# A rodent shitted on my GFX Card. What to do?



## Cool G5 (Oct 21, 2009)

The unfortunate incident happened recently as my PC was lying in idle condition for a month or two since my monitor was conked off. I got a new LCD yesterday but when I attached it to my PC it show some garbled colour boxes & thats it. I switched off the computer & opened the cabinet, removed the graphics card only to find a rodent shitting inside my cabinet. It shitted on the back PCB of the graphic card. Though not much but still not the card got greasy. I cleaned the card gently with a soft hanky & then have kept it outside. I will now keep it in sunlight tomorrow to dry up.

What else should I do guys? Is spraying WD-40 recommended?


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## saqib_khan (Oct 21, 2009)

LOL..I had to do a image search for that "rodent" word. Yes, keep that card in Sunlight. I think that should solve the problemo.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 21, 2009)

Ohh sorry for that. Well let's see what happens ahead.

What do you think of WD-40 spray guys?


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## Krow (Oct 22, 2009)

No clue about the spray. If the card is in warranty, then NO, else, err... be careful with it.


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## rhitwick (Oct 22, 2009)

If possible try to get some spirit and wash the places with it.

AFAIK, spirits don't cause problems with circuit boards...
The board will be cleaned and no moisture will be on it.


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## Ethan_Hunt (Oct 22, 2009)

Be extremely careful while using liquid products on the card. If you had to RMA it and they detect a physical damage, then kiss your warranty good bye.

I'm curios as to how a rodent actually got in there, not to mention pooping on the graphic card's PCB?


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## Cool G5 (Oct 22, 2009)

Ethan_Hunt said:


> Be extremely careful while using liquid products on the card. If you had to RMA it and they detect a physical damage, then kiss your warranty good bye.
> 
> I'm curios as to how a rodent actually got in there, not to mention pooping on the graphic card's PCB?



The rodent got inside the cabinet from the opening of the floppy drive on front of the panel I guess since there is no way in apart from that.

My card is not under warranty, so no option but to try recovery on my own. I have medical spirit bottle at home, will it do? No harm to the PCB right?


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## rhitwick (Oct 22, 2009)

Cool G5 said:


> I have medical spirit bottle at home, will it do? No harm to the PCB right?



AFAIK, spirit is used to clean circuit boards. I've seen people cleaning borads with it (in repair centers)

Don't directly put it there.
Rinse cloth in it, or put a few drops in a particular spot on the cloth and wipe the spot with it.


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## Ethan_Hunt (Oct 22, 2009)

Cool G5 said:


> The rodent got inside the cabinet from the opening of the floppy drive on front of the panel I guess since there is no way in apart from that.
> 
> My card is not under warranty, so no option but to try recovery on my own. I have medical spirit bottle at home, will it do? No harm to the PCB right?


If it's on the back of the card then you can scrub it very gently and make sure the concentration of spirit is very low.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 22, 2009)

Yup its on the back of the card. Will try cleaning it gently with a cloth in the afternoon.
Will report later guys.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 22, 2009)

No improvement guys. The card fails to show up anything at all. 
What to do next?


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## abyss88 (Oct 22, 2009)

if the card is still in warranty period, then take it to the place where u bought it and tell them to fix(replace) it..well, u dont need to say that a rodent shitted on it , do u?
you know...i was doing some work on my computer and suddenly the screen went blank and then i restarted and the whole problem


if not, ur doomed

at least keep your place rodent free..btw was that a mouse?


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## Krow (Oct 22, 2009)

Yes, the warranty period on his card is over *abyss*. Well, all I can say is, try getting the card repaired. AFAIK, AGP cards are costly, so buying a new one is not really economical.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 22, 2009)

Buying an AGO card is pointless now. It was pointless even when I bought this. I bought this card so that I can use my outdated computer for another year or so but now all my plans have gone down the drain. I can't even upgrade now.


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## rohan_mhtr (Oct 22, 2009)

Your card's problem may not be due to the shitting of the rodent . Once when i used my pc which had an agp ati 9550 card after about 2 months and there were some lines on the screen . I got it repaired for abut 400 bucks and the technician said that since i used it after a long time some chip on the card refused to work .

PS : did you actually see the rodent shitting on the card or was the poop lying there from before !!


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## Krow (Oct 23, 2009)

^Mega LOL! 

Well, G5 try getting it repaired or try getting a good deal for a second hand AGP card. What's your config?


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## max_demon (Oct 23, 2009)

*LOL, I've faced a similar problem, But I let rodent's sh*t dry for months and then removing it is very easily! 
*


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## infra_red_dude (Oct 23, 2009)

I'd advise against spirit. You don't know how concentrated it is. I'd run to the local store and get a bottle of iso-propyl alcohol. Thats the standard liquid used to clean PCBs and chips.

You never know what conductive elements are in the "sh!t" So when you turned your computer on, something nasty may have happened. 

[Offtopic] Btw, I'm really curious to see the rodent that can get through the floppy drive slot!  [/Offtopic]


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## azzu (Oct 23, 2009)

how about cleaning it with acetone(white PETROL) that wat these computer guys tell here. i hav seen many cleaning boards and mobiles using that liquid.
BTW: sorry for the Loss gaurav


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## Cool G5 (Oct 23, 2009)

infra_red_dude said:


> I'd advise against spirit. You don't know how concentrated it is. I'd run to the local store and get a bottle of iso-propyl alcohol. Thats the standard liquid used to clean PCBs and chips.
> 
> You never know what conductive elements are in the "sh!t" So when you turned your computer on, something nasty may have happened.
> 
> [Offtopic] Btw, I'm really curious to see the rodent that can get through the floppy drive slot!  [/Offtopic]



I have already cleaned the PCB with Spirit which had 70% Isopropyl Alcohol content. The rodent go inside through the floppy drive bay which doesn't hold floppy drive anymore(Removed the drive due to non-use).

Azeem, I'm sure it was a rodent ****.

I will try posting a image of the graphic card PCB soon. Currently don't have my digicam with me. I even suspect some minute components to burst or burn but still not sure.


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## Krow (Oct 23, 2009)

infra_red_dude said:


> You never know what conductive elements are in the "sh!t"





> [Offtopic] Btw, I'm really curious to see the rodent that can get through the floppy drive slot!  [/Offtopic]


+1.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 23, 2009)

Here are the pics of the Graphic card. Click on thumbnails to view the original image.

*img223.imageshack.us/img223/2135/graphiccardbackpcb.th.jpg

*img25.imageshack.us/img25/4858/graphiccardfrontpcb.th.jpg


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## Krow (Oct 23, 2009)

4MB each????? Post in smaller res too please!


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## Cool G5 (Oct 24, 2009)

Ok, I will do it.
I posted the original one so that you guys can notice each & every small component on the PCB.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 24, 2009)

Pics resized to 2MP. I hope this much is enough to see the minute card details.

*img23.imageshack.us/img23/5582/graphiccardfrontpcbresi.th.jpg

*img7.imageshack.us/img7/5100/graphiccardbackpcbresiz.th.jpg


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## Cool G5 (Oct 24, 2009)

Update : Now the monitor is not even working on onboard graphics. My HDD is unformatted. Even the POST is not getting displayed. It was working fine till yesterday.


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## Krow (Oct 24, 2009)

Looks like it is not the gfx card at fault. Dust clean the system after removing all connections. Reconnect and then reboot. Btw, be careful with the HDD connection as if it is non-SATA, then the cables tend to not plug in tight after you remove them after a long in time.


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## rohan_mhtr (Oct 24, 2009)

Are you sure that  your pc is booting ? can u hear the b beap , try booting with only hdd connected and also check your psu .


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## Cool G5 (Oct 24, 2009)

rohan_mhtr said:


> Are you sure that  your pc is booting ? can u hear the b beap , try booting with only hdd connected and also check your psu .



My PC doesn't beeps while booting. Neither it used to beep when it was working fine before.


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## rishabh_s (Oct 26, 2009)

I was about to remove my floppy drive too but i guess...its not a good idea. LOL.


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## Cool G5 (Oct 26, 2009)

rishabh_s said:


> I was about to remove my floppy drive too but i guess...its not a good idea. LOL.



Remove the floppy drive & then insert a blank panel over the area. I think I should have done it too.  Still the PC is lying unattended now, I hope nothing goes bonkers again.


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## asingh (Oct 27, 2009)

Test your GPU on another system.

Clean it nicely with Isopropyl Alcohol.

Clean it with a lint free cloth, and keep blowing air where ever you wipe.
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Posted again:
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Test your GPU on another system.

Clean it nicely with Isopropyl Alcohol.

Clean it with a lint free cloth, and keep blowing air where ever you wipe.


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