Today was a really, really bad day. The transmission needs to be replaced in one of our vehicles, and then this afternoon my 3 yo spilled a glass of water on my camera and laptop. The good news, my camera still works. The bad news, my laptop is fried.
When it happened I didn’t get too upset, I was probably in shock. As the day went on, I started thinking about all the things that were on my computer (which had not been backed up in forever) and started getting more and more upset. My computer is my brain… I do everything on my computer from shopping, to paying bills, to scheduling, to homeschooling, to editing my photos… My photos! The thought of losing my photos was too much and around dinner time I just wanted to go to bed.
I talked with one of my friends about the whole thing and she told me to focus on a solution and stop dwelling on the problem. She was right, although it took me a few hours to get out of my funk. Dh and I talked it over and figured out that a $50 USB docking station
would allow me to transfer all my information off my hard drive and on to another computer in our house.
While I have lost the convenience of my laptop, I did not lose thousands of pictures, emails, files, and other information I had on my computer.
Lesson #1 learned ~ back up your data on a separate hard drive frequently. We have a hard drive for this very purpose, but I got busy and didn’t take the time to back up my computer. If you do not have an portable external hard drive 
for your computer, buy one! I know I write about about saving money, but backing up all your data for under $100 is a wise investment. We were fortunate that my hard drive was not damaged and could recover the data.
Lesson #2 learned ~ When toddler spills a glass of water on the computer, immediately unplug the computer and, if it is a laptop, remove the battery. I hesitated removing the battery and had I been quicker I might have a working computer.
As for the car, there is no $50 fix. I am thankful we have our emergency fund to cover the cost of replacing the transmission.
So today was pretty crummy, but only when it comes to the material things. My kids had a great time playing with their friends, we had several of our friends drop in throughout the day, and everyone went to bed tired and happy. And that is what matters most…
Christian Mommy Writer says
Wonderful insight! Thanks for the tips about water on a laptop. I’m paranoid about my two year old doing that one day. 🙂 I’m glad you were able to get all of your stuff off the computer. Pictures are priceless and it would be hurtful to lose those moments.
paula says
Toni
No I have not looked on ebay…my hubby has a freind who is in charge of the geek squad at best buy he is going to turn it over to him and see what he can do with it or if he suggest to get a new one….hubby thinks a overhaul will be cheaper but who knows….will have to buy a lap top for daughter soon she is headed for college in 2 years so would like to only buy one computer if i can….
paula
Sherry says
Whew! I’m so glad you were able to save the info and pics. My mom just had an incident with her home computer and she didn’t back it up and lost all her financial info and pics. 🙁
Nancy says
Fixing cars is no fun – I know just how you feel about that big repair bill. We replaced an engine not too long ago and now are facing some ABS brake issues (hopefully just fried sensors, but…). Having the comfort of an emergency fund really helps.
You’ve inspired me to drag out my external hard drive before my next trip!
Hang in there. Bad things happen, and what matters most is how we respond to them.
Jenny of Sugar Grove says
Good lesson learned about backing up on an external hard drive….BUT I actually lost my external (it was knocked over) and the data couldn’t be retrieved. Then, about a year later, my PC got a virus and I had to format my hard drive (luckily everything was backed up).
So, I now pay $50 a year for unlimited online backup of my entire hard drive. The money is worth the peace of mind of knowing that my pics, scrapbook pages, and scrapbooking supplies will not be lost. I still back up on discs and keep these in a fireproof safe, and I have an external, but I don’t have to worry so much about getting things backed up right away.
Sorry you had a rough day!
Elizabeth says
Ah, I had one of those days today too. I just kept thinking, “I want to bring glory to God in my trials” and praying “Lord, help me!” (I’m looking forward to your homeschooling blog, btw as we started yesterday and it has been quite overwhelming getting into routine…keeping little ones occupied.)
As for the backup, you might want to check out Mozy as well. We have been using their free 2GB backup successfully for a while and you can set it to backup automatically so you don’t have to worry about it.
https://mozy.com/?code=MUFX8I (If you keep the code in the address, you get an extra 250MB free disk space 😉
Chanin says
You’re welcome Toni!
If you didn’t do it already, I would take the battery out and wipe it down if it is not dry and dry out the battery compartment .. I’d keep the battery out at least a day just to be safe it is all dry.
Circuit boards in product like this are typically covered in what is called a ‘conformal coating’ which looks like a thick, shiny, clear nail polish. They do this so that if one of the components goes bad, you can’t just have someone easily remove it and replace it … this is how they charge hundreds of $$ to replace/repair the boards. Because of that coating, it helps keep it ‘waterproof’
And, as you found out, the hard drive is usually still good that you can pull your data off. Glad you were able to do so!
Good luck! I hope you are up and running soon!
~Chanin
“quest 4 the breast .. the quest to end breast cancer”
chanin says
Man, that is such a bummer all the way around! Don’t give up on your laptop — maybe others have said this already, I didn’t get a chance to read all the comments — let it dry out good and then try it again. My suggestion would be to turn it upside down if you can (on the keyboard) so any extra water will drain out. After a few days, when you think it might be completely dried out you should be able to turn it back on.
I sell industrial electronics and get quite a few calls on this type of thing! If you need a new battery let me know, I should be able to get you a good price on one!
Good luck!
~Chanin
“quest 4 the breast .. the quest to end breast cancer”
TheHappyHousewife says
Chanin-
Thanks for the advice! It is upside down drying out right now. I hope we can revive it, but I didn’t shut it down immediately after the spill, so that is the concern.
You never know!
Toni
Beth@Not a Bow in Sight says
When it rains it pours. Good thing you were able to get some perspective in the end 🙂
Nancy M. says
I’m sorry you had such a bad day! I hate that your computer was messed up! I had that happen over a year ago and learned to get a back up hard drive. But, you are right, it’s hard to remember to actually back it up like I should. I had no idea you could actually get the stuff off of a messed up computer. Thanks for the tip!
Michele says
I’m glad you were able to save everything to another computer. My computer crashed last year and I lost everything thousands of pictures! I learned the hard way to have everything backed up somewhere else!
Jess says
Sorry to hear about your crappy day. I would have been in tears over it all and ordered take out! I too am horrible at keeping up with my backup so I use the Dell online backup, it’s scheduled every week and I can access my files from anywhere.
Amanda from Faith Food and family says
So sorry about your laptop! I can imagine how I would feel if that happened. I’m very glad that you were able to get your data off it though.
I know a transmission replacement can be pretty pricey. That’s wonderful that you had an emergency fund so that you’d be able to fix it!
God bless,
Amanda
Jessica says
Another step in trying to rescue a bathed laptop is, once the battery has been removed, stand it upright so the water can drain out of it.
I recently blogged about rescuing iPods after they’ve been left out in the rain or run through the washing machine (seen here: http://paulsbride.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-bring-wet-ipod-back-to-life.html) – basically you put it in a bag of water. It’s saved two water-soaked iPods in my family. I wonder if it would work the same for a laptop?!
Allyson says
Oh wow! Isn’t it great to have friends (and a hubby) to keep our focus in check? This reminds of me the time we found our three year old had decorated our brand new LCD computer monitor in red crayon as a present to Daddy!–we had saved for several months to buy it in cash!! Glad you were able to retrieve all your data–the thought of possibly losing pictures is enough to keep me awake at night!
pam p says
have hope, i have had things spilt on my laptop twice, take it apart and let it set out, my screen still looks it has water in it but has gotten better over the last couple of months.
Serenity says
I am so sorry about your laptop and car! Your attitude about it was just what I needed to hear today. The past couple of days have been rather rough for our family and I have been so tired that I haven’t been looking for a solution. Well, no more! The first thing I am going to do is turn off my cell phone… Any emergencies will have to wait until I turn it back on tonight 🙂
Thank you for sharing! Your openness just blessed my entire day and I am so thankful!
Snow White says
thanks for sharing. Glad to hear about you being able to save your files!! My computer died on me about a year ago, and that taught me the lesson to BACK UP!
hope your week becomes more sunny as you focus on the solutions!
MNKristy says
That is quite a bummer. I do a complete backup of my main computer once a week and an “incremental” backup each evening. It is automatic and through a wireless connection…it sends it from one computer to an extra hard drive on the kid’s computer (there are two hard drives since that used to be my computer for video editing). So I never really worry about losing my data, which is very reassuring. I hope that your laptop recovers when it completely dries out.
TheHappyHousewife says
Kristy-
Please move in with me and keep me on track, okay? 🙂 I need someone to give me a kick in the pants once in a while!
Toni 🙂
Bobbie/Jadeandco. says
Thank goodness all of your data & photos are safe. & Thank you for the tip about investing in a portable hard drive. Focusing on the solution is the best thing you can do…I have to remind myself that most times. Have a wonderful day!
paula says
i think that has happened to all of us..ours was 4 hurricanes and flooding lost alot of pictures….we all have bad days we just have to remember things could be worse and that we are all lucky to have our families to love and be happy with….we are right now trying to figure out what we are going to do with our computer it is 7 yrs old and alot wrong with it but it still works….for now
TheHappyHousewife says
Paula-
You are right! Dh lost everything in a hurricane once so it definitely keeps it in perspective! It is just hard when you are in the moment. 🙂 Have you looked at ebay to upgrade yor computer to a newer one? My brother has done that with some success in the past.
Toni
Tiffany says
what a relief to retrieve all your data! We had a laptop die last fall and it was sooo stressful worrying about retrieving the photos! You give great advice to back up and also focus on the solution…. thanks! Hope your day tomorrow is better!
Kara says
Sorry you had such a rough day. I am soooo glad you didn’t loose your photos, that would be just horrific!
Angela says
I am so sorry about the things that happened today but am SO happy that all your files, photos, etc were not lost. Many of those things are irreplaceable. And, good job turning your day around – you truly focused on what mattered most 🙂
Amanda says
I spilled water on my laptop a few months ago and it wouldn’t work either. It wouldn’t turn on at all. I tried again in about 24 hours and it started working once it had dried out. It may not work but I would try again tomorrow. Really enjoy reading your blog!!
elizabeth says
I am so sorry you had a bad day. At least you learned from your misery. Thank you for sharing this…I needed to be reminded not to dwell on the problem, but to find a solution.
Young Wife says
Thank you for sharing. I needed to hear that. Things have been a little crummy for us, too. I will try to start focusing on solutions.