Can anybody help with my computer please

[Zutankhamun]

If there are any people who work with a computer or familiar with this problem could you have a look please?

I spilt water on my laptop, it powered off while rebooting and looking for problems. I wonder if it can still be salvaged?
Does anybody have a clue with aptio setup utility?
I don’t seem to have ‘csm’ available (I googled and have no idea of that either)

Any help that anybody may be able to offer would be fantastic. Thank you

 

[Zutankhamun]

I cannot get out of this setup. I have no idea what I’m looking at.
That empty list next to SATA port doesn’t look good

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Aptio is just the name American Megatrend gave the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). CSM, which I do not see reference on your screen shot, is Compatibility Support Module - which is part of some Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) that provides legacy BIOS compatibility. Just in case you needed to know the techy terms

What is missing from your screen shot is the presence of your Hard Drive. 5 Sata ports and only your DVD is being recognized (Sata port 2). This means the Sata port is damaged (probably Sata port 0), or your Hard Drive is damaged.

How comfortable are you at opening up the computer? Can you share the make and model? And take a picture of the bottom, there maybe easier access to the Hard Drive

 

[Zutankhamun]

@Punk In Drublic

I do really appreciate you looking.
What would you recommend I check for?

 

[Zutankhamun]

I’m so poor it’s embrassing. It was a pc specialist laptop I bought, that is as much as I know.

Would there be a way to determine whether port or drive is damaged?

 

[f1vefour]

Unseat the hard drive and check the connector for water, on the drive and the board also.

 

[sonicbomb]

The hard drive is a sealed unit so the water could not have penetrated it. Remove the hard drive and check the connecters for water. In fact check for the presence of any water and remove it.
Its possible that water has penetrated some other part of the motherboard.
I suggest you leave back off and place the machine somewhere warm and dry ideally with some airflow too. Hopefully after an indeterminate period the water will dry off. Leave it at least a couple of days and then try to start it again. If you have another spare hard drive you could try that just to see if the BIOS recognises it. If it does then you know your existing hard drive may be shot.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Searching on the model number (W355SS) does not come up with many results. It is a Clevo manufactured laptop that can be rebranded under many different names. Clevo is an OEM

I would remove your hard drive (bottom middle), should just slide out but note there maybe a ribbon cable attached. You could dry up any standing water, re-attached the drive and see if it boots. If not, perhaps remove the drive again, and let the drive and the computer sit for a while (day or 2) to see if it dry’s out. Outside of that, I am afraid it might be pooched.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

The hard drive is a sealed unit so the water could not have penetrated it

Drives are well sealed, but not water tight, so the probability of water getting inside is low, but not impossible. You can see in the above picture “Do not cover this hole”. The hole allows for the equalization of air pressure within the drive.

 

[Zutankhamun]

Thanks a lot for everyone looking. I have taken apart what I can and all looks dry as a bone. I will leave it for now

The problem the laptop does have is on occasion (almost fortnightly!) when i am using the computer a lot then I will get this message

Windows is trying to identify the problem. Then it restarts
This did happen yesterday maybe slightly before the water got spilt. My pressing concern was lifting the laptop and sorting the water out. As I did that I disconnected the power during the crash report and restart.
Am I just clutching at straws. Could the disconnecting have caused the problem?


It isn’t that proper sad face emoji haha.
Just : (

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Would there be a way to determine whether port or drive is damaged?

Missed this. It would be a process of elimination to determine what is at fault - you would need either a known working computer or a known working hard drive.

Thanks a lot for everyone looking. I have taken apart what I can and all looks dry as a bone. I will leave it for now

The problem the laptop does have is on occasion (almost fortnightly!) when i am using the computer a lot then I will get this message

Windows is trying to identify the problem. Then it restarts
This did happen yesterday maybe slightly before the water got spilt. My pressing concern was lifting the laptop and sorting the water out. As I did that I disconnected the power during the crash report and restart.
Am I just clutching at straws. Could the disconnecting have caused the problem?


It isn’t that proper sad face emoji haha.
Just : (

The “Windows is trying to identify the problem” is vague and could point to many things. Knowledge of the Windows Event Viewer would be needed to identify the problem, and of course a computer that boots into Windows. The problem could be the OS, drivers or hardware

Have doubts disconnecting the power is the culprit – laptop still has its battery.

 

[Zutankhamun]

Battery is finished though.

Have to have it connected all the time. Cannot run without being plugged into the socket!

Yet another issue but that one I wasn’t bothered about

I was supposed to get around to replacing it but they were around £80.

In any case, do you think it is worth buying a new internal hard drive (which are fairly cheap) or is that just throwing money away potentially

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Battery is finished though.

Have to have it connected all the time. Cannot run without being plugged into the socket!

Yet another issue but that one I wasn’t bothered about

I was supposed to get around to replacing it but they were around £80.

In any case, do you think it is worth buying a new internal hard drive (which are fairly cheap) or is that just throwing money away potentially

Is there a computer repair local to you? You should be able to get a quote to determine if your drive or computer is at fault. Little more money than just buying a drive, but might save you from buying a drive if the computer is damaged.

OR…you can purchase a drive, and if you determine the computer is pooched, keep the drive for something else (do not know your computing needs)

Did the laptop come with instalation discs?

Are you using a computer or smartphone/tablet to post on ECF?

 

[Zutankhamun]

@Punk In Drublic

Using my tablet for now. Not good though, I use the computer for work.

Fortunately I’ve got a neighbour who works in IT for a travel company but I didn’t want to keep asking him. Left a note, tbh, I would rather give him money for his time than take it to a repair shop. As you can see from my postings p, I don’t know what I am doing and a definite kerrching sign above my head.


We was chatting the other day and he was advising me to replace my hard drive with an ssd and do some other things I don’t understand haha. Hopefully he can determine the issue which you advised it may be. Hopefully the cheaper
My dad also told me to not keep glasses of water on the desk.
Wish I bloody listened

Thanks for looking and answering

 

[Punk In Drublic]

Hopefully your neighbour can assist.

Did your laptop come with a installation disc? If not, you might have another problem which may require purchasing a new Windows Key.

Some computers have a portion of the hard drive partitioned for the installation of Windows. If your drive failed, you have lost that partition. That installation partition is tied to the Windows Product key (usually a sticker on the back of the laptop), so installing Windows again might not allow activation. Microsoft may have changed their policies, been a while since I’ve dealt with this, but they do not honor the transfer of a Windows OEM Product Key onto a new installation unless that new version of Windows is tied to the product key.

You can call Microsoft, sometimes they are understanding and will active your Windows over the phone. But not in all cases which will require you to contact the laptop manufacture (or brand) for replacement installation drive and or discs. Given the age of your laptop, the manufacture may not support replacement installation discs for this model. So you might have to purchase a new version of Windows which could pose another problem with hardware compatibility. Hope that made sense, still working on the morning coffee

What version of Windows was on your laptop?

 

[Zutankhamun]

It was so long ago. I don’t remember. I never deleted fully wiped it. When restoring never entered so I don’t know. It was 2nd hand with 10 on it.

I’ll try and call them anyway. Sometimes you get lucky.
I signed up to adobe by mistake and used the software once specifically for an edit and I think I signed up to a year. Early cancellation warranted payment of 6 months I think.
After moaning adobe just gave me the money back.
Hopefully I might find a similar diamond at Microsoft.
What an idiot though... urgh

 

[Punk In Drublic]

I believe Microsoft was more lenient with Win 10 so you have that going for you. But no guarantees (do not want to give you any false promises). Good luck!

 

[sonicbomb]

It sounds like the laptop was pretty much end of life before you spilt the water.
Troubleshooting an old laptop can be frustrating even for someone well versed in their repair. If this is a work machine then I suggest you consider buying a new one. Good entry level machines can be picked up relatively cheaply, or consider a reconditioned machine from ebay.

 

[Punk In Drublic]

It sounds like the laptop was pretty much end of life before you spilt the water.
Troubleshooting an old laptop can be frustrating even for someone well versed in their repair. If this is a work machine then I suggest you consider buying a new one. Good entry level machines can be picked up relatively cheaply, or consider a reconditioned machine from ebay.

Excellent point

 

[Zutankhamun]

@sonicbomb
@Punk In Drublic

Thank you both. I managed to find the guy on his day off. He connected windows through usb and my old desktop hard drive at some stage. Also tried to read my drive through his computer. He told me that my laptop needs SATA connection to boot and a new hard drive ‘should’ sort the issue but no way of knowing whether graphics have been impacted.
I have probably misquoted some of that so do excuse me. The info that I held onto was ‘your hard drive is knackered’

Sonicbomb
Agreed. He said the same thing a couple of times actually but I’m happy to get a little ssd to replace this drive while I save for a machine but I’m not exactly rolling in money atm
Soon, but not this week
Although I will look and see what a reconditioned/cheap alternative would cost for the time being just to tide me over.

Happy that it seems to be just hard drive for now.

I appreciate your help