This Apple is Rotten..

Well you can't blame Apple for a accidental spill on the keyboard which liquids render a computer dead.

After all the warranty only covers factory defects, not accidents.

Your friend got extremely lucky, the moisture sensor didn't kick off and they just assumed it was a defective keyboard.

Perhaps the pnly thing you can do with that DOA MacBook Pro is sell it for parts, the fans, the case, the hard drive, the Superdrive, the LCD panel etc are all worth money.

If you don't want to dissect it and sell the parts yourself, then you can sell the machine to a online repair place that will determine and pay you accordingly.

http://www.ifixit.com/Mac-Parts

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/

I've also heard that the moisture sensor only works with OS X, so if you install a different operating system like Windows or Linux, that the Mac if it can physically function, will do so.

This is a tall order, and depends upon if the liquid spilled was just water which could dry up with no harmful residue (like citric acid in soda) and the machine perhaps may work just fine after it dries out well.

There are a lot of particularities to bare bones installing Linux or Windows on a Mac without OS X involved in some fashion, a good computer geek can do it and the machine could be sold as such.

they said i had spilled water on it and that they wouldnt fix it. I had not spilled anything on it.

There are moisture sensors inside the MBP, so they know that it was exposed to water. If it wasn't a spill, perhaps you had it in a cold environment and then took it inside somewhere warm and humid, and water condensed inside. Or perhaps you had it in the bathroom when you were showering, and once again got condensation inside it. Regardless, there was enough water exposure, however it happened, to trigger the sensors.

As to what to do with the machine, if it has been water damaged, you really can't do much with it. Some people will sell components, but that is unethical in my view if they may be damaged, and could land you in legal troubles if you sell a damaged component to someone.

ds store wrote:

I've also heard that the moisture sensor only works with OS X, so if you install a different operating system like Windows or Linux, that the Mac if it can physically function, will do so.

Don't believe everything you hear. The moisure sensor is just a little white dot that changes color if submerged. It has nothing to do with the operating system. If it won't boot MacOS X, it won't boot anything. Also, condensation or humidity won't trigger it. It has to be submerged. That is the only thing that will trigger it. It will also fry the logic board, which is why those two situtations usually go together.

etresoft wrote:

Don't believe everything you hear. The moisure sensor is just a little white dot that changes color if submerged. It has nothing to do with the operating system. If it won't boot MacOS X, it won't boot anything. Also, condensation or humidity won't trigger it. It has to be submerged. That is the only thing that will trigger it. It will also fry the logic board, which is why those two situtations usually go together.

Interesting, thanks for sharing that.

I was going by what I've heard that a Mac would still boot into Bootcamp following a spill and wouldn't with OS X.

Perhaps Windows wan't using that part of the logicboard where it was shorted out and OS X was.

Well it's to the MBP chop shop then. 🙂

I would take the machine apart and see f there was anything wonrg with the board itself. I highy doubt that it was water damage. One thing might be the battery? If the battery is shot then the computer might not even turn on.

Also, condensation or humidity won't trigger it. It has to be submerged.

Adequate condensation to damage components ought to trigger the sensors, but you're right that just having it in a humid environment isn't going to.

I highy doubt that it was water damage.

If Apple is saying that there was water damage - and as we have said, there are moisture sensors to prove it one way or the other - then what make you believe it wasn't water damage?

What I would like to know is why did you buy another Mac. They are not the only game in town.