Spilled liquid in desktop - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

biznatch · 01-31-2011, 11:10 AM

Hi guys.
2 days ago I spilled my drink on top of my desktop tower.
There's a fan on the top of the case. The drink was a mix of grenadine, orange juice and rum.

So it went through the top opening, and hit (in the following order, I'm guessing) the fan, then the motherboard and several components on the way down:
CPU + HSF
GPU and RAM
PSU

It turned off immediately. The green light inside, on the motherboard, was still on. After a second of two of staring at a black monitor, panicked, I unplugged the power. Then I dried excess liquid off the inside parts with kleenexes, and kept the tower upside down over the night in hopes that some of it would dry.

The next day I took everything off the mobo and took it out of the case, and cleaned it with alcohol. I did the same to the GPU, ram sticks and cables.

Right now everything i sitting disassembled.

I have a few questions:

If the mobo light was still on, does this mean the PSU was still working? How do I make sure it's safe to use?

The graphics card is one of those with it's own fan and protective plastic pieces/casing. Should I try taking it apart to clean it inside?

How do I go about putting components back together bit by bit and determining what still works/is safe to use? What's a good order and method for that?
Is there any product that's best suited to clean up after this type of accident?

Should I get an external case for my HDD in order to back up? I have no other SATA-compatible desktops here.

Any opinions and help so I can salvage the most out of this PC would be immensely appreciated. Let me know if you need more info.

Martian · 01-31-2011, 06:15 PM

Two days after the fact, especially with an alcoholic drink, it's probably as dry as it's going to get. I heartily recommend against fucking with the PSU -- there won't be any residual charge in it now, but it goes under my general policy of 'do not fuck with this unless you know what you're doing.

Diagnostic boot order goes like so:

Start with motherboard, CPU, and one stick of RAM. If it POSTs and gives you a beep code (which it probably will, since there's no output device) add the rest of the RAM, one stick at a time. If the fans don't spin up -- well, your PSU is fucked. Given that you had a status LED after the flood, this seems unlikely. If the fans spin up but it does not POST, try a different stick of RAM, and then try them both in a different slot. Still no joy, your motherboard's probably a goner. At this point it's difficult to say for sure whether it's the motherboard or CPU without further testing on known good hardware, but given the nature of the accident it seems unlikely your CPU is the culprit in the event of any shenanigans.

Once we've determined that the motherboard, CPU and RAM are okay, you can move on to peripherals. Start with the graphics adapter, then anything else you might have one item at a time.

Your hard drive is probably okay, unless this was a torrent of fluid. Same goes for the CPU, since it's pretty well covered in a running system. The most likely victim of this is your motherboard, and even then as long as you've cleaned it up proper there's probably no lasting harm done.

Still, though. Let This Be A Lesson. No drinks on/over your computer. Ever.

Craven Morehead · 01-31-2011, 07:19 PM

FWIW my wife dropped a cordless phone in water on Sat. I disassembled it to let it dry out thoroughly. Put it back together on Sunday and it works great. No problems at all. Granted, not nearly as electronic as the innards of a PC but I'll bet it was just as wet. Good luck.

biznatch · 02-01-2011, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martian

Two days after the fact, especially with an alcoholic drink, it's probably as dry as it's going to get. I heartily recommend against fucking with the PSU -- there won't be any residual charge in it now, but it goes under my general policy of 'do not fuck with this unless you know what you're doing.

Diagnostic boot order goes like so:

Start with motherboard, CPU, and one stick of RAM. If it POSTs and gives you a beep code (which it probably will, since there's no output device) add the rest of the RAM, one stick at a time. If the fans don't spin up -- well, your PSU is fucked. Given that you had a status LED after the flood, this seems unlikely. If the fans spin up but it does not POST, try a different stick of RAM, and then try them both in a different slot. Still no joy, your motherboard's probably a goner. At this point it's difficult to say for sure whether it's the motherboard or CPU without further testing on known good hardware, but given the nature of the accident it seems unlikely your CPU is the culprit in the event of any shenanigans.

Once we've determined that the motherboard, CPU and RAM are okay, you can move on to peripherals. Start with the graphics adapter, then anything else you might have one item at a time.

Your hard drive is probably okay, unless this was a torrent of fluid. Same goes for the CPU, since it's pretty well covered in a running system. The most likely victim of this is your motherboard, and even then as long as you've cleaned it up proper there's probably no lasting harm done.

Still, though. Let This Be A Lesson. No drinks on/over your computer. Ever.

Thanks for a very helpful post. Before starting this somewhat scary process, you mentioned putting back components one by one once I make sure mobo, CPU and RAM are OK.

From what I can see, what was hit the hardest was my graphics processor. Even after methodical cleaning with cleaning alcohol (which I'm still not sure was my best choice), there are still sticky-ish clumps around the circuits. I'll see if I can provide pictures.
Question: Is it safe to plug in? Is it possible that it will damage my mobo/CPU/HDD if it shorts unexpectedly?

Thanks again, and lesson learned, the hard way!

---------- Post added at 01:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craven Morehead

FWIW my wife dropped a cordless phone in water on Sat. I disassembled it to let it dry out thoroughly. Put it back together on Sunday and it works great. No problems at all. Granted, not nearly as electronic as the innards of a PC but I'll bet it was just as wet. Good luck.

That's a bit reassuring. What I do know is that at least some of my PC, most importantly my HDD and probably my CPU is fine.
I'll be finding out about the rest fairly shortly

Martian · 02-01-2011, 04:15 PM

Isopropyl alcohol is generally preferred for cleaning purposes, as it's non-corrosive and will evaporate cleanly at room temperature. You can get the dedicated solutions and maybe one of the guys with more bench experience than me can recommend one, but I don't generally think they're worth troubling yourself with.

If the graphics card doesn't have an external power connection, then it's not going to damage anything. Even if it does it's almost certainly okay, but the risk increases when there's an external voltage supply.

"Sticky-ish clumps" is frankly a bit alarming, but I suppose if you've cleaned it as well as you're able there's nothing for it but to plug everything in and see what happens.

biznatch · 02-26-2011, 04:06 AM

Finally posting from my now fixed, cleaner than ever desktop!

Thank you so much guys. I haven't had a whole lot of time, with work and all, so I was just able to do a final, really thorough rubdown 3 days ago, and I put it back together yesterday night. Works like a charm.

Thanks!

01-31-2011, 11:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	Spilled liquid in desktop Hi guys. 2 days ago I spilled my drink on top of my desktop tower. There's a fan on the top of the case. The drink was a mix of grenadine, orange juice and rum. So it went through the top opening, and hit (in the following order, I'm guessing) the fan, then the motherboard and several components on the way down: CPU + HSF GPU and RAM PSU It turned off immediately. The green light inside, on the motherboard, was still on. After a second of two of staring at a black monitor, panicked, I unplugged the power. Then I dried excess liquid off the inside parts with kleenexes, and kept the tower upside down over the night in hopes that some of it would dry. The next day I took everything off the mobo and took it out of the case, and cleaned it with alcohol. I did the same to the GPU, ram sticks and cables. Right now everything i sitting disassembled. I have a few questions: If the mobo light was still on, does this mean the PSU was still working? How do I make sure it's safe to use? The graphics card is one of those with it's own fan and protective plastic pieces/casing. Should I try taking it apart to clean it inside? How do I go about putting components back together bit by bit and determining what still works/is safe to use? What's a good order and method for that? Is there any product that's best suited to clean up after this type of accident? Should I get an external case for my HDD in order to back up? I have no other SATA-compatible desktops here. Any opinions and help so I can salvage the most out of this PC would be immensely appreciated. Let me know if you need more info. __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

01-31-2011, 06:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Two days after the fact, especially with an alcoholic drink, it's probably as dry as it's going to get. I heartily recommend against fucking with the PSU -- there won't be any residual charge in it now, but it goes under my general policy of 'do not fuck with this unless you know what you're doing. Diagnostic boot order goes like so: Start with motherboard, CPU, and one stick of RAM. If it POSTs and gives you a beep code (which it probably will, since there's no output device) add the rest of the RAM, one stick at a time. If the fans don't spin up -- well, your PSU is fucked. Given that you had a status LED after the flood, this seems unlikely. If the fans spin up but it does not POST, try a different stick of RAM, and then try them both in a different slot. Still no joy, your motherboard's probably a goner. At this point it's difficult to say for sure whether it's the motherboard or CPU without further testing on known good hardware, but given the nature of the accident it seems unlikely your CPU is the culprit in the event of any shenanigans. Once we've determined that the motherboard, CPU and RAM are okay, you can move on to peripherals. Start with the graphics adapter, then anything else you might have one item at a time. Your hard drive is probably okay, unless this was a torrent of fluid. Same goes for the CPU, since it's pretty well covered in a running system. The most likely victim of this is your motherboard, and even then as long as you've cleaned it up proper there's probably no lasting harm done. Still, though. Let This Be A Lesson. No drinks on/over your computer. Ever. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

02-01-2011, 04:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Isopropyl alcohol is generally preferred for cleaning purposes, as it's non-corrosive and will evaporate cleanly at room temperature. You can get the dedicated solutions and maybe one of the guys with more bench experience than me can recommend one, but I don't generally think they're worth troubling yourself with. If the graphics card doesn't have an external power connection, then it's not going to damage anything. Even if it does it's almost certainly okay, but the risk increases when there's an external voltage supply. "Sticky-ish clumps" is frankly a bit alarming, but I suppose if you've cleaned it as well as you're able there's nothing for it but to plug everything in and see what happens. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

02-26-2011, 04:06 AM	#6 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	Finally posting from my now fixed, cleaner than ever desktop! Thank you so much guys. I haven't had a whole lot of time, with work and all, so I was just able to do a final, really thorough rubdown 3 days ago, and I put it back together yesterday night. Works like a charm. Thanks! __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

01-31-2011, 07:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	FWIW my wife dropped a cordless phone in water on Sat. I disassembled it to let it dry out thoroughly. Put it back together on Sunday and it works great. No problems at all. Granted, not nearly as electronic as the innards of a PC but I'll bet it was just as wet. Good luck.