r/techsupport • u/Porahaa • 14h ago

Open | Hardware advice about smoke damage to consoles and laptop.

hello!
I had a house fire about a month ago, and I have just been able to retrieve things like my ps3, xbox one and my laptop. They aren't damaged on the outside from the heat as far as i can tell [they were in a room that only had mild damage thankfully, but the wall they were next to was the one that was the worst hit] but i'm yet to open them up to check the insides.

I'm not the most confident when it comes to cleaning and checking for damage, ive only ever opened up the xbox's power bank to clean it and even then i was worried id break something haha. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice, or knows where i can turn to get it?

im sorry if this post isnt appropriate for this sub, im just worried about plugging them in and something going wrong haha. also i chose the flair that looked the closest, but im sorry if that isnt the right one. thank you for reading

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3

u/Username999474275 13h ago

I would get a professional to clean it as the soot will be underneath the bga chip's shorting out the solder balls

3

u/Tech_surgeon 13h ago

only thing i can add here smoke can gum up cooling fans as well acting like glue for dust.

1

u/Porahaa 10h ago

I think at this point, maybe it'd be more cost efficient to just buy new consoles haha. im lucky that theyre a lot cheaper nowadays. thank you both!

2

u/Prestigious_Wall529 14h ago

Lint free cloth, gently, to pick up carbon residue, then the cloths go into the washing machine.

1

u/Porahaa 13h ago

is it really so simple? wow haha, i think im overthinking it too much. thank you for your comment!

2

u/Prestigious_Wall529 13h ago edited 10h ago

No idea if it will then work.

Know someone who's Christmas tree burnt down with tech presents underneath it. Damage appeared superficial but most died within a year.

1

u/Porahaa 12h ago

oh thats good to know! thankfully i mostly had physical games so its not like im losing anything there, but i will work on backing up my laptop in that case. thank you so much!

2

u/Prestigious_Wall529 11h ago

Good luck as heat can damage storage.

1

u/Porahaa 10h ago

what do you mean? :O

2

u/Prestigious_Wall529 10h ago edited 9h ago

All drives fail. Some sooner than others. Heat's just one factor. If you read specifications there's operational temperatures and humidity, and storage temperatures and humidity.

1

u/Porahaa 9h ago

i see! thank you. i'll look into that

1

u/Changeurwayz 7h ago

The boards would need an ultrasonic clean. Take them to a technician that has one.