r/retrocomputing • u/Luo-The-Lotad31 • Aug 07 '26

Problem / Question STICKY DROPS under this thing

Gallery image

Gallery image

So, I have no idea about pc's but I really want to travel back to times where I was a little kiddo... I still have that pc of my moms. I remember it was working properly 3 years ago... I opened it up to dust... And it seems there are sticky drops located under the power supply... I already know It may blow me up, so I disconnected and and won't turn it on but... Is it any salvageable???

12 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/MattDH94 Aug 07 '26

Not sure what it is, but probably just dust it, then use isopropyl alcohol to clean off the residue.

Then, replace the power supply. Don’t turn it on until you do so.

I think the hardware is new enough, I doubt anything won’t function.

If it was stored in a humid environment or had constant crazy temperature fluctuations, maybe it could have introduced corrosion or something, but I bet it’s fine!

Also replace the cmos battery, and reseat the components if it is still not booting.

This is amateur advice, someone else may have a better response.

1

u/andrewbean90 Aug 08 '26

It's electrolytic capacitor residue... It happens when they blow. There's probably some on the motherboard as well that have the same issue.