Wet PC

Cipher7071 · #1 January 29th, 2004, 09:09 PM

Ack!!

Even if the power supply and the motherboard are foo-barred, you might still dry out the HD and retrieve info. I've even seen a guy take a HD with mechanical failure and shake it a bit, then put it into a good computer a get a least a partial data retrieve.

PvK · #2 January 29th, 2004, 10:52 PM

Argh! Poor Attrocities!

I would hold out hope for the hard drives. I'd take them out, let them dry off, and then try to put them into a never-flooded computer which has a disk burner in it, to back up your data. Even if that fails, a hard disk recovery service might be able to rescue your files, since the drive mechanisms and the magnetic disk are two separate parts, and the magnetic data on the disk is a bit less vulnerable than the drive motor etc.

Best of luck on the recovery!

PvK

Thermodyne · #3 January 30th, 2004, 01:04 AM

The hard drives should be fine, but the PC will need to be dried and then protected from corrosion. And even then, there may be problems down the road. A hair dryer will dry it fine, and a light spray of WD 40 will go a long way for minimizing corrosion. Be sure to pull everything out of the board and dry the slots well.

Atrocities · #4 January 30th, 2004, 08:14 AM

I spent the afternoon taking both apart and drying them. The AMD seems to be working like its old self, tempormental and buggy.

This was indeed a very very close call.

narf poit chez BOOM · #5 January 30th, 2004, 08:19 AM

indeed.

David E. Gervais · #6 January 30th, 2004, 11:44 AM

WB, AT

Now you need to get a nice big jar and every time you make a post here drop a quarter (25cents) into it. Within no time you'll have enough to start buying replacement/upgrade parts.

Of course if you want to speed up the process, drop in a buck/post and then you'll get there really fast.

Cheers!

Roanon · #7 January 30th, 2004, 08:02 PM

Argh, I am sad to hear this, Atrocities. I hope you will be able to restore most of the parts to good use. I feel with you, it is not only the money but a lot of work to restore everything to the previous state, and this really sucks.

Just make sure they are *absolutely* dry before powering up. Do not just blow air into the vents, open them and use a hair dryer. A lot. Most problematic is the power supply. A very good chance that most parts are ok if there was no power when it got wet. Although the fans are probably toast or will become toast within a few months.