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Deanne Charlton wrote: > In a message dated 97-05-17 09:24:57 EDT, you Charley Meyer wrote: > > << Yesterday, my 4 yr old Gateway 486 after 4 years of near flawless > service > passed > from this world into the great beyond of cyberspace. >> > > For those who want a goofy (sworn to be true) story of the demise of > a > computer, read on: > > The PowerBook That Leaked - (a true story) > > In 1993, sometime in December, a customer walks in with a dead > PowerBook > 165. Fault description: hangs on startup. An additional symptom > provided > was: whilst being carried from the customer's site to our service > center, a > 'sloshing' noise was heard within the machine. > > "Has anything been split on this computer?" I inquired, but no, > nothing of > the sort had happened, protested the client vehemently. Taking this > with a > grain of salt (no-one's going to admit doing something that totally > invalidates their warranty and effectively wrecks their computer) I > went > about filling in the repair order. > > Back on the bench, I started the PowerBook up. Sure enough, an > address > error on startup, just after 'Welcome to Macintosh'. I lowered my > ear to > the keyboard, at which point I heard a crackling noise (couldn't > hear any > sloshing noise though) and became aware of a rather 'sharp' odor > which > seemed to emanate from the inside of the machine. Flicking the > computer > off and unplugging the adapter, I removed the battery from it's > compartment, only to observe that the entire battery casing was > soaked in a > fluid which appear to have a rainbow-like sheen (kind of like what a > puddle > of soapy water would look like - oily and colorful). I also noticed > that > the same fluid was leaking out of the battery compartment onto the > static > mat, but appeared clear rather than multi-colored. > > My first thoughts were that the battery had somehow leaked acid out > into > the guts of the PowerBook, which would account for the sharp smell > (which > reminded me of ammonia), yet the battery terminals were about the > one part > of the battery that was dry. No, upon closer examination, I ruled > the acid > theory out. The battery was wet, but not leaking. > > Tipping the machine on it's side, I watched more fluid run out and > coagulate on the bench in a puddle about the size of a compact > disc. It > was definitely clear, and I observed that the 'rainbow' effect had > been > caused by the reaction of the plastic battery casing to this > 'mystery > liquid'. I then unscrewed the computer and separated the two parts > of the > PowerBook. > > The smell suddenly became a LOT stronger. The hard disk looked like > a solid > lump of rust, and the daughterboard appeared to have about three > barbecued > chips. Although I was quickly forming my own opinions on what had > happened, > I invited several of my workmates in to take a sniff and offer an > opinion. We were unanimous in our decision. I rang the customer, > who > seemed surprised when I asked the question: "Do you have a cat?" > > As it turned out, he didn't have a cat, but he *did* have a lovely > fluffy > bunny rabbit who was seen in the vicinity of the PowerBook only the > day > before. Yes, there was no doubt about it, little fluffy had hopped > up onto > the keyboard and downloaded some incompatible data. I checked the > warranty > form, but there was no provision for failure due to rabbit urine > anywhere. I advised the customer to get in touch with his insurance > company. > > In the end, the PowerBook was biffed and the customer upgraded to a > 180c. I > cleaned up the static mat and sprayed the service department with a > healthy > dosage of "Fresh Field of Flowers". I checked in with the customer > about a > week later, asked how was he enjoying the 180c, asked if he'd > managed to > restore his data, and, of course, asked how was his rabbit? > > "Delicious." he said. > > Hope this wasn't too long or violated any list rules or commonly > accepted > list mores. > > Deanne Charlton > [log in to unmask] Deanne, I think on this response, I'll start at the bottom. That was a very entertaining story, Sherlock couldn't have done it better. But I think your customer was a little harsh in his judgement of the Bunny. There have been many times I have wanted to do the same thing the bunny did, he probably just couln't make that damn thing work either. Bob Chapman 64/1.5