I just spilled a glass of wine on my new MS Ergonomic keyboard. It worked for a while while wet and I used a hair dryer on it, but it just stopped working. It's USB and the lights on it flash during bootup. Any recommendations?

The only recomendation I can make is keep the wine away from the keyboard.

Been there...Done that!

You've probably got nothing to lose at this point so you may as well disconnect it and proceed to rinse it out thoroughly but gently with water. Once done rinsing, shake it gently to remove all the excess water you can, and then let it AIR DRY naturally for a few days until it's absolutely, positively dry. Then, give it a try. Don't be impatient! It may be too late already but so you'll need a bit of luck, and patience.

Jim.

Thanks, Jim. I'll give it a try. I'm not holding my breath however. I'll report back if I'm successful.

It's been my experience that once you spill something (especially something with sugar in it (ie- sticky)) the keyboard is all but ruined- you'll always have "sticky keys."

http://cyclingcaptured.com

For the most part that is true.
Best thing I've found to do is:
A) take a photo of the key layout (or find a similiar keyboard)
B) Rip out all the keys
C) Split open the keyboard (Take the screws out)
D) Remove the circuits
E) Put the keyboard shell and keys in the dishwasher
F) Use warm water on a Qtip, gently clean any curcuits you think are dirty.
G) Put it all back together.

That is if you consider the above worth the effort for your problem.

Two things to try #1 take it apart and wash the plastic membrane that fits between the keys and the board or # 2 put in dishwasher and do not use the heat cycle to dry it,Set it on end and let it drain and air dry.

LilJoe

Once you get it all sorted out, I'll send you some of my kids old 'sippie' cups.

Thanks Laurie, I have a sippie cup that my grandson uses. I'm almost ready for a nursing bottle with nipple.

>Thanks Laurie, I have a sippie cup that my grandson uses.
>I'm almost ready for a nursing bottle with nipple.

Are you talking about the soft, organic kind that comes in neighboring pairs? One is never too old for that...

PC specs viewable here...
Folding@Home with Team PleasureDome!

Hello

Please do not waste your taste using a bottle with a nip while you can find live fleshy ones all around.

Regards

suatcini

Simply convert a red neck hard hat beer hat to hold your vino.

Under Construction

After you rinse it out put it in the clothes dryer at low heat:+

At this point, I have just rinsed it out, shook it to remove excess water and have it standing on end to drain/dry out. If it doesn't work after that I'll disassemble it and try again. Damn! I really like(d) this keyboard.

Never publicly confess to a killing.

Shelly

My bad, Shelly, I try to never do it again.

LilJoe is right. And Fred Langa recommends using distilled water in a spray bottle.

Sorry to laugh, but this is a hilarious topic that really hits home. My wife kept ruining her keyboards with spilled Coke, so I bought her a "waterproof" one from circuit city. She killed that one, too She's on #4 now...

At least make it good wine the next time!

That's one of the reasons I stopped drinking, Bobbo...you'll find that
coffee washes out of your keyboard much easier...

DavyWavy -

>My wife kept ruining her keyboards with spilled
>Coke, so I bought her a "waterproof" one from circuit city.
>She killed that one, too She's on #4 now...

Are you talking about that rubbery, flexible model you can roll up? I thought about getting that one once...

PC specs viewable here...
Folding@Home with Team PleasureDome!

Mojo2000:
Nope, just a $15 no-name keyboard from Circuit City that had an extra layer of supposedly waterproof plastic under the keys. Not quite! Though rubbery, roll-up keyboard sounds really cool!!

>Are you talking about that rubbery, flexible model you can
>roll up? I thought about getting that one once...

Behind every good computer... is a jumble of wires 'n stuff.

>After you rinse it out put it in the clothes dryer at low
>heat:+
---------------------------------------------------------------
And tumble all the keys out.

LilJoe

Do not put it in a dryer at ANY heat setting! Let it air dry for a few days.

Shelly

i think i just hurt myself laughing.....

Me too!

Was it good wine?

The wine was OK Allyn, but I let out a damn good whine

Hello.

At the time of my posting an answer, I was sure you choked your keyboard. You still do not know whether you killed it or not.

Therefore, your saying that you killed your keyboard is not correct.

You will learn soon whether you killed your keyboard or not when you have completely dried it out.

My suggestion is, never apply external heat to any electronic stuff. It may get extremely hot itself during its operation. But it never likes to be heated externally.

Good luck.

Regards

suatcini

Suatcini,

This is a fun topic.Enjoy it.

Except of course for the wine that was spilt.

That was a crying shame.

Vijay

I'll enjoy it a lot more if the keyboard starts working again.

Bobbo,

Fun thread for us.For you my /our sympathies and hope it starts working soon.

Vijay

Right now, I'm using the keyboard that the Ergo replaced. For testing purposes, is it possible to have more than one keyboard connected to the computer, i.e. PS2 and USB?

If purchased with a credit card, check out any extended warranties that it may provide. Like lost/damaged within 90-days ...

Good point, Steven. Will look into that.

Surely that wouldn't cover user damage? Pls enlighten me.

Vijay

Visa Business Guide to Benefits (1/1/06)

Purchase Security and Extended Protection Program

Purchase Security

Within the first ninety (90) days of purchase, Purchase Security will, at the Provider's discretion, replace, repair, or reimburse you for eligible items of personal property purchased entirely with your eligible Visa Business card up to a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder in the event of theft or damage.

(continued)

What items are covered

What times are not covered
(... losses resulting from abuse - is spilling coke, "abuse"?)

(continued)

Thankfully I won't be needing it this time, but that's good information to know.

Oh happy day!!

After gently rinsing with water and drying out for a couple of days, my keyboard is back from the dead and, so far, fully functional

Many thanks to all who have contributed to this thread, particularly KJT, whose instructions worked.

All that remains is to reprogram the shortcut keys.

I learned my lesson,... I won't drink and drive my keyboard again

You're off probation and done your community service.....congrats!!

You might want to look at a Fellowes Keyguard that will be a form fitting cover custom made for the KB. I put them on all of mine and for about $20.00,it's cheap protection for a high end KB. Staples carries them and I just got one ordered for my Daughter's Belkin ErgoPro model.

Thanks Bob, but mine is an ergonomic shaped keyboard. I don't think the there's a Fellowes Keyguard that will fit it.

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

"Saran Wrap"

THAT'S IT, Laurie. Wrap my sippie cup in Saran Wrap and it can't possibly spill.

I've got them for four ergo boards and they all fit perfectly, including one that has a scroll wheel. Three are MS and this last one was the Belkin. I think you'd probably get one OK.

For those with the $$$ Virtual Laser Keyboard. Wish I had one. Pepsi got two of my keyboards

You people who can't handle your drinking should not be driving a computer

LilJoe

Ain't me. it's the drunks that surround me.

OOPS! As it turns out, my keyboard isn't completely restored. Everything but the #1/! works. I have to use the number pad for #1 and the character map for the exclamation point. I will live with it for the time being, as I do like this keyboard, but if my compulsive nature fails me I will probably replace it after a while. I tried opening it to do some more cleaning, but there are 23 screws holding it together. Anyway, after opening it as much as I could {probably voiding any warantee), I tried cleaning the circuit film under #1 with a moistened q-tip, but to no avail. I'm hoping, with repetative use, the #1 key will start working again. I hope I learned my lesson on this.

If the tilde/apostrophe key next to the !/1 key still works as MS intended, it can be programmed to be the !/1 key. Let me know if you want the link.

Jim.

Thanks Jim, please send the link. I will have to be able to change it back and forth as I use the tilde/apostrophe when gaming. I'm just hoping that the key will recover. Do you think rewashing could restore it?

I did the same thing, but when I tried to use my credit card warranty, it didn't work...I spilled wine on my credit card

I'll look at http://webpages.charter.net/krumsick/. Perhaps it could remap Shift-Keypad #1 to get the !. On the other hand, since washing only helped the first time, it may fix the remaining problem. I'm very compulsive and can't stand the idea that the keyboard isn't working perfectly. I have a backup keyboard which I can use while this one gets a thorough cleaning and drying if I choose to do it. I really appreciate your input on this, Jim.

You need to be flexible. I once had a keyboard on which the letter L key stopped working. I simply avoided words with an L in them for a while, the English language is loaded with synonyms.

Shelly

She--y, how cou-d you stand not being ab-e to give obnoxious Forum members Ho-y He--!!

I installed and ran Key Tweak. The simplest fix was to reprogram the #1 key on the numeric keypad to #1/!. It's working just fine!!! And,... I still have the tilde key for gaming. I found out that when a key is reprogrammed it adapts both actions, ie. shifted/non shifted. If I had reprogrammed the Shift + pipe, I would have lost the back slash, an extremely necessary key. So,.... I'm back in business and will check the nonfuctioning #1 key from time to time to see whether it's doing anything. Thanks again, Jim, for your valuable input.

I'm glad I could help. Sorry about the misinformation about the Shift key usage. I use a different keyboard tweaker to make those changes that require the Shift key to be pressed. It's considerably less user friendly, and it's no longer free.

Now that you see that keys can be changed, you may have other little used, or totally unused keys you could reprogram to your personal preference. The one I always program away is the CapsLock key. To me it's the most useless key ever devised given its location. I set it to be a second Left Shift key, so now when I need to shift, if I
inadvertently hit CapsLock, it still does what I want it to do.

Jim.

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

Disabled is good.

Years ago, at the office, keyboard tweaking and other "software based" changes were strictly prohibited. So, I popped the CapsLock key off and stored it in my desk. It drew some disgusted looks from the IT people, but I was never forced to put it back.

Jim.

I could never survive without a Caps Lock. Package services want address labels in caps.

Shelly

I did the same thing with some "other" fluid and called MS to find out what I could do to clean and/or repair the MS keyboard and they asked me for my name and address and sent me a new keyboard. They told me to turn the old one into a hockey puck. Also there is a sort of lifetime warranty on things like keyboards, mice and/or miceses. Give e’m a call.

That's certainly worth a call. Thanks for the heads up, Paul.

Paul, I wish I knew who you talked with at MS. I called and was switched around to various numbers and was finally told to buy a new one.

If MS had replaced your keyboard, at least half of the forum members would have been calling Microsoft for a free "replacement".

Jim.

Well, one Forum member, Pauliez, got one. It was certainly worth a try.

I not only got my MS Keyboard replaced but my track ball mouse. Both were well over the one year limit. Let me dig out the box that the new keyboard came in and see what was on the invoice.
Article ID : 326246 From here I found a phone number and spoke to a tech. I can remember telling him that my keyboard was under three years old,(which it is not). In fact they sent me a new black one. I have the MS Internet Keyboard. Worked for me!

Called MS again and explained that the #1/! key wasn't working. Keyboard was backordered, and MS put me on their replacement list. Received the replacement keyboard this morning, and all is well.

Great, Bobbo! Celebrate! Have another glass of wine....

DavyWavy -

Glad that your problems are solved.Nice to know about MS replacement policy. That's one good reason to buy MS.
This whole question and answer period has been very good.