you reckon it's the PSU or mobo?

[boka]

computer doesn't power on

i've been having a problem with these crazy ants that've been coming in from the balcony - i say they're crazy because they just come in and sit around in small groups on the wall near electronic devices rather than look for food... anyway, i was making a borax/sucrose solution as a makeshift ant poison and i was stupidly mixing it in front of my computer. i got a good splash onto my keyboard - this started shorting various keys on my keyboard, internet explorer and outlook windows started popping up and random letters started appearing in them. after a few seconds of this, my computer went through the whole shut-down process and now the computer doesn't power on...

symptoms are:

-i've noticed an abnormal buzz coming from my PSU (while my computer is still off). it is clearly audible and it is definitely not a sound that you would expect from a healthy PSU, however, I don't not know if this is the cause, or whether this problem had developed earlier (as it's hard to hear the computer with the balcony door open), the PSU makes the same sound when nothing is attached to it

-my mobo's system power LED turns on when i switch on the PSU, but it becomes dimmer within half a second of switching it on.

-power and reset buttons on both the mobo and the case have no effect whatsoever.

-upon switching the PSU off for a while, then back on, the case power LED lights up (normally indicating that the computer has been turned on), but nothing happens - no fan spin-up, no bios boot, no beeps, no activity whatsoever.

the PSU is an antec smartpower 450w and the mobo is a DFI LP nF4 Ultra-D

i'm thinking i blew a fuse on the USB controller or something similar, but would there be enough power supplied to the keyboard to cause damage in the first place?

any ideas?

[awdark]

Shorting the power pins of the USB will not kill the board or a fuse. Will power down the computer though.

Based on the symptoms, I would currently assume for a blown power supply. However, the CAUSE would indicate motherboard as thats the part that would potentially get damaged. So unless ants decided to go marching into your PSU, I would focus on the board.

EDIT:

Doh it has to be your board.

I blew my Asrock recently, plugged in a usb cable heard a pop.

Power up would only spin fan once and turn power light on a few seconds. However the power buttons were useless. So it sounds like your dfi. T_T thats so sad I like that board. Unfortunately I don't know how to fix it. Broken boards are fixable assuming you can find the stinky smoldering piece of silicon to desolder and replace, but my board looked perfect >_<

My psu was fine, everything else was fine...

O_O I shall keep drinks away from keyboard.

My older motherboards exhibited different blown mobo traits, power up will spin fans and power lights. No other activity. Perhaps this is a 939 mobo trait.

Im wondering why USB ports are so delicate... I can short ps2 ports, parallel ports just fine >_<

[Guest system]

O_O I shall keep drinks away from keyboard.

Hooray for wireless keyboard and mouse!

Or... will it have the same effect if I spill something?

[awdark]

Wireless mouse. But no, it can't have the same effect unless you decide to dunk the reciever...

[boka]

thanks awdark - i had a good look over the whole board, especially around the back panel area and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. i just don't know whether i should send it back and risk the $50 "no fault found" fee just yet...

for now, i've ordered a new PSU today - i was looking at some of the new high-efficiency ones like the antec neo he or the coolermaster igreen but the antec was reported to have major compatibility issues as well as not actually being more efficient than other decent PSUs, and the igreen seemed OK but some reviews seem to say the rails can sometimes be hit and miss. ended up ordering an enermax liberty 500 due to brand name, that and i didn't want to search any more... but damn, PSUs cost a lot these days

i plan to wait for the PSU and see if my comp powers on with that one before sending my old PSU and mobo back to their respective sources for RMA... it's not possible for a slightly malfunctioning mobo to cause any damage to the PSU right?

i blame it on poor keyboard design - mine was an in-house brand from an electronics store... i opened it up to wash it out and it was clear that any liquids can flow straight through to the circuit board... maybe i should get a microsoft one - the construction of their pripherals are often well thought out imo

it was a bad day for me... first the mobo, then australia got the most cruel loss at the world cup...

i'll stop rambling and possibly update this thread when i get the PSU

[awdark]

You don't have spare 24 pin psus lying around?

O_Oa very weird.

No multimeters either? Short (think green and black) to turn on power. Visit hardforums, casemod, FAQ page for that.