The Cat Was Sick On My Laptop – Help me Hal ?


Dear HAL – I found the cat looking rather sheepish beside my laptop and a strange clear liquid on the keyboard. Now my laptop won’t boot – Help !!  Hugh.

Dear Hugh – liquids and laptops just don’t go together. The key to trying to survive this kind of feline mischief or more mundane liquid issues is to remove power – both battery and mains before trying to get as much of the liquid out of the laptop as quickly as possible – for example if on the keyboard – flip the laptop upside down and place on a towel.

Placing the laptop in a warm (but not very warm) location like an airing cupboard for several days to ensure slow drying (again placed to ensure liquid drains out). Then seek professional advice before attempting to turn the unit on as further cleaning steps may be required.

Do NOT put the laptop in a bag of rice. This is not a good plan and only goes to show that google can be used by people who simply take posts on face value. It does not work – what made you think it would.


Hal.