I must be trying for the Gold Medal, in "Bonehead Moves". Spray Paint a PC tower?Say, Black or blue ?

Question

My intentions were good, however, I'm unsure on the outcome. While doing a few upgrades, including Pentium III (Via motherboard) to a Sony VIO motherboard with the mini-chip processor, I noticed a few 'ugly' area's and tried to correct, even though the system was running well with the new additions. I methodically removed everything from the tower, leaving only a shell, sides, front(without electrical wiring) and the little brass feet...screw things that the motherboard is secured with in the cabinet. Everything was scrubbed to remove dirt and oil or grease and I sanded any rust areas. then allow to dry. Afterwards, and using an expensive spray paint, I covered all surfaces as directed by the manufacturer. The rest should have been a breeze, and it was, except turning the computer "ON." The CPU fan simply sputtered briefly and stopped and the system hasn't booted in the 12 hours since.Has the paint interrupted the grounding process or does it simply hate the new color? be nice...

Thanks...I'll check all connections, meanwhile, i is totally impossible for any components, hardware or accessories to have been contaminated. As I stated, every item was removed and waited safely in another room for the transformation to be complete. I still wonder if the paint has somehow prevented me from proper ground.

Answer 1

Did you use a nice METALIC paint? If so you will need to remove every bit of it inside the case, because metalic = metal = conductive = shorts! I had a client do this once and that is exactly what was happening. Paint can conduct electricity and inside a computer case not everything is supposed to be connected to ground some things need to be isolated.

You might check and see if when you reinstalled the components one of the traces on the motherboard around the mounting screws became grounded when it shouldnt have been.

Answer 2

Spray painting should have been limited to the cover (ie, side or full covers) or to the face plate if you removed it prior. If you got paint on the fan or other internals, you have probably created a new boat anchor. Otherwise, check the electrical connections to be sure you have the system plugged in properly.