Can't Boot, Water Damage

DeAd14EteRNiTyDeAd14EteRNiTy
edited August 2005 in Hardware
I was trying to fix my computer by following instructions on cleaning up a heatsink. Unfortunately I was too stupid and used water to clean my computer. Then I turned the computer on and I broke it. Is there any way to make repairs? I had soaked the processor and bought a new one. After I installed it again the computer still doesn't boot up. What else could've been damaged when I tried to clean the processor?
Here's a link to how i got to this. http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35847

Thank you.

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    You may have taken out the motherboard. Sounds like you did.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    oh wow.. should've just used a LITTLE BIT of rubbing alcohol to clean off the heatsink and processor.. :shakehead
  • csimoncsimon Acadiana Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    if you had water on the proc then it probably went down into the socket.
    Like Pilot said use isopropyl alchohol or even nail polish remover next time.
  • SiggySiggy Sydney Australia
    edited August 2005
    Water could have fried everything!

    Strip everything down to individual components

    Having done that - start with the Power supply, check if it is working - Are fans turning? Light on on motherboard, can it power a cd rom? etc
    then add to motherboard and Processor,
    Then add Memory
    Then add Graphics card
    then anything else - one at a time.

    Hope this helps (and is actually useful?)

    cheers
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    DeAd14EteRNiTy wrote:
    I was trying to fix my computer by following instructions on cleaning up a heatsink. Unfortunately I was too stupid and used water to clean my computer. Then I turned the computer on and I broke it. Is there any way to make repairs? I had soaked the processor and bought a new one. After I installed it again the computer still doesn't boot up. What else could've been damaged when I tried to clean the processor?
    Here's a link to how i got to this. http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35847

    Thank you.

    Take everything out, drives, cpu, cables....everything. Leave them separate on the desk for a couple of days. Have the mainboard upside-down. That should dry the parts up. If the water shorted 2 points that leads power, the overvolting protection circuit on the powersupply would have blown the fuse. Did you hear a poof or a little bang from the powersupply? If you didn't, chances are that all parts are good. They just needs to be left alone and dry up for a day or 2.

    Personally, i have drained a mainboard before, but everything survived. How much water do we talk about there?
  • jradminjradmin North Kackalaki
    edited August 2005
    IF you ever have to use water, then make sure you open your case up and put a fan infront of it for atleast 24 hours before you even think about turning it on.

    Funny story here, but when I was in the Navy we had a sea water leak in the Chief's quarters where we stored all the laptops. Well, they were all submerged in seawater for atleast an hour or two. We went aand filled a couple tubs with fresh water and soaked them totally for 48 hours to flush out all the salt water. Then let em dry for 48 hours in the fan room and you know those laptops worked like camps :)
  • DeAd14EteRNiTyDeAd14EteRNiTy
    edited August 2005
    MackanzOCZ wrote:
    Take everything out, drives, cpu, cables....everything. Leave them separate on the desk for a couple of days. Have the mainboard upside-down. That should dry the parts up. If the water shorted 2 points that leads power, the overvolting protection circuit on the powersupply would have blown the fuse. Did you hear a poof or a little bang from the powersupply? If you didn't, chances are that all parts are good. They just needs to be left alone and dry up for a day or 2.

    Personally, i have drained a mainboard before, but everything survived. How much water do we talk about there?

    Mack, I did not hear a poof or bang so I'll try to follow the instructions and dry the stuff out. But I didn't really "soak" anything, I just used a wet cloth and scubbed on the backside of the heatsink along with the processor. So that's all the water I'm talking about. Would water really affect other parts too? The fans are working and the CD drives are functional too.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    If you did not get the pins on the bottom of the CPU wet, and if no water seeped into the holes in the ZIF (CPU holder) socket, it wouldn't seem your computer would have water damage. The top of the CPU, unless physically damaged, is sealed. When you say you used "water to clean [your] computer", that is vague. Please tell exactly what you did - parts in/out of computer, what parts, and so forth.
  • DeAd14EteRNiTyDeAd14EteRNiTy
    edited August 2005
    Okay. First i detached the heatsink, and then I used a wet cloth to scrub off the heat compound that was dried up on my heatsink and processor. I scrubbed with the cloth on the end where the heatsink is attached to the processor, and I also scrubbed the processor itself, but I did not remove it from the ZIF socket. After I thought I cleaned it out, I replaced the heatsink and tried to turn on the computer. That's when I realized I made a mistake by using water. So I never detached the processor, I just scrubbed on it with a wet cloth while it was still inside the socket. Thank you.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    OK, thanks for the description. Unless water was dripping off the heatsink or the top of the CPU, your computer should not have any water damage or water-induced electrical shorts.
  • DeAd14EteRNiTyDeAd14EteRNiTy
    edited August 2005
    If you are right about this, then is there any other cause for my computer not booting up?
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    well check all the connections, reset cmos, etc. If you still can't get it, try the one-by-one process. Try to boot it with just ram, cpu, video card, hd. Then keep adding things and you might find a problem. Also, are there any beep codes?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2005
    Everything Pilotwings119 mentioned would be a good idea. While you're at it, make sure the CPU fan is plugged into the proper connector. Many computers will automatically shut themselves right off if they don't detect a spinning CPU fan. :)
  • DeAd14EteRNiTyDeAd14EteRNiTy
    edited August 2005
    profdlp wrote:
    Everything Pilotwings119 mentioned would be a good idea. While you're at it, make sure the CPU fan is plugged into the proper connector. Many computers will automatically shut themselves right off if they don't detect a spinning CPU fan. :)

    It's going to take me some time to do the steps Pilot recommended because I'm not a computer expert and therefore I will need to get someone else to do them. However, I just wanted to let you know that the CPU fan is already spinning correctly.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    ok just ask questions about what you don't know. We're here to help you :thumbsup:
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2005
    pilotwings119 wrote:
    well check all the connections, reset cmos, etc. If you still can't get it, try the one-by-one process. Try to boot it with just ram, cpu, video card, hd. Then keep adding things and you might find a problem. Also, are there any beep codes?
    DeAd14EteRNiTy wrote:
    It's going to take me some time to do the steps Pilot recommended because I'm not a computer expert and therefore I will need to get someone else to do them. However, I just wanted to let you know that the CPU fan is already spinning correctly.

    Just to be absolutely sure, is the CPU fan actually connected to the CPU fan header on the MB? You can power the fan from anywhere, but if the BIOS sees zero rpm's at the CPU fan header it's going to think it isn't running at all.

    As for what Pilotwings said, I'm sure you can do it yourself. We'll help you if you need us to.

    Try the following:

    1) Shut down the computer (I'd imagine that won't be difficult, since it goes straight to the heart of your problem...), then unplug it from the wall.

    2) Remove all the cards in every slot, including the Video Card. Then replace the Video Card only, making sure it is firmly seated in the slot.

    3) Check all your cables. I would remove all the flat ribbon cables (the big wide suckers) and see if you can get the system to POST (Power On Self-Test) without even having any drives attached. Don't bother physically removing the drives (Hard Drives and CDROMs) from the case, just remove the cables themselves.

    4) At this point you should have just the RAM, the Video Card, and your CPU (along with the Heatsink & Fan, of course).

    5) Check your manual and find the location of the CMOS jumper. Remove the CMOS battery (the silver one that looks like a jumbo watch battery) and move the CMOS jumper to the reset position. Leave it there for about fifteen minutes.

    6) Move the CMOS jumper back to the normal position, reinsert the CMOS battery (don't get it upside down!), then plug the computer back in and hit the power button. Cross your fingers and see if you get anything on the screen. If you do, turn the power off, unplug the computer, then reattach the drives. Make sure that the colored wire on the flat ribbon cables is nearest the power plug on your HD's and CDROM drives at the drive end, and that it is in pin #1 at the MB end. Plug the system back in and see if it will boot.

    7) If you get that far, shutdown once again and add in in other cards (Sound, Network, etc) one at a time, booting up each time you add a new device.

    If you have any questions about any of this ask them before proceeding. It's not hard, but you will save yourself additional grief by making sure you know what you're doing beforehand.

    Good luck. :wave:
  • DeAd14EteRNiTyDeAd14EteRNiTy
    edited August 2005
    Thank you guys so much. I followed your advice and I found out that my memory card was dirty and when I cleaned it, without using water, it booted up finally. I don't see why the computer broke down after I tried to clean my heatsink with water, but the only thing the water broke was the processor and nothing else. Thank yall so much for your time reading and helping me with this problem. I learned a lot for everyone who replied. Thanks to everyone again.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    Keep coming back. This is a community that enjoys helping others. Many, many of us were neophytes once too. Learn, learn some more, then pass it on.

    See ya'.
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