My mother threw my Macbook out the windows and it landed on a flower pot. It has stayed intact however I'm reluctant to turn it on at risk of the hard drive getting damaged.
Is it safe to power it up, or should I have it sent for inspection first?
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\$\begingroup\$ It won't blow up in most cases. \$\endgroup\$– Eugene Sh.Commented Jul 13, 2015 at 18:41
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1\$\begingroup\$ I think if the HDD is damaged, it's already damaged, you turning it on probably won't make it any worse. I'd be more concerned about the LiPo packs having been damaged. \$\endgroup\$– MewaCommented Jul 13, 2015 at 18:43
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1\$\begingroup\$ @MartinRand, LiPo packs (that I think Macbooks use) have a tendency to set on fire/explode if damaged, it's a popular discussion topic amongst RC hobbyists. However, usually the damage has to be pretty severe - puncture holes, dents, etc., and usually it happens during charging. \$\endgroup\$– MewaCommented Jul 13, 2015 at 18:52
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7\$\begingroup\$ Your mother did the right thing. Chuck the Mac. Get a PC. XD \$\endgroup\$– DerStrom8Commented Jul 13, 2015 at 18:56
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2\$\begingroup\$ Nothing to do with electronic design. Such questions are closed. \$\endgroup\$– Leon HellerCommented Jul 13, 2015 at 19:18
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1 Answer
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If there is valuable personal data, not just the OS and apps data, the best thing to do is pull the HDD out and connect it to an already running (different) system with a USB3 enclosure.
This is so that if there is damage that progressively gets worse while it runs, you have the most time possible to copy off the data in order of importance. Usually it won't make any difference, would be damaged too much already or not damage at all but I have seen cases where every second counts.
Otherwise if there's no valuable personal data then you might as well just turn it on and see if everything works. Whatever is damaged, is not generally user repairable at a discrete level and if that whole modular portion needs replaced you may have to power it up to test and determine that.
It is doubtful the battery is damaged if the casing for it is undamaged, but just to be safe you might pull it out, power the system via the AC adapter and if smoke starts pouring out, have your hand on the ac outlet plug so you can pull power immediately. An excessively paranoid person might also power the laptop off the battery while it is outside or on concrete, away from flammable materials and you, but odds are the most likely components to fail from the abuse are the HDD and motherboard PCB or solder joint cracks, or of course screen or backlighting cracks.
