well i screwed up and fell asleep in front on my laptop the other day woke up in the chair and realized a few splash marks on the screen and keyboard..i was drinking some vodka by the way :S it didnt look like i spilled that much on it really, but i noticed some condensation on the bottom of it also, sso im worried some went all the way through the computer. i also noticed what looked like some white powdery stuff near the cd room drive. the thing still powers on throgh the battery and power cord, but they keyboard and touch pad arent working (just a few random keys) i only boought this less than a month ago. im wondering if i should just try to replace they keyboard myself (no experience) or just take it all apart and try to make sure nothing looks spill damaged and hope the warranty will fix it. also i just checked hps website and it says i can buy accidental insurance for up to 1 year after the purchase for like 100 dollars. will this work if i buy it? the only other thing i can think of is possibly buying another one and trying to switch out some of the parts with the new one like my hard dive etc and then returning it although that would be very dishonest :s this is the second one of the exact same computer ive had to buy in the last 4 months because ive had 2 stolen and now this one with the spill damage. do they have to come out and check the laptop first to provide the accidental damage insurance? could i get by with just saying its not working or since its within 30 days try to do a return? the bad thing is i had to cut out the upc code on the box and mail it in for a rebate. any advice on this would be appreciated

Best bet with your new machine would be to take it to a Professional who can assess and repair the damage. Consider his fee a ticket for Drunk Computing. Chances are you could Void your warranty if you try to repair it yourself. You could try the insurance but an immediate Claim might raise suspicion. Then you'd have to lie your a$$ off or just pay for it anyway. Your Call. Bite the Bullet & get it fixed right. There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.

Using Vista alone is an excuse for Drunk Computing ;-) My Amiga 500 Rocks!!!

Stuff like that sure happens a lot: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...

Was it a sticky drink or just vodka?. It is possible to take it apart carefully and try to clean with denatured alcahol. If you did not buy the warranty service at the time of purchase that wont help you. It cant hurt to have it checked and assesed by a pro. like i first said you can be careful and take it apart and clean it but this is not for the impatient.