Member Avatar for dianalvsrsox

Hey All-

My cat knocked a glass of water on my DELL Inspiron 6000 around Xmas. Now the computer will turn on and than go immediately back off. I have done the following:

Completely disassembled and let everything 'dry' out overnight

Was able to hook up the laptop's hard drive to my desktop system and pulled data off of it; doesn't that imply the hard drive works?

Tried reassembling and with and without the battery started it up with the same results: buttons for power, number lock, cap locks lit and than went right back out.

I could not find any visible signs of damage; no burnt signs; no smell; no melting....just won't work!

I started looking at a replacement motherboard but for around $180 I'm not sure that's really the solution to fixing it.

I appreciate anyones ideas on this.

Thanks!

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A short, practical plan that avoids an immediate full-board swap.

described a system that shows power activity then dies; that behavior plus a working HDD when removed points at the laptop power and control circuitry rather than the disk. 's note about corrosion is relevant: residues and oxide growth can create shorts long after the spill dries. is right that any replacement board should match the Dell part number.

Stepwise checks and actions that are low-cost and often fixable:

  • Remove AC and battery and document connectors before touching anything. Inspect the DC jack area, battery connector, keyboard/trackpad ribbon connectors, power-button board and nearby SMD components for white/green residue or lifted traces.
  • Clean affected areas with at least 90% isopropyl alcohol and a soft brush; for visible mineral deposits a distilled-water rinse followed by alcohol to displace moisture is appropriate. Dry fully (24–48 hours with desiccant or gentle air flow).
  • Use a multimeter to confirm adapter output at the DC jack and check continuity across labelled SMD fuses (F#) and common power rails; open fuses and shorted MOSFETs are cheaper to fix than a whole motherboard.
  • Reduce the system to minimum parts (no HDD, optical, wifi; one RAM stick) and test with AC only after cleaning. Also try disconnecting keyboard/trackpad ribbon cables in case of a short.

If cleaning and replacing small parts (DC-in daughterboard, power-button board, SMD fuse) do not restore power, confirm exact Dell board part numbers (printed on the PCB or via service tag) before buying a replacement. For heavily corroded boards, a board-level repair shop can often replace small SMD parts for less than a full board swap. If uncertain about board-level work or when corrosion is extensive, professional service is the safer option.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

Hey All-

My cat knocked a glass of water on my DELL Inspiron 6000 around Xmas.

Completely disassembled and let everything 'dry' out overnight

i only have a question ,not an opinion as to what wrong yet!
Question=did you just open it and let it dry out last night or did you do that the same time it happened

Member Avatar for dianalvsrsox

The disassembly and drying out was this week; so not immediatly when it happened. At that time I was actually afraid if I opened it I would make it worse by spreading the water around; I literally left it on a desk for about a month.

Member Avatar for caperjack

rust

Member Avatar for uniquestar

DELL Inspiron 6000 - Screwed.

Try claiming on the house insurance.

Member Avatar for dianalvsrsox

can't on the house; already tried; not covered.

So...I didn't hear any helpful suggestions; are you saying NO to replacing the motherboard? What's exactly toast on it? I'm not one to just throw stuff in the land fill if I can help it so if for a few hundred bucks to me it's worth the fix.

ANYONE out there have an opinion on replacing the motherboard? Are dimensions models compatible? I have access to motherboards from this model but wasn't sure if they would work.

Thank you!

Member Avatar for uniquestar

I would only replace a motherboard of exactly the same type, but I would be careful as laptop motherboards a quite fiddly, maybe take it into a local shop and ask them.

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