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Water damaged parts, is there any chance of recovery?

Water damaged parts, is there any chance of recovery?

I live in the Philippines and our house here was one of the many that was submerged by the flash floods that Typhoon Ketsana brought. We moved one of our computers from the first to the second floor in an attempt to spare it from the floodwaters, but the water rose past the second floor and submerged the computer anyways.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 340
Total answers/comments: 2
Guest [Entry]

"Dried mud (in most cases) isn't a good conductor, so not getting ALL the mud off isn't going to be a big deal. It IS a good insulator though, so it may cause over-heating if caked on in the wrong spot, so you want to get as much off as possible (without damaging what it's stuck to).
For your hard drives, you're probably best sending them off for professional data recovery, or at least an assessment, as particulates may (probably) have seeped into the inner mechanics.
For other, solid-state devices, I'd say your best/cheap bet is to clean the dried mud off with a stiff, plastic-bristled brush and a can of compressed air. Then use some high-percentage Isopropyl Alcohol (97.5% or better), and cotton or foam swabs to clean it up further.
You're going to want to disassemble the devices to some extent (ie: remove heat sinks and detachable daughterboards), just make sure you have the right tools to do the job (for both removing and reattaching) and pay attention on how you took it apart, so you can get it back together.
The most important part is testing them in a system that you can afford to damage by using a possibly shorted device. :)
I hope your computer damage was the worst of it for you!"
Guest [Entry]

I've been advised in the past to clean electronic components with distilled water. I suspect your hard drives are now paperweights, but solid-state components are quite possibly recoverable. You'll have to test them to find out, there's no way to tell from here in the United States. Flush with distilled water, let them dry thoroughly (like for more than one day, given the humidity in the Philippines) and test them.