Pint of Pepsi in PC

MikeB

MikeB

MikeB

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23 May 2006
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My idiot son split a pint of Pepsi inside machine, its boots which is a suprise, only off the internal graphics though, when plugging in the GFX card it point blank refuses to come one

Whats the chances of the PSU being knackered as well, i.e. only having enough juice for basics and GFX is then too much, or is it a case of it turns on so its ok?
 
Did any liquid go over the GPU/socket/that bit of the motherboard? I would think that if the PSU is still working sufficiently to boot up the machine then it hasn't blown/fused and so is most likely ok. Obviously can't guarantee that though.

Safest option would seem to be to test the GPU in another machine or (slightly more risky) a different GPU in yours. Other opinions may vary!
 
You need to get that PC taken apart and cleaned and dried.

You shouldn't have tried booting it at all before cleaning it.

It's quite a common occurrence so there are guides out there.
 
Happened a week ago and been drained as such, was Pepsi Max so no sugar thank god

It's his PC not mine, don't want to try my PSU/GFX card in it if there is significant risk of them blowing up
 
Yes, there is considerable risk of things blowing up.

All the components on the motherboard will need to be individually cleaned. Don't mess with the insides of a PSU unless you know what you're doing. Really. You can kill yourself. If stuff got in, play safe and replace it. Use 90%+ (preferably 98%+) isopropyl alcohol (aka isopropanol) rather than water. This is cheap. Wear rubber gloves and use a clean paint brush in a well-ventilated area, and don't drive afterwards. Immerse the components in a bath of IA and use the brush to get in everywhere, front and back. After cleaning, give everything a rinse in a fresh bath of IA and leave in a well-ventilated place to dry. Fans should be wiped down with IA rather than immersed - getting IA inside a fan may remove oil. Like fans, hard drives should only need a wipe-down; don't immerse them. If stuff has got into an optical drive, replace it. Your son will likely need to replace the TIM on both the CPU and the GPU.

Read this tale on Reddit.

And no naked flames, no smoking, no heat sources.
 
Would never open a PSU after getting massive shock off one ten years ago

Thanks for comprehensive post, will have a think on way forward, he isn't in a position to replace motherboard, gfx PSU, and I'm not willing to risk my gfx
 
Buy or borrow a test gpu.

I use a GTX 460 for this now, but finding a cheap gpu should be easy enough.

Chances are the gpu is dead, if that's the only loss then he has been fairly lucky.
 
sugar or no sugar, once that liquid dries it will start to slowly corrode whatever it has touched.
If the PC hasn't been thoroughly cleaned as advised above, I strongly suggest you turn it off and stop using it until it has been cleaned.
 
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