So, a glass of red wine commited suicide onto my MacBook Pro the other night.

[cbayer]

It was really, really rocky and I just took my hand off for a minute. Most of it went all over me and the couch, but some did hit the open computer.

Everything seems ok except the track pad.

At first it wasn't working at all, but I put in a mouse and that works fine.

Then it started getting totally wacked out. Opening windows on it's own, starting programs, zooming in and out of the page.

I disable all the track pad commands and it has stopped doing all that.

My questions are these:

Does the wacky behavior indicate that the trackpad is trying to recover?

Is there anything I should or should not be doing that might get the trackpad back to normal?

[PoliticAverse]

1. The wacky behavior implies there's some liquid in there somewhere floating around.

Turn it keyboard side down and see if you can shake any out.

Leave it open in some warm area to help it dry out. If it isn't working when any liquid has dried
it's time for plan B.

[cbayer]

2. Maybe I will leave it open and upside down over night tonight.

I thought I had trashed my track pad once before, but it eventually went completely back to normal.

Thanks so much for your help?

[PoliticAverse]

3. Good luck and no more wineing about your computer... n/t

[cbayer]

4. Lol! I need to keep the computer and the wine away from each other when

we are rocking around.

Live and learn.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Sparkly has a MBP that met a similar fate.

Worse than wine, I think it was fruit juice. It shall be visiting the Apple Store soon to see if repairs can be economically effected effectively.

[cbayer]

6. I did this once before with some sweet tea.

It left sugar crystals under my screen.

I have to go to the mainland next week, so if it's still not working, I can go to the Apple store.

Boneheaded move on my part.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Like yours, hers works fine with a mousie.

So we are pretty sure the trackpad is toasted. It accepts all gestures except for clicks.

On edit . . . . would that be toasted or . . . poached?

[cbayer]

8. Can they just replace the track pad?

I left it upside down last night, but nothing has changed.

[Stinky The Clown]

9. We'll learn that on Wednesday when she has a genius bar appointment.

I'm betting they can. I just don't know how much they'll charge.

[davidwparker]

10. What was the wine?

Pinot? Cab?

[cbayer]

11. It was a zin and pretty good, too.

I don't know what I was most upset about - losing my wine or possibly my computer.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. If it was a Zin, that would be my biggest upset!

I'm a huge Zinner.

[cbayer]

17. Ends up it's going to be a $90 glass of zin.

It was good, but not that good, lol.

[davidwparker]

13. LOL

I've heard recently that someone put a wet device in a bag of rice and supposedly that it to help dry it. Good luck with it.

[cbayer]

16. I'm going over to town today and have made an appointment at the genius bar.

Not sure what can be done, so I will defer to the geniuses.

[sir pball]

14. If time doesn't fix it and you're feeling very mechanically handy

You can disassemble the MBP and wash all the circuity with distilled water (not the hard drive!). Let it dry for a few days and it should be fine. The problem with liquids besides water is that they can leave a residue when they dry that will still short-circuit things, so there needs to be a thorough cleaning done.

That, or replace the trackpad. Cheap and readily available on eBay, I did the lady's a while back for >$50.

[cbayer]

18. I'm probably not going to do that.

As you can see, I am a little clumsy at times.

Apple store said it would cost $90 to replace, which I will swallow. But they also said it would take 5 - 7 days, which I just can't do.

Not sure what to do at this point.

[kag]

15. My last 2 keyboards have been victims of death by coffee (with cream & sugar)

My last computer, which needed to be replaced anyway, died completely when I spilled coffee directly on to the keyboard. I tried sopping it up, letting it dry...everything but taking it to the genius bar and admitting what I'd done .

My current computer suffered the exact same fate within about two months of my buying it. (Why I don't learn my lesson is a question my hubby is desperately trying to answer .)

Well, it started behaving pretty wacky, just as you described: opening windows on its own, spewing characters as if it was possessed by the devil, etc. Oh, and the trackpad died...sort of. It wouldn't click, but it would still track, so if I switched my settings to have it click by touch instead of by pressing it, it was almost usable.

After a few weeks, it began to get back to normal, though for months every time I typed "z" or "c" it would start spewing random characters again. That has finally stopped, so my machine is almost completely back to normal. The only permanent consequence is that

1) the track pad still won't click so I still have to use the "touch" setting. I use an external mouse virtually all the time because on the "touch" setting it's impossible to click and drag. And

2) Every time my husband sees my using my computer with a cup of coffee nearby he will take on or the other away from me. Can't say I blame him .

I'll be very interested to know if the geniuses can help you, especially with regard to the track pad. Good luck.

[cbayer]

19. Lol, you are as bad as me!

I am thinking of just using the mouse for awhile and see if it comes back over time.

The geniuses told me they would replace it for $90, which I am willing to do. But the 5 - 7 working days is impossible for me because I plan to return to the island in 5 days.

Not sure what I will do at this point.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. I have some good news!

Sparkly got her trackpad replaced today. Spill damage, as suspected. The cost was $90. The really good news is that it was done in an hour! Apparently the stores are all equipped to do this.

By the way, if it could get by with just a cleaning (a very real possibility), there would be no charge.

I hope yours works out well for you.

[cbayer]

21. That is great news. They told me they would do it in house, same cost, but it would

take 5 - 7 business days. I can't do that.

I have an appointment at another store tomorrow and I am going to plead with them to do it immediately.

They also told me that about the cleaning and also said there would be no charge if there was more damage than just the trackpad which couldn't be repaired.

Keep your fingers crossed. I see the geniuses at 1:30 PM PST tomorrow!

[cbayer]

22. I also have some great news!

I went to the genius bar yesterday and they had my new track pad in by the end of the day.

I had to beg them, because they are backed up about a week, but they did it.

Works perfectly!!

That was one expensive glass of wine.

The Genius tech said if it ever happens again, turn it upside down immediately.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. I bet you hugged that little aluminum case!

[cbayer]

24. Yes, indeed! As well as the tech it brought it to me.

[RebelOne]

25. Done that twice and have killed a couple of keyboards.

Luckily my computer survived. What you should not be doing is having a glass of wine near the computer. I learned my lesson after the second keyboard died.

[cbayer]

26. No wine near the computer?? Blasphemer.

What I have learned is to not have a glass of wine near the computer when we are rocking....

or tea or just about anything.

[RoccoR5955]

27. That's called alcohol abuse.

Along with computer abuse.

As a tech, I feel that it should be punishable by something.

Yeah, they can probably fix it, it may cost you, if there's enough liquid to damage stuff in there.

[cbayer]

28. Well, I do have the excuse that the boat was rocking pretty badly.

But it did end up being a pretty expensive glass of wine.

[RoccoR5955]

29. That's no excuse for an experienced sailor!

We sail a 36 foot gaff rigged sloop on the Hudson. The only ones who spill their drinks in a storm, are those without experience, and those who are foolish enough to leave their drinks on deck!

[cbayer]

30. We were at anchor and I was being complacent.

Generally the swells build, and like a Disney cartoon, I watch things sliding and grab them before we hit critical rocking.

But this one got me by surprise.

Hope you got lots of sailing in this summer!