Funny, I've never seen anything like that on any of my old CPUs.

Did you try getting a second opinion from another technician?

@Victo: Oh, sorry misread...

That looks like the marks made by the cleaning solution used on the parts prior to shipping them for assembly. No, that is not water damage. Talk to your credit card company and ask what options you have, including whether or not you can chargeback this item.

That looks like rubbing alcohol streaks to be honest but the way its marked up around that fan vent does suggest some type of liquid.

Of course seeing it in person is probably different. What exactly is wrong with the computer, no power at all? If it died because liquid got into the PSU it would smell burnt due to the short. If it doesnt then chances are liquid isnt the problem.

Funny, my built-at-home computer would have similar "wet" spots showing throughout the case too. Yes, it was sitting there (with the case completely closed) during cool and humid days too, but otherwise, nobody has ever spilled water on it.

Methinks that the warrantor is trying to duck out of honoring. Explore other options.

@Crymson_77: you are 100% correct, I've seen these marks many times on brand new equipment.

as a computer technician, I can say that it appears to have been a liquid - I can't say for certain it was water - in fact, I'd bet against it. It looks like a cleaning solution of some sort (possibly plain old rubbing alcohol) was used in excess on this computer. I'm not saying it was the OP, but someone tried to give this computer an overzealous cleaning.

That would be environmental "damage", or rather caused most likely due to humidity.

Some service plans will not cover your system due to such damage, because you are not supposed to operate notebooks or desktop systems in such environments. You would have to check with the manual as to what the operating environment is - as that will list the proper temperature and moisture levels the system can remain in. The moisture/humidity levels should be marked so that it shouldnt damage your system.

So it very well could be classified as "water damage" by a complete idiot of a technician. Humidity is nothing deliberate and most people dont even realize it can do that.

50/50 here.

IBM has a sticker under the keyboards that changes color when damp. If that thing is the wrong color, it's basically impossible to get warranty service. They don't care how humid it is where you live, or whether there actually is any water damage, or whether water could even conceivably have caused the problem you're describing.

That looks more like signs of a liquid evaporating rapidly, like excessive propellant from a duster can or parts cleaner from building the machine, than water damage. I cannot see from the photos whether there is similar staining on other parts? In other words, if the stains end at the edge of those porous plastic sheets without continuing on to parts underneath or nearby, Circuit City's claim seems suspiciously convenient. Get your computer back, have it repaired on your own, and file a small claims lawsuit against the warranty company for what it cost.

Stickers that change color can also be found in Verizon cell phones either on the battery or the case itself.

A piece of advice for the OP, or anyone else in this situation: If you're buying a pc from circuit city, best buy, or any other retail chain, avoid their extended warranties. If your computer breaks down, you can almost certainly find a local repairman or shop who will fix your PC for less than you would have paid for the warranty. Every company that offers extended warranties also spends a lot of time thinking about how to get out of honoring them. There are often clauses in the warranty that invalidate the warranty if your damage is caused during what most consumers would consider normal use.

@rtwigg: Tmobile uses the stickers now too. Found that out just a few weeks ago with my wife's phone when the lcd died within warranty.

@zentex: I don't think that this is from either water or a cleaning solution. I would agree with Robert that it looks like electrostatic dust collection. That would be something that should easily rub off. Also, what does this surface make contact with? Does the other side show identical markings?

It doesn't look like water damage, but that definitely looks like moisture of some kind got in there. Unless it looks different in the photos (totally possible), then your tech friends should have assumed the same thing. I see this all the time, not just on computer cases inside and out, but any surface that's had small amounts of moisture on it.

The real question should be is that enough moisture to even cause any damage. Very likely not. It looks like small streaks accumulating over a long time, especially around the, I'm assuming, fan inlet. A very slow staining would do that, like tiny amounts of water, or any liquid, in a hot enclosed space. Tiny amounts of moisture, on the level of moderate humidity, would not only be unlikely to kill your computer, but should not void your warranty regardless.

Well, I guess there are factors that could make it more likely to be the cause of water damage, but it's ridiculous that they'd rule it a drowning on the basis of some common moisture stains.

Looks like some type of liquid damage to me as well. I agree with the overdose of "isopropyl alcohol" hypothesis.

I agree that the discoloring is due to a solvent of some kind. There is probably some minute corrosion on the board.

@chrisjames: oops, misphrased. "make it more likely to be caused by water damage," is what I meant.

I agree that it looks more like the residue from some quickly-evaporating solvent like alcohol or contact cleaner. I've also had duster cans where towards the end of the can the propellant came out very cold and caused moisture to condense on nearby surfaces as frost.

The telltale sign would be the PC board...any amount of moisture on PC traces or solder joints shows up as a fuzzy greenish corrosion (which will eventually eat through the copper traces). So, if the computer were "water damaged," it would be evident on the mainboard or daughter boards. If there's no damage to the PC boards, I don't see how they can logically deny warranty claims on the unit.

This looks to be like the work of Mirco Medics and GE's Assurrant who try to find anything to deny warranty work on a computer. I've had several computers go out and later get denied for no apparent reason and then have to escalate the claim for the customer in order to get it resolved. To me, it looks like rubbing alcohol.

The water damage theory is blown out the window by the lack of corrosion on the exposed metal parts in the photos.

I'd do what the others have suggested and search for satisfaction through the credit card company, or even legal action.

The burdon of proof is on them...

I have seen that many times before on laptops of mine. that is no water damage.

I can understand why someone who is retarded at computers would think that might be water damage...but you'd think the people they PAY to fix computers would know the difference...It's definitely a scam on their part...

I've had a run in with the people from The CityAdvantage program. I'll never buy another extended warranty again from them.

Try contacting the Manager from the Circuit City you purchased the notebook from. In my case they were able to give me a different phone number to call and I actually dealt with a human being that was helpful.

It was painful but I was able to get reimbursed for the defective hard drive I had.

It very much looks like that was how the parts came from the factory. It looks like a residue from possibly a cleaning solution, but it doesn't have the look of something that could occur after the system was assembled whatsoever. I agree with one of the above posters that I too haves seen brand new parts that have this sort of look to them, they just aren't as careful about making the stuff you don't see look good. Frankly I would say that looks more like some sort of heat distortion than any water damage. Trust me, you can usually tell when something has had water in it.

Yes, that is INDEED liquid Damage (the tech that said water is Irresponsible)

Picture number 3 shows very clear liquid, and photo 2 shows possible corrosion or rust, hard to tell for sure in photo however

it isnt water. If it was water, you would be seeing crisp round egdes rather than sharp pointy edges. water would is polar and attracts other water molecules so you wouldn't have a blog in one place and a very small distance away, they would of come together

Rule of thumb: do not buy extended warranties. Not from Circuit city, Best Buy, Sears, or anyone. All the warranties do is to guarantee that the retailer selling them gets your money. And for that, they work just great!

I've taken apart more Dell laptops than I care to admit, (easily 200+), and I've NEVER seen anything like that that was part of normal construction...

I don't know if it was water or not, but it sure looks like something was spilled in there. I'd have to see the actual laptop to be sure, but.....

I've seen this before, it's the cleaning solution they use on the laptop case before assembly to remove and repel dust, this is NOT water damage at all, water damage would leave mineral deposits and of course rust in certain areas... this is yet another scam from useless buffoons at retail stores in which the customer is paying with frustration. To the OP, I hope you get this sorted out, you can always sue and hit them where it hurts.

possible condensation.

Not water damage. A bunch of us engineers at work took apart an odometer (no way it could have ever gotten wet where it lives inside the dash) and saw similar markings inside the plastic. We concluded electrostatic dust deposits, the patterns possibly caused by the flow lines in the plastic. The lines around the round fan hole in pic 4 look just the same.

@What The Geek: Sorry guy... you mentioned above that you are a tech, and that means you should know how untrue this can be in the case of many laptop repairs. Major laptop repairs can easily clear $500 and even a keyboard replacement easily clears $200 after labor on many models.

I wouldn't be buying a warranty on a desktop computer, but it is something worth considering on any laptop--or, for that matter, on most portable devices with moving parts.

Here's the deal guys, the computer in question is mine. I used this computer for a few months while traveling between offices. It has never seen water and it has never been outside of CA so humidity is not an issue. Accidental water damage is not even a remote possibility here and no solvents of any type have ever been used on the computer. However, it has been in storage in a laptop bag in my den for several months. I used it on and off without issue and one day it simply would not power on. Based on the humidity comments posted previously, is it possible that this is simply humidity from being placed on my lap? This might sound funny but I used this computer for hours on end with it sitting on my lap and it did get VERY hot at times during normal operation. Is it possible that this could be a source of humidity? In that case, using a laptop on your lap is not exactly strange or unusual. I have dealt with this issue over a period of 6 months and simply want to get to the bottom of this. I paid $1300 for the computer and to add insult to injury, I paid $269.99 for this extended warranty.

@rtwigg: All cell phones use them. The iPhone's is in the bottom of the headphone jack.

@rtwigg: Cover those moisture-sensitive stickers up with a piece of tape to be safe. And remember to remove the tape before you return your phone for service.

@Phreggs: All cellphone manufactures use those stickers. While they don't automatically mean, that the water what killed the phone, but it's a very good indicator.

(As far as I know, lg still opens the phone, and it the problem is under warranty, they will still repair the warranty pieces. I can't say anything for other manufactures, if they assume out of warranty, or they still double check...)

I would say no. That's not water damage. I've seen similar patterns in tons of hardware that has heat and fans, and that's been turned on a good deal of the time. Circuit City is definitely trying to get over, so I'd just complain until you get satisfaction. Most companies just hope you'll go away, so eventually you'll be victorious. ;)

@BondJBond: All of the holes in the PCB have a similar color...that's not rust.
Rust forms on metal...the PCB is non-conductive, thus, not metal. Notice the screw in the upper-tight of photo 3...and the metal that it's screwed down to. No rust...and it's made of metal...

@What The Geek: my thoughts exactly.

@What The Geek: OMG YOU"RE BLAMING THE OP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!111!!!!!!!

High Humidity: yes Damage: Need better pictures.

I see no computer parts "damaged" in those pictures. I see rubber/plastic insulators with some kind of residue. The grounding circles in picture 2 looks like there could be corrosion, but I wouldn't say that they're the complete cause of problem with the computer.

Bottom line is, those pictures do not show damage to ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS in enough detail for anyone to rule that this computer has been damaged by liquid.

@nuttish: That was exactly my first reaction too, especially since the patterns look more like a spray than a wipe. Like many others have said, this could be from anywhere, I've seen many new and almost-new PCs that looked like this. I don't see any of the telltale corrosion that would be from excess moisture.

I have seen steam damage look like that....

You know if your computer just wouldn't boot suddenly, with or without battery, it was probably in a deep sleep mode. Pulling the battery to the bios would reset this.

Did the service pull the whole computer apart and never try this? I've seen it happen on a VAIO before.

They probably couldn't figure out the problem and didn't want to look stupid for their manager.

I have to agree with those saying humidity. Looks like there was some humidity that creeped in through the fans and vents. If you live in a naturally humid area, this is probably what happens.

It doesn't look like liquid. I've been working with electronics for years and see that dust pattern on most laptops. It seems like certain plastics get that look to it. maybe its from residue from manufacturing, but not really water. Water would make clumpy dust areas, not thin dust streams. Actually, i saw something very very similar a few days ago when i replaced the filters on my fan. the inside plastic case which is white, showed the black dust just like that. Claim it on your credit card... or kick the tech where it counts and run.

The OP is correct that is most likely not water. It is however something, and I'm fairly sure its what caused the problem. I'd fathom a guess that since the places where there are pictures are places that 1) get hot and 2) also collect dust I'd almost bet its canned air. The stuff rocks when used correctly but methinks in your case it was not. those marks on the case are identical to those left by the can o' air liquid when it gets sprayed on the object as a liquid or mist instead of just a gaseous vapor that it normally is. I'm guess either the system was getting to hot while in use or the OP (or someone with access to the system) just wanted to clean the vents and did it wrong and sprayed the system with canned air and that is what is causing the No Power/No POST issue. Its also possible that that is an Oil probably from a cleaning solution.

Not not having the system in hand to verify in person, I can't be certain. However being a Dell Tech Support Agent, I can promise you if this came across my work bench, I would have said Warranty Void and moved on (unless you had complete care.)

@admiral_stabbin:

Im not insinuating that rust has FORMED on the PCB, rather, it may have formed on whatever secured it through said hole, and rubbed ONLY the PCB