hours.
Water, juice, various soda or alcoholic drinks, getting inside the case, can close the contacts of connectors or microcircuits. Moreover, the danger is not only the liquids themselves, but also the films remaining after they dry. Even if such a dry trail does not in itself conduct current, it accelerates corrosion of the part underneath. Oxidation layers form on metal surfaces such as contact groups or pads, they break the connection and can partially or completely damage the board.
Even more damage will be caused by moisture that did not have time to dry before the voltage was applied. Liquid trapped in the space between the board and the microcircuit, in connectors or under various shielding casings, may not completely evaporate for a very long time (at high air humidity – up to several weeks). When voltage is applied to the sealed contacts, the process of electrochemical corrosion begins. As a rule, it develops rapidly and a seemingly dried gadget orders to live a long time a month after drowning.
Preparation of the workplace
So, we need: a smartphone with a camera and Internet access, a large table, napkins, a tool, distilled water, alcohol or contact cleaner, as well as toothpicks, a toothbrush with soft bristles, one large container and one small one. It is better to prepare all this in advance so as not to be distracted in the process and not to drag it out. The phone will be indispensable for documenting the process and searching for clues on the Web. The work surface should be level and resistant to alcohol and detergents – for example, a kitchen table. When choosing napkins, it is better to stop at ordinary non-woven “miracle rags”, which are sold in any department of the supermarket.
To choose the right tool, you need to carefully examine the laptop and understand what type of fasteners it uses. Almost always, these are Philips slotted screws in sizes from 000 to 1 – if you do not apply too much force, it will be enough to take a Phillips screwdriver PH0. At times, electronics manufacturers come up with all sorts of ways to make life harder for dismantlers. In this case, a search on the Web for the exact name of the slot type and the necessary screwdrivers will help. The second tool that we will definitely need is a spatula made of hard plastic or soft metal. If you don’t worry about the appearance of the equipment and work as carefully as possible, a thin flat screwdriver will do, but some joints of the case will still be damaged. As well as the guarantee, which after disassembly you will certainly be deprived. This must be remembered.
Distilled or deionized water is practically non-conductive, so it can be safely used for primary cleaning of electronic components. We will clean cleanly with alcohol – isopropyl or ethyl. The former can be bought freely on the web, chemical stores, or electronics markets. The problem with the second is that its turnover in Russia is limited, but if you do not want to go far at all, then in extreme cases vodka will do, but this is the worst option. Ideally, you should buy a special contact cleaner: it contains substances that penetrate into the smallest holes and slots, which displace moisture and protect the electronics from corrosion.
Disassembly
First of all, we go to the search engine and look for a video of our patient’s disassembly. If you can’t find a specific model, it makes sense to look at the manuals for dismantling related devices from the same manufacturer, which will allow you to roughly understand what to expect from the process. And, of course, a query like “[model name] disassembly” works wonders.
An important parting word: if something does not understand, then not all fasteners have been unscrewed and disconnected. If force is required for disassembly, it must be applied smoothly, confidently and three times making sure that all screws are found and removed. All actions must be performed strictly on a sober, sleepyhead and without haste. The main thing to remember is that the worst is over and the maximum that can be done is to finish off the doomed. We must document every step: we take photographs of the general plan, as well as all the places of fastening and connection of wires or loops.
- We inspect the case for fasteners and in order to assess the sequence of disassembly. In our case, everything is simple: we start from the bottom, where there is a small cover and four separately marked screws – one holds the optical drive, the rest – the keyboard. Instead of a drive, I have a sled for an additional hard drive, carefully hook them up and take them out to the side.
- Remove the cover, which opens access to the user-replaceable modules without loss of warranty, and carefully remove everything. The hard drive (in this case, the SSD) is held only by the connector, the motherboard battery is glued to the double-sided tape. To get the RAM bar, slightly bend the spring-loaded latches around the edges. The WiFi + BT module is released after disconnecting two cables from it (coaxial connectors can be tight, we smoothly loosen them) and unscrewing a small screw (screw it back so as not to lose it).
- The keyboard, after unscrewing three screws from the bottom, is removed by sliding towards itself – this is one of the two most common mounting options. The second one is latched in a circle. Two loops are visible under it (usually one), in order to disconnect them, you need to bend the latch and gently pull on the blue tab. If access to any other connectors is opened, we disable them at the same time.
- Next, unscrew ALL screws that we find on the case on all sides, and put them in a small container prepared in advance (bottle cap). It will not be superfluous to inspect the case several times and feel the stickers with a hard object. Sometimes fasteners are hidden under them or rubber feet.
5. At this stage, the really scary thing for an unprepared experimenter begins: it is necessary to insert a screwdriver or a spatula into the gap between the halves of the case and start to move it apart. As a rule, the parts of the laptop are fastened not only with screws, but also with latches. The main thing here is not to overdo it, but after the first disconnected section of the “seam”, there is usually an understanding with what effort to work. We insert toothpicks into the resulting gap so that it does not close back.
6. An incident may happen – a secret screw that cannot be unscrewed in any way, or a torn off fastener, as happened with me. It turned out that at the factory, during assembly, it was overtightened and the landing cracked. Tweezers and a little brute force helped, and then I straightened the metal amplifier.
7. A view opens on the main (motherboard) board and its neighbors. According to the already worked out scheme, we disconnect the cables and unscrew all the screws, then remove all the components. The connector to the monitor cable may be very tight and covered with anti-static tape. Usually it sticks back on easily, so we are not afraid to remove it. But you do not need to pry on the comb of the plug – we smoothly pull on the special tail or swing the connector from right to left (without enthusiasm).
8. Unscrew the lid hinges, remove it and detach the frame around the display. As a rule, there are no screws there, only tight latches – the principle is the same as for the case halves. The main thing is not to crush the matrix or scratch it with anything.
Cleaning
We assess the damage: we carefully examine every square centimeter of the board, do not forget about the reverse side. We are looking for either sticky drops and stains, or a whitish coating in those places where plain water got into. We look into all the connectors. The best traces of liquid penetration are visible if you shine a flashlight at an acute angle to the surface of the part.
If the damage is minor, remove all streaks, streaks and drops using a cloth soaked in alcohol abundantly. Connectors and elements with complex patterns are ideally cleaned with a toothbrush. It is better to pour the alcohol into a small bath or a deep plate, and rinse the brush in it. Small fees can also be safely dropped there. At the end, be sure to inspect all electronic components and wipe the contact pads of the connectors and loops.
If you find traces of a serious flood, you should start by rinsing in distilled water. It will wash away most of the contamination, it remains only to treat all critical places with alcohol, as described above. When using a contact cleaner, you do not need to pour it anywhere, we zip, work with a brush and collect the excess with a dry rag.
Important: we never pick anything, do not rub it vigorously with a stiff brush and do not rub it with a rag, like boots in the army – there is a risk of simply tearing small electronic components off the board. You can not stand on ceremony with body parts, there is only plastic. The keyboard will have to be soaked entirely, but almost certainly it will not help: there are a lot of films in it and it does not understand in any way – it is unlikely that it will be possible to erase all the dirt from there.
Assembly
After all the parts are cleaned and dried (the hair dryer can be used only without heating), we carry out all the steps in reverse order, regularly checking the photographs. It is a good idea to sort the fasteners by size and type at this stage. If you have any doubts about where, take a close look at the boards, case and structural elements. There are almost certainly size marks next to the screw holes. For example, the inscription “М2х3” means that a screw with a diameter of 2 mm and a length of 3 mm goes into this seat.
Five types of fasteners: shiny screws are used, as a rule, for fastening boards, with a large head for structural elements (hinges), long ones connect the halves of the case, and short ones hold connectors.
Special attention should be paid to the laying of wires and loops along the body: special grooves or hooks are made for them, and the path can bend very steeply. In order not to damage the braid, or even completely interrupt the wire, you can push them with a rounded blunt object such as a pen cap, tweezers handle or a Chinese stick.
Do not rush to collect everything to the end: at least it is better to twist the case not immediately. We connect all the components and try to turn on the laptop by powering it from the mains. If it starts to load, then you can exhale – at least not a “brick” on your hands. During the tests, you should definitely check all the connectors for operability and connect to wireless networks. If it turns off again immediately after pressing the power button, then something is shorting somewhere and protection is triggered. We disassemble it back and repeat the cleaning procedure, but this time with particular passion.
Outcome
Our patient got off with the loss of half the keys and a slight fright of all sympathizers. Accidental flooding of the laptop turned into a waste of three thousand rubles, of which two and a half – a new keyboard, and one lost working day. No guarantees that everyone will be lucky either. There is always the possibility that the device’s battery was disconnected too late and that a short circuit destroyed some electronic components. Or, when trying to repair, the gadget was finished off. Or some of the traces of liquid ingress could not be completely removed, and they did their dirty deed.
In any case, the game is worth the candle – there are few things more pleasant than the joy of a complex device rebuilt with your own hands. And failure is unlikely to turn into an irreparable disaster, because he was already damaged. If necessary, after such adventures, information from hard drives can still be extracted, unless they are also flooded with liquid.
