Alrite guys, i need some help/theories/solutions/etc.... I built a system for a friend and she put it in her upstairs bedroom before she evacuated and only like the first 3 inches got wet. The only parts that had water marks on were the motherboard and the wireless PCI adapter.. so I ordered the parts and her brother switched them. But after he switched them, the system still wouldn't work. ... When I plugged the system in and turned it on, the CPU fan would spin but the monitor was still saying no signal. So I kept analyzing everything and I noticed that one of the power wires leading from the case was coroded. So I decided that it needed to be replaced... and because the case had ugly marks on it from the water, we decided to just replace the whole case... and this time I decided we needed purchase a seperate power supply instead of using an included PSU. The parts will be coming in tomorrow, so I wanted to hear what you guys had to say before I got started.

Also, I would appreciate it if some of you could give me a screename where I can contact you on the spot if i need any help.. thanks in advance

Does it sound like the cpu is trying to boot up, or do the fans and lights just come on? One time i burnt out a cpu and it looked like it was trying to come on, but no beeps or boot up noises. It's probably not your psu if the fans are coming on, I would direct your attention to your cpu. Thats just my opinion though. I have been known many-a-time to be wrong...like that time I burnt out that cpu...lol.

I refurbished two computers that were 100% submerged in Metairie (west "suburb" of New Orleans) and it was an interesting experience... one was a dual Athlon server that I built for a client, the other a low-end system for general office work. I cleaned off the motherboards with Electrical Contact Cleaner from Radio Shack, and blew it off with an air compressor. Needed new CMOS batteries, too, from corrosion. Cleaned out the PSU's and CPU sockets, etc. and both machines posted without any problems! I did wind up having to replace all the floppy and CD drives, and two of the 4 hard drives in the server... but all things considered, the guy was mucho lucky.

If I were you, I'd take the whole thing down, clean everything off with cleaner, and scrub the memory and CPU contacts with a toothbrush (not necessary if you replaced the motherboard, but still...)

Also, just because it had watermarks only 3 inches up, doesn't mean the water didn't surge higher, and settle at 3 inches for a few hours. Clean everything to make sure. The key was getting the machines out of the water ASAP, before the corrosion set in too badly.

Let me know if you need help. My info is in my public profile, I'm home (in my office) after 1:00 P.M. most days.

I finished fixing it... when her brother put the processor in it, he put in wrong on a 90 degree angle and forced it in. Luckily none of the pins broke and I bent them all back in place with a steak knife and surprisingly that fixed it all. So I was actually pretty lucky. But, I'm sure that the computer isn't as stable as it should be because she said sometimes it'll glitch randomly and just shut off on her. So I wouldn't be surprised if all of a sudden the processor just quits on her.

Ewww bent pins. That's never good. I just don't have much luck with processors. Like I said, I burnt that one out, but then another one, whilst I was changing cases, somehow got its pins bent. I feel ya on that one. I used a straight piece of metal and the file on some finger nail clippers. LoL Glad you got her up and running!!