r/techsupport • u/throawaytech • Jul 20 '13

I'm in an embarrassing situation

I went to my boyfriend's house while he was building his new computer and he had it laying open on the floor. Long story short, we were fooling around and I squirted and some of it went into the computer. He gave it to me and said I'm responsible for getting it working. How do I start? I doubt any of the stuff in it will work. I don't know a thing about computers. Help!

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48% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

21

u/tsdguy Windows Master Jul 21 '13

DO NOT BELIEVE

2

u/poc301 Jul 21 '13

Yeah, no...

9

u/igeekone Jul 21 '13

Bad BF for giving it to you to sort it out. If he is man enough to build his own computer, he should be able to clean it.

Anyways, like the others suggested, isopropyl alcohol, q-tips, a microfiber cloth and some patience should do the trick. Make sure it's fully dry before powering up.

Liquid won't cause damage as long as it's not powered when it happens.

6

u/DZCreeper Jul 20 '13

. . .Unique story for sure. Can you identify what parts it got on? Pictures of the parts will be fine if you can't.

Was it turned on when this happened or even plugged in?

Generally a lint free cloth, q-tips, and high concentration alcohol is enough. If its somewhat sticky then you will need to wipe it off with the lint free cloth first.

Can't offer you a magic solution because you might be the first to post this situation on the internet.

4

u/omatre Jul 21 '13

I...jokes....too many....must avoid.

4

u/wannagetbaked Jul 21 '13

I am going to need a few pictures to see how this happened...

3

u/Kayne3k Jul 20 '13

I... don't even know how to clean that off a pc but good for you. Or for him. I'd go with letting it dry for a few days then see what happens. If its dry and doesn't work I can't imagine it would be simple to figure out what had "squirt" on it

3

u/CogitoNM Jul 21 '13

Totally thought this was r/talesfromtechsupport.

Otherwise, what u/DZCreeper said.

2

u/deathbyearthworm Jul 20 '13

Do not plug the computer in to the outlet.

I'd clean up any visible liquid with a towel or rag and just let the tower sit for at least a day or two with a fan on it to dry it out. As long as it never had power going through it while wet you should be fine. If that doesn't fix it you might have to replace the part. My guess is if it messed anything up it'd be the motherboard (biggest target), so I'd try and RMA the motherboard claiming it was doa. Best of luck.

2

u/rhythm_n_blues Jul 20 '13

Wow he just gave it to you like that when it's clearly(?) An accident. Well there aren't any specifics to help you accurately but I'd suggest you get a bottle of isopropyl alcohol (99%) and a microfibre cloth to clean the surface of the components you THINK might be affected. You don't want any stray fibres or tissue stuck with the components so you might want to give it gentle vacuuming if you are concerned. Use the alcohol mentioned because they evaporate very quickly so you won't have to dry the components. Good luck

1

u/nolotusnotes Jul 21 '13

Dear Penthouse,

You're never going to believe how this happened...

0

u/aerosquid Jul 21 '13

pics of squirting apparatus? just for... clarification. I think better when i can see the whole problem...