Computer water damage ... safe to transfer PCI cards ...

[FulciLives]

My ex-gf poured a glass of water on my computer while it was running. I turned it off right away then waited a day before trying to turn it on but I guess it got "fried" because although it will turn "on" and light up etc. nothing happens ... it doesn't boot at all or anything. I do get power to the DVD burner and it opens and closes etc. but there is no boot going on nothing at all from the video card output and no beeps or nothing!

I have a PCI capture card and I am wondering if it is safe to put it in a new computer I just bought or could I risk damaging the new computer if the PCI capture card is "shorted out" or something like that?

I also want to try and rescue the HDD from the old computer.

Should I risk putting this stuff in the new computer?

I guess I could always get one of those USB/FIREWIRE external cases to make the HDD an external HDD ... at least that will not damage the computer if there is a problem with the HDD. I saw a kit like this for about $40 at CompUSA. I assume that if it works this way it would then be safe to put it in the new computer. However it would be nice not to have to spend the $40 at all ... though I guess I could return the item once I verify the "status" of the HDD.

I really don't want to spend another $50 on a new capture card.

Not to sound cheap but money is low and I had to finance this new computer which was a bit of a stretch for me as it was ... financially speaking.

So ...

What you guys think? ... and try to keep the comments focused on the computer issues and not the bitch-from-hell ex-gf

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[yoda313]

Hello,

Personally I'd play it safe and buy a new capture card. Why risk your new pc??? It's a lot easier to replace the capture card then fork over the dough for a new motherboard/pc if it does fry it.

Just my opinion

Kevin

[pacmania_2001]

Go on Judge Judy and get some money off the ex to get all new stuff.

[yoda313]

Go on Judge Judy and get some money off the ex to get all new stuff.

Hello,



Just don't mention videohelp or they may request documents from videohelp! I don't think I'd want our posts submitted for national tv!



Kevin

[zzyzzx]

Your best bet is to find someone with a computer that they don't care about and try all your cards there.

If you can't let me know because I'm about to throw a computer away and I could use that for testing purposes if you want. You'd have to mail the stuff to me though (Baltimore)..

Off hand I'd guess that both the PCI card and HD are probably OK as long as they didn't get wet.

[VCDHunter]

Personally I would seek redress from your ex. Failing that report her for criminal damage and seek compensation. Failing that go round her yard and piss on her TV.

[888888]

Definitely seeks compensation for her criminal act and get her to buy you a new PC.

[FulciLives]

Personally I would seek redress from your ex. Failing that report her for criminal damage and seek compensation. Failing that go round her yard and piss on her TV.

Her cat beat me to it ... pissed on her 2 year old SONY 5.1 DD/DTS receiver and fried it. Now she is all pissed off LOL that she has to listen to stuff on her mono TV speaker.

I think the cat liked me more hehehe

I guess the question is ... can I cause damage to the new computer?

@zzyzzx
I might take you up on your offer once I decide what I am doing (to try or not to try on my new computer). I have 2 HDD in the old computer and only need one of them so you can keep the 80GB drive for your efferts if it still works (the other is a 120GB I would want to keep). The 80GB is a Maxtor ATA-100 7200rpm drive that is about 3 years old now.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I should mention that the case was open ... so the whole one side was exposing the motherboard etc. but I wasn't in the room the instant she did it so I don't know what got wet exactly other than it surely did get "fried" so yeah water did get inside of it no question of that.

[gmatov]

Fulci,

If you can drive 15-20 miles, or meet me at a halfway place, I can take a look at it and try your components in some of my spare older computers.

Save you the cost of shipping, get it back quicker.

Not necessarily "fried", maybe still wet. Pull all the cards and connectors, blow them out with canned air, dry off the rest of the board.

I seriously doubt any damage to HDDs. They're out of the way.

BTW, I'm nearer to Greensburg than Pittsburgh.

Cheers,

George

[ViRaL1]

Where did you bury her?

[FulciLives]

Where did you bury her?

If you are mad enough at someone to kill that person then you kill someone else ... someone you are unrelated to in any way, shape, or form.

Serial Killer 101 !!!

The key is finding the proper outlet for your emotion and making sure said outlet can't be traced back to you.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Roundabout]

John,

A lot of times you can do what George mentioned. For the most part, the electronics won't be damaged as long as you turn the unit off and dry off everything immediately. A hair dryer can even work for this purpose.

If you leave the water (assuming it was water) inside to dry out, the minerals can oxidize on the circuit traces and cause shorts or opens, so if you pull the boards, look closely to see if there's any residue on them from the water. I assume you didn't dry them right after they got wet, which would have been the best thing to do when possible.

Water can get between the pins on LSI chips easily causing resistance to occur, so you could use a toothbrush on the board to clean it off if you see any residue. As long as nothing corrodes, it should work.

I've fixed many different electronic items by using the toothbrush method, even in spots where there didn't seem to be any residue. Especially cordless phones, which seemed to be dropped in water often before brought in for repair.

[ViRaL1]

Where did you bury her?

If you are mad enough at someone to kill that person then you kill someone else ... someone you are unrelated to in any way, shape, or form.

Serial Killer 101 !!!

The key is finding the proper outlet for your emotion and making sure said outlet can't be traced back to you.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

That's nonsense. Never underestimate the power of an really good alibi.

[ZAPPER]

Yea. what Roundabout says. Ask any techs if they can point you to a cleaning solvent. I have used what we used to call "tuner cleaner" on wet and parts that had been wet with good results. If the components havent been hurt it is worth a shot. BTW you may be suprised at how hard it is to get some of the "residue" off of a part or from inside a connection. Sometimes the water spots or corrosion that forms is as hard as a rock.
I would think that a HD is probally the tightest component in your PC and is not likely to be damaged. You might take it to a service shop and tell the guy that if he can fix it that you will go as high as a hundred bucks or fifty bucks for an honest try. He will most likely point out right there what parts are fried and tell you that you can't do it for that money. And from there the game is on!