Accidentally i dropped a laptop into a pool

How long is enough time?

untill its dry.. I'd take it apart and shove a fan on it..
all the little gaps might hold in the water from drying which is why i would take it apart

Sure it can be fixed.  You just have to know what you are doing.  Get the right size screwdriver for those tiny hexhead screws, and start disassembling until you have the major components out, but are afraid to go any further.

Post back where you are at, and we/I will keep you going, to where it is either a loss, or you can get it running.  Most important to get the keyboard, hard drive, RAM (and maybe CPU if you are very careful) out of the system first.

phillips head, not hexhead -- sorry.  Also, be very careful detaching the monitor -- there is a data cable that needs to come out very carefully, and dry out too.

What type of pool was it? if chlorinated could be that a clean with a good quality electronics cleaner would be prudent, it will also help to clean out any lingering moisture.

My guess is the hard drive will be ruined if the laptop was in the water for more than a couple of seconds.

I would leave it for two or three days with a fan blowing over it to make sure the moisture is removed as much as possible, an airing cupboard would be an ideal location (warm and dry). Don't be tempted to try heating it with a fan heater or hair dryer as this will probably cause more damage.

Lifting the processor from its socket (if fitted) may be worth while, as would removing the CMOS battery.

If you get it open there is a special electronic drying agent that comes in a spray can that works very well for removing moisture. Or you can spray denatured alcohol to do the job to displace the water. Then let it dry and repeat the process a couple of times
Don't use the fan until the alcohol or drying agent is completely gone otherwise you will blow water droplets across the parts increaseing the drying time.

Have you tried to turn it on before it dried?  cause that could be bad.

Sorry sisiliano, I'm out of this -- some of my fellow experts here are the best there are.  This Q is worth at least 500 points for their effort, and I bow out, and give it to them.  They deserve more than this.

sisiliano,

If you have significant data on the drive, I would seriously consider going directly to a data recovery operatioin and have them recover the drive onto anoth drive (with a full backup). In general, the most important componment of any system is the data, not the actualk hardware.

In this type of situation, I would take steps to safeguard the data.first. Then, and only then, would I worry about whether the machine is salvageable. Thorough cleaning is an extremely good idea, many pool chemicals can be incredibly damaging to electronic components.

I hope that the above, while upsetting, is helpful.

- Bob (aka RLGSC)

dry it first very well but i doubt the hard disk there might be water came into it

It could still work, stranger things have happened.  My cell phone was submerged for about 5 minutes and i knew a kid who put his gameboy advance in the dishwasher and they both worked after completely dry.  A laptop has a lot more that can break than those two devices, but it is possible.

Leave it in an oven set to 150F for a week. Even better would be a vacuum chamber for a couple days.
The hard drive may not work if water reached the platters. It will leave a residue ruining the drive.

Just an anecdote - My girlfriend had a fire on the 2nd floor of her house.  The computer, on the 1st floor, took some serious water.   We had to DUMP the water out.  After sitting for a few weeks, the computer worked fine and has since ( 1 1/2 years ).  So you may not be completely out of luck.  Just don't try to turn it on until you're sure everything is dry.

I would take major parts apart a with a spray bottle of disstiled water rinse it out the best you can then take a hair dryer on low setting a get it as dry as possible then let it sit for a few days in a warm location, but if it got into the hard drive i'm affaid your out of luck, unless it's worth replacing the hard drive

Good Luck...........

Since the answers are all about letting the laptop to dry out and to take the pieces  apart.

I dicided to increased the points to 150 and split them between the first two comments.

Thanks to everyone for your help.