[Tikatu]

Okay, here's the scoop. My daughter spilled some water on her desk last night, and a little bit wound up on her keyboard. She acted quickly to sop it up and shut things down, then left it to dry overnight, hoping that would work. She booted up this morning and things were working fine until she plugged the power cord into her computer. When she did this, the screen dimmed considerably (it went to half brightness). Unplug it, screen returns to full brightness. She has shut down again, and I've come here.

What could be causing this, and what can be done about it? Her laptop is an HP G60 series, and she's running Windows 7.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Hi Tikatu
Safest thing to do is to remove what you can from the laptop Ram cover, Ram, HDD and the DVD/CD drive then leave the laptop to dry out naturally for a couple of days, the warmer the room the better + it will dry out quicker, if you are tempted to use a hair dryer to speed up the process only use it on a relatively cool setting and do not put the appliance too close to the laptop.

[phillpower2]

Hi Tikatu
Safest thing to do is to remove what you can from the laptop Ram cover, Ram, HDD and the DVD/CD drive then leave the laptop to dry out naturally for a couple of days, the warmer the room the better + it will dry out quicker, if you are tempted to use a hair dryer to speed up the process only use it on a relatively cool setting and do not put the appliance too close to the laptop.

[Digerati]

Safest thing to do is to remove what you can from the laptop Ram cover, Ram, HDD and the DVD/CD drive

And the battery too!

I would not use a hair dryer. Too many plastic parts. I have seen keys warped so badly, they interfered with adjacent keys. The client said it happened in seconds. A desk fan blasting on it all night would help.

[phillpower2]

Trust me to forget the battery

I would not use a hair dryer.

Agreed Digerati and the reason why I said if tempted.

[Tikatu]

My daughter will take out what she's capable of taking out, and run a fan on it all day (into the night if necessary). We'll see what happens in the morning. Thanks for your advice!

[phillpower2]

You are welcome hope it works out ok and let us know.

[Digerati]

Don't get your hopes up too high - just in case the water created a short that caused permanent damage.

[Tikatu]

Okay. My daughter left it open and drying all weekend, and she's still having the same problem. The laptop charges; it works fine, but the screen still dims when she plugs it in.

She's adjusted her brightness settings, so now the screen is almost as bright plugged in as on battery power, but there's still a small difference between the two, with the plugged in screen being dimmer. It acts like the opposite of her power saver settings, where the screen would dim slightly (not half-brightness) on battery power to conserve energy.

Any suggestions as to what is causing this?

Thanks again for you help!

[phillpower2]

I suggest you have your AC adapter checked to make sure it is functioning as it should, if you have or can loan a multimeter and are confident enough to test it yourself (you may be an electrician for instance) this guide outlines the procedure http://www.laptoppar...-power-adapter/

[Tikatu]

Well, here we are, three days after she booted back up, and she reports things are back to normal with the screen brightness. If it flares up again, she's going to take it to the local tech-monitored repair-it-yourself place. Thanks for all your help with this! You can mark it as resolved.

Edited by Tikatu, 03 August 2011 - 08:19 AM.

[Digerati]

the local tech-monitored repair-it-yourself place

Hmmm, I like that concept.

[Tikatu]

the local tech-monitored repair-it-yourself place

Hmmm, I like that concept.

One of our local computer parts stores has an area where they have stations available for people to repair, clean out, do whatever on their computers, with a tech looking over their shoulder to give advice, troubleshoot, and diagnose problems. It's extremely popular, and ends up with a long wait if you don't get there early in the morning.(There are only six stations, so only six customers can be helped at a time.) Of course, it's good for them because most people will buy any needed parts there. They'll test parts for you, too. It's a good way to get computers repaired for a low cost.

[Digerati]

Well, I do something similar, but on a volunteer basis. But it is a nice business concept - especially if they offer free coffee and doughnuts too!

[phillpower2]

Well, here we are, three days after she booted back up, and she reports things are back to normal with the screen brightness. If it flares up again, she's going to take it to the local tech-monitored repair-it-yourself place. Thanks for all your help with this! You can mark it as resolved.

Glad to hear that the issue appears to be resolved, can you post how it was resolved so that it may help others who are unfortunate enough to have the same or similar problem

[Tikatu]

Well, that's a problem because I'm not really sure how it was resolved, other than waiting a few extra days for the laptop to fully dry out. As my daughter said, "I don't know. It just started working right!"