liquid spilt in pc
 

My daughter spilt some squash over my computer earlier - it has some vents holes in the top and some of it got in that way. Due to where the tower is I couldn't pull the plug for about 10 seconds and in that time the computer went off and there was a kind of 'groaning' sound coming from it along with a slight sweet burning smell.

I'm pretty much sure something is going to need replacing and I'm off to the repair shop tomorrow but I was hoping for some idea in the meantime. There were some droplets in the cpu fan heatsink and it looked like one or two drops on the motherboard. Can't be 100% certain but I think most of the smell was coming from the power supply. The peripherals were still working ok (monitor, speaker system, HDMI cable in to my tv) so would that be a positive sign, ie not too much damage? I've left it unplugged and blew a hairdryer inside it for a bit.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

you might be lucky and just the psu gone poof... otherwise new mobo as that shorted out

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Would it be worth waiting a few days and trying to switch it on? just might need drying out?

Are you techy enough to have a look inside yourself?

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

I've looked inside but wouldn't really know what I'm looking for. I've already blasted it with a hairdryer for a bit and I'll be keeping it in a warm room overnight but the noise it made plus it going off has convinced me something is damaged.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

put a bowl of dry rice in the case this will draw in any moisture. Hopefully as said it just got your psu

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Will that do a better job than using the hairdryer from earlier?

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

yes because it will dray any moisture from inside or under etc it needs to be in a warm room so the humidity can rise

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

I've got a load on the mobo, should I take the psu out and get some in there too?

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Can you take a photo so we can see what the extent is?

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

There's nothing much to see at the moment really, just a load of rice but before that there certainly were no obvious signs of anything burning out.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

you want it in a bowl not on the machine. Put it somewhere warm and the humidity and the rice will do the rest

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Ah crap....

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

I did say a bowl but I see the confusion. It will be ok just tip it out onto a bowl stand the case up with the bowl at the bottom in your airing cupboard.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

After a quick hoovering this is the view minus the fan http://instagram.com/p/hwb6_Jri7H/

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

it looks to me like the psu blew if it stands vertically it does look like the psu would be first hit and most likely to pop rather than just spark and cut off

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

I knew you were going to do that :)

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

The fan would have been right in the way though, but I'm guessing that would have thrown anything away from the cpu and mobo.
It does stand vertically but the psu has like a 'cover' on it. It took about 10 seconds from the spill to it going 'off' though. I guess I'm just concerned it will be something pricey like the mobo.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Time to get this then :D

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/har...012_future_now

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

you can replace mobo cpu and ram for less than £100. Ebuyer sell pcs without an OS for £150 aria sometimes have them cheaper so no matter what it does not have to be expensive

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

But at this time of year though.... :spin:

I appreciate the advice and I'll see what the computer shop says tomorrow.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

You can put together a pc from ebuyer using your existing case/hard drive (you'll need an OS)

For as cheap as £110, failing that replacing a damaged PSU can be as cheap as £25 hopefully just something simple

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Except it's a proprietary non-standard OEM supply by the looks of things. Not the sort you can get in an ordinary shop. Or from anyone other than the original manufacturer.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Cheers all - it turns out it was just the CPU fan which the repair guy replaced for a tenner.

He did say it's possible there's residual damage elsewhere but he had a good look and couldn't see the liquid anywhere else (it was blackcurrant squash so all the droplet were purple). He kept the machine running for about half an hour and it seemed ok and said if nothing else seems wrong or I don't get random lock-ups, reboots etc for the next few months then I've probably been lucky in this case.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

One of my jobs was to wash contaminated circuit boards. They are OK if dried properly afterwards, not OK if powered up when damp!

Fingers crossed for you!!

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

SSDs by OCZ - that'll not help performance when they both die ;)

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

Glucose isn't particularly corrosive thankfully.

Re: liquid spilt in pc
 

It is however conductive.