No boot - rodents inside case!

[Johnny19]

My country town is going through a mouse plague. My 6 month new PC was working fine last night, but after work today it wouldn't boot. CPU and GPU fans and internal LEDs power up. I opened the case and found a pile of small bones jammed around my PSU, and there were mouse droppings all over the case (floor/on the GPU/under the PSU, up in the fans). A mouse has had a field day inside there. No signs of chewed cables. 

 

My USBs are not receiving power and my hdmi isn't being read. I have tried new hdmi, new screens, unplugged all components and wiped off mouse residue, resit PSU/GPU/RAM, reset battery, boot with no usb and only one stick ram. When I rebooted after the hour long clean there was a definite electrical flash from behind the rear peripherals panel. 

 

Likely components I need to replace? I'm suspecting it scratched the motherboard, and there was a pool of mouse piss at the bottom of case so could be water damage. I'm also suspicious of the PSU as that was where the bulk of bones and the nest was located. What component fault does this look like to you all? I'm just really hoping nothing wrong with my new CPU, its behind a liquid cooler but the mouse piss could have leaked in. I don't have a spare rig to test individual components and I live rurally so we have no repair shop within three hours. What parts should I order?

 

 

[resolve_beta]

8 minutes ago, Johnny19 said:

My country town is going through a mouse plague. My 6 month new PC was working fine last night, but after work today it wouldn't boot. CPU and GPU fans and internal LEDs power up. I opened the case and found a pile of small bones jammed around my PSU, and there were mouse droppings all over the case (floor/on the GPU/under the PSU, up in the fans). A mouse has had a field day inside there. No signs of chewed cables. 

 

My USBs are not receiving power and my hdmi isn't being read. I have tried new hdmi, new screens, unplugged all components and wiped off mouse residue, resit PSU/GPU/RAM, reset battery, boot with no usb and only one stick ram. When I rebooted after the hour long clean there was a definite electrical flash from behind the rear peripherals panel. 

 

Likely components I need to replace? I'm suspecting it scratched the motherboard, and there was a pool of mouse piss at the bottom of case so could be water damage. I'm also suspicious of the PSU as that was where the bulk of bones and the nest was located. What component fault does this look like to you all? I'm just really hoping nothing wrong with my new CPU, its behind a liquid cooler but the mouse piss could have leaked in. I don't have a spare rig to test individual components and I live rurally so we have no repair shop within three hours. What parts should I order?

 

 

Yikes that looks horrible

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Johnny19 said:

My USBs are not receiving power and my hdmi isn't being read. I have tried new hdmi, new screens, unplugged all components and wiped off mouse residue, resit PSU/GPU/RAM, reset battery, boot with no usb and only one stick ram. When I rebooted after the hour long clean there was a definite electrical flash from behind the rear peripherals panel.

There was probably an electrical short then, The board is probably dead from residue, either from when you cleaned it or from the rodents. The board may be repairable, but you would need to take it to a local repair shop.

 

9 minutes ago, Johnny19 said:

I'm also suspicious of the PSU as that was where the bulk of bones and the nest was located.

Personally, unless you have a PSU Tester and you are also comfortable with opening up the PSU and "carefully!" checking it and blowing out any debri that may be in it, I would go ahead and replace it

 

11 minutes ago, Johnny19 said:

What component fault does this look like to you all? I'm just really hoping nothing wrong with my new CPU, its behind a liquid cooler but the mouse piss could have leaked in.

It's possible that the electrical short damaged the CPU, but unlikely. You would just have to test it in a known working board.

 

 

[BetteBalterZen]

Damn, F in chat bro - that sucks 

[Spotty]

First thing I would do is remove everything from the case and assemble only the essential components - Motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply. As you go examine all of the components carefully for signs of damage or shorts (burn marks), including both sides of the motherboard. Have a look through the PSU fan grill and exhaust grill to see if you can see any debris or damage inside the PSU. You don't need to open it up just shine a light in there. If you do find any damage/burns to any of the parts please post a picture of it.

 

If you do manage to get the system working again make sure it's placed somewhere where it's less likely the mice will enter it, eg. on top of the desk instead of on the floor. Make sure there aren't any openings that they could enter the computer through. I'm guessing you're in Australia? I've been seeing the mouse plagues on the news and thankfully don't have it where I am but it looks absolutely horrendous. Telling you to keep it away from them is obviously easier said than done but just do the best you can not to invite them in.

 

 

 

 

[Johnny19]

10 hours ago, Spotty said:

[...]

If you do manage to get the system working again make sure it's placed somewhere where it's less likely the mice will enter it, eg. on top of the desk instead of on the floor. Make sure there aren't any openings that they could enter the computer through. I'm guessing you're in Australia? I've been seeing the mouse plagues on the news and thankfully don't have it where I am but it looks absolutely horrendous. Telling you to keep it away from them is obviously easier said than done but just do the best you can not to invite them in.

 

 

 

 

Yeah rural Australia, it's pretty gross right now. The fields look like they are moving. That's actually a really good idea, I'll place it up on my desk and try to seal it as much as possible. They chewed through my dust filter to get in there!

 

Shined a light inside the PSU, no signs of damage. I'll do a thorough inspection of the board tonight and post pics. 

[Guest]

Yikes, That looks disgusting. How did a rat go into your case? I have seen ants and wasps build their home inside my case but never a mouse.

[derpkotacasper]

This is a common issue in automotive. It's very, very likely that if you inspect all your power supply wiring closely, you'll find some of them have been chewed. Check both internal and external. I would do a complete teardown of the PC as well - it may be time to clean the entirety of the system, particularly the motherboard. You may have a short being caused by debris on the motherboard and/or other components. That flash you are describing is fairly definitive, you have a short. I unfortunately think that flash you have seen may have been a components death throes. As stated before, you're now looking for burn marks and you're likely now trying to figure out what must be replaced.

Sorry about your luck. Keep us posted, I'm rooting for you.