A Grasshopper jumped inside my case

[Justin97927111]

I'll start from the beginning. In my basement there is a grasshopper problem. I see them every other day hopping around. Truthfully, I am scared of them but I try my best to ignore the insects. I'm a PC Gamer so my gaming computer is located in the basement. PC Gaming is my hobby so I'll play for countless hours a day. Computers also are my hobby, so I know a lot about them. I plan on majoring in Computer Science then becoming an IT. There are ten computers in my household, nine of them work and are part of the same network. I'm using this laptop to type this up.

Anyway, someone in my family put a cup on a grasshopper. This particular grasshopper happened to be right under my computer desk, next to my case. As I turned my computer on I didn't see the cup and of course I had to knock it over. Out jumps the grass hopper. It started jumping all over, next thing I know its hanging out on top of my VGA cable twiddling it's long antenna's. Me being the coward I am instead of picking up the grasshopper I started blowing on it. It then started backing up the harder I blew, next thing I know, he's inside my case. I forgot to mention, the second I saw him jump on my VGA cable, I turned my computer off immediately.

By the time he went inside my case, the computer was off. I also turned the power strip off as well. Out of all the times I've repaired computers, maintained them, tweaked them, I've never run into anything like this before. I'm worried that if I was to turn my computer on, it will short out or something along those lines because of the grasshopper inside there. I'm so dying to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but I can't risk anything happening to my gaming pc. Are insects conductive? If so, if I was to turn my computer on right now, could it short out/be damaged? What would happen if the grasshopper hit a capacitor while the computer was on?

Thank you for reading this and have a good day.

 

[porterjw]

A Grasshopper jumped inside my case... It then started backing up the harder I blew, next thing I know, he's inside my case...

...I forgot to mention, the second I saw him jump on my VGA cable, I turned my computer off immediately.

I was sort of hoping to read it jumped into the HSF and there was carnage everywhere But I guess it's good that it didn't.

Are insects conductive? If so, if I was to turn my computer on right now, could it short out/be damaged? What would happen if the grasshopper hit a capacitor while the computer was on?

Highly unlikely. MoBos are safe to touch when powered, power is sent through the cables and capacitors are there to help control voltage along the circuits within the Board. Don't go pulling out wires and wiggling stuff excessively, but you can touch anywhere on a MoBo with no problem. Heck, being mindful of sharp cooling fins and random fans, you can touch anywhere on the inside of a system. Nothing would happen if it hit a capacitor. My main fear would be the above-mentioned fan-assisted smattering of grasshopper...in which case...yeah, post a picture

 

[StrangleHold]

Computers also are my hobby, so I know a lot about them. I plan on majoring in Computer Science then becoming an IT. There are ten computers in my household, nine of them work and are part of the same network. I'm using this laptop to type this up.


Out of all the times I've repaired computers, maintained them, tweaked them,

After saying all of that. Its hard to believe you dont know how to take a side panel off and get the hopper out!

 

[speedx77x]

After you do so do a quick inspection of all your parts to see everything is ok, and post some pictures aswell. If you feel confident that your pc is ok Start it up. BTW you might want to hire an exterminator to fix that grass hopper problem or you could move your pc upstairs.

And i also wanna major in computer science and be an IT.

 

[Aastii]

Insects are not conductive, provided they aren't covered in something that is, like water for example.

If you ever get into PC repair/maintenance and have the wonderful chance to clean out a computer that has not been cleaned since the dawn of mankind, you will find all sorts of creepy crawlies embedded in the dust caking it up. Often when I have this delightful job, there will be spiders that have found a home in there, a few flies maybe, even a moth or two.

Either way, it seems common sense to me to leave the power off, open up the case, take the grasshopper out then put it all back together

 

[spirit]

OK so you say you are scared of grasshoppers, and yet you spend most of your time down in your basement where there are grasshoppers.

Wouldn't it maybe be a good idea to think about moving your PC to a room where there aren't any grasshoppers?

You should be fine to just remove it and then turn the PC back on again. Doesn't sound like he would have caused a lot of damage.

 

[ScottALot]

I plan on majoring in Computer Science then becoming an IT.

And i also wanna major in computer science and be an IT.

Sounds like there's going to be quite the overpopulation of this...

1. Insects aren't conductive anywhere close to how metal is conductive
2. You're in a basement where grasshoppers are thriving. I'm guessing it's warm and humid down there, probably not doing the best for the life of the computer.
3. Components are pretty durable these days. I freaking dropped a metal flash drive on an open motherboard while it was on, there was a spark, I got the drive off the board, and it was still running just fine.

 

[Darren]

This is one of the funniest threads I've seen on here in a while.

So basically a grasshopper got inside of your computer that is off... Just open the side panel and pick him out...?

 

[Blandnuts]

I giggled.

 

[MisterEd]

While you're at it you can clean out the dust bunnies. Certainly you aren't afraid of those too!