Water spilled in my friend's PC, Help please!

Bellaflica · May 14, 2015

So last night my friend spilled a cup of water into his PC. He said most of it missed, but clearly
some of it got in. He says he can still turn it on but he gets an error message that says "power down and connect PCIe cables." He doesn't know what to do so he asked me to help and I'm not really sure what can be done either.

Is it possible something like the motherboard just needs to be replaced or could it be worse?

Is there anything we can do or should he just take it to a repair shop (Are they even reliable?).

Any help is greatly appreciated!

mrt3 · May 14, 2015

Bellaflica :

Apply IPA(isopropyl alcohol) Using Tooth brush and gently brush over effected area

vagrantsoul · May 14, 2015

probably a short, mb damaged.. run a risk of having to validate windows again (not a huge problem, just annoying).

if you're near a microcenter i'd choose them (have no fry's near me so cannto speak). avoid using geek squad and the like... and look for reviews on smaller shops.

my money is on something is now shorted out, just like a phone, you should make sure that it was COMPLETELY dry before running current through it.

vagrantsoul · May 14, 2015

if you try the alcohol, make sure it's AT LEAST 90%, the higher the better, so it pulls the water away as it evaporates, i've had bad run ins with people trying the grocery store 75% on electronics.

Bellaflica · May 14, 2015

Thank you for the replies!

@mrt I'll tell him to try that.

@vagrantsoul Hmm yeah I figure the motherboard is damaged. He told me just now that he left the PC on after he spilled it.. and then after a couple minutes it went to sleep mode. He has a cheap motherboard so does that mean his whole system got fried or will he be able to salvage anything?

mrt3 · May 14, 2015

Bellaflica :

nah! it happens in very rare cases, just try the IPA method, if it dosent help then buy a new mobo

vagrantsoul · May 14, 2015

agreed.. and like i said if the worst case scenario happens and you need to deal with MS and the serial of windows, all it takes is an automated call.

Bellaflica · May 14, 2015

Wow.. very encouraging to hear! Thank you both so much for your time and info.

I was expecting it to be the end of my friend's poor PC :'C.

But it sounds like it's not nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be

.

He's gonna try the IPA method now, and if it doesn't work he'll buy a new motherboard.

vagrantsoul · May 14, 2015

best of luck

Bellaflica · May 20, 2015

Update:

So we ordered a new motherboard, replaced the old with the new...and unfortunately it powered on only to give the same error message as before.

At this point, I figured it was either his GPU or PSU that went bad. So we took his GPU (Gigabyte 970) and tried it out in my PC, and again we got the same message, confirming that his video card is dead

.

Despite the water damage, is there any reason to try and RMA this card (it's only 6 months old)? If not, will replacing it fix his computer, or is it possible his power supply is also damaged?

vagrantsoul · May 20, 2015

would 1. contact Gigabyte and tell them the card fried... they might cover under warranty (not sure about specifics of their coverage)

2. then...
get the cheapest discreet card you can find... like a 5450 or gt210 or something open box that you know works, and won't care if it gets killed... and see if the system boots up.. psu, possibly find someone who knows their way around a multimeter... can visually check for internal scorching on the psu internals with a flashlight, smell is another giveaway.

Bellaflica · May 20, 2015

Hey vagrant! good to see you again

My friend acted rather impatiently and actually bought a new GPU already. I still told him to call Gigabyte just in case. From what I'm hearing it sounds quite dangerous to put the new GPU into his computer, right?

I don't know anyone who knows about multimeters.. but I'll tell him to visually check for internal scorching (what exactly would that look like?) He said he didn't smell anything the day it actually happened, could there still be a scent today?

vagrantsoul · May 20, 2015

if a part was outright damaged, in my experience, you would either hear a weird noise, or you would smell burning plastic/flux/solder... it's kinda noticeable.

As for Gigabyte, if they get him a new part, he might be able to return teh new one, or just sell it online or keep for a backup... if it's the same card (970), well then you open the door to SLI.

it's not outright dangerous, it's just a risk... look for blackened board as seen in this pic: http://www.pjrc.com/about/rambling/antec_BlownPSU.jpg

capacitors that have "popped" - the soda can looking things having their guts exploded out. Hopefully it was just the mb and gpu.

Bellaflica · May 20, 2015

Hmm, he didn't say he heard a weird noise or smelt anything burning. However when we used his GPU in my computer, the fan made a pretty weird, loud noise. It also had a few orange 'rust' looking stains on it's sides.

Yeah I'm sure he could return the new card if he ended up getting the Gigabyte replaced. And yes it is another 970..but his case/mobo/psu are definitely not suited for SLI.

Where on the PSU do you check for a blackened board/blown capacitor? Or can you open it up and look inside?

vagrantsoul · May 20, 2015

gpu - that's seemingly the scorching from the water caused short.

PSU - just use a flashlight and look through the vents and fans, shouldn't need to totally open it up (plus it voids warranty) also, capacitors retain charge and can zap you...

if the psu isn't obviously acting up it might be okay...

Bellaflica · May 20, 2015

Which is the scorching - the stains or that sound?

Checking the PSU sounds easy enough then, so if the PSU looks fine is it safe to try the new GPU or do you still think it would be worth while to get the PSU tested/try a cheap video card?

vagrantsoul · May 20, 2015

scorching = burning/stains.

a local computer store (not best buy!) might be willing to test the psu... just nede to know they're not going to try and sell you something new out of having you in a corner.

i as a rule always have a cheapo discreet video card (20 dollar special) in case my gaming card blows up and i need to use the machine in an oh crap moment...

i mean if you've booted it up with teh new card and it hasnt made odd noises or smells, you're probably okay, the damage may have been isolated to the mb and gpu.

Bellaflica · May 20, 2015

Ah, thank you for your wealth of knowledge, friend.

I will tell him about testing his psu, but..

I think I like your rule! Might as well go ahead and buy a cheap card just in case something ever goes wrong, as well as for this occasion.

Sorry I can't choose you as the best answer.. but you certainly did have the best answers!

I'll probably update again in about a week to tell you how things turned out.

Bellaflica · Jul 27, 2015

Oops forgot to update this sooner but just to let you know we bought a 5450 and tested it in his system and it booted as normal. So thankfully his PSU is fine and after replacing the MB and GPU his PC is (more or less) back to life!

Water spilled in my friend's PC, Help please!

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