I think I might know what went wrong, but I need some advice to confirm my suspicions. Yesterday, I used compressed air to clean my computer and accidentally scattered some liquid metal that I applied to the motherboard a year ago—there was probably too much, and it pooled near the socket. After cleaning it up with Q-tips and isopropyl alcohol, I found that my computer is now completely unresponsive. Normally, I expect at least the fans to spin, but nothing happens now. I've disconnected everything except the CPU, tried two different power supplies, and even used the paperclip method to check if the PSU is okay. Given these issues, do you think I just need to replace the motherboard, or could other components be damaged as well?
2 Answers
You mentioned you only had the CPU connected; don't forget to attach the RAM as well, or the board won't post. If there was still metal on the board when you attempted to start it up, there's a chance something shorted out. Do you see any signs of life, like an LED? You should also check the main ATX power connector; reseating it can sometimes fix the issue.
I'd start with the motherboard. It's a good idea to use a heat gun to warm it up, which might help the liquid metal become liquid again. This could potentially help eliminate any shorts on the board.
If the motherboard is fried, don’t worry too much, other components might still be fine.
Thanks for the tip! I'm definitely going to try the heat gun method. I just realized that the liquid metal may have gotten under the heat sink for the North Bridge, so it looks like I'm taking the board out. Yay!
I tried every RAM slot, reseated the ATX and CPU connections, and even tested another PSU. I also removed the CMOS battery for an hour yesterday. Still, there's absolutely no sign of life, not even an LED or fans twitching. It's really strange because I've had computers that didn’t post, but they at least showed some signs of life. This one is completely dead!