[jyl]

FWIW I rolled a 4x4 in muddy water once (on Fraser Island, Australia, for those who know where that is) and my laptop was completely submerged. I removed the battery and some panels and dried it for 24 hours under a fan. Worked fine afterwards for 2+ years. I think the main thing is not having the laptop powered up when it is wet. In your situation, do a search on ebay for "gateway laptop keyboard" and you might well find a replacement - I see numerous keyboards for Gateway laptops, for appx $20-40 each.