Flood Computer Recovery Help

[Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 17:32
Last edited 08/03/2022 - 08:49 by 1 other user

Hi Ozbargainers. I live up on the northern nsw area of Lismore which has experienced the worst flood on record. Firstly, I myself am not flood effected, and I've lost nothing at all.

Since the flood, I've been volunteering and helping however I can, and one such way is to try and recover data or whole computers, laptops and servers. There's been no shortage of interest and I've been accepting systems all day. Many are caked in mud, but otherwise appear ok. For those, I've been stripping down components, cleaning and rebuilding them with good success.

I want to ask for a little help by way of donations of things I'm either out of, or about to run out of. Does anyone have or offcut heatsink pads in different thicknesses? I'm also using compressed air cans like they are going out of fashion.

I would also love to collect some 120mm fans if anyone has spares (PWM and dc).

I'm happy to pay postage, although am running out of funds with the various bits I've already purchased.

Thanks, and apologies if this is the wrong place to post this.

EDIT:…

A spreadsheet of the damaged parts being sought is here

Mod: Removed cash donation solicitation

Computing

Comments

  • fantombloo on 06/03/2022 - 17:48

    Hi. Good on you. I think many recycling centres / tips have e-waste sections - I'd imagine they could help in a time like this.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 18:33

      That's a great idea, thank you.

  • Ocker on 06/03/2022 - 18:18
    +1

    Given the outlandish price of com pressed air cans then maybe a longer term solution may be viable:
    https://www.amazon.com.au/Compressed-Generation-Electronics-…

    • 82norm on 07/03/2022 - 09:21
      +1

      Based on the reviews, it doesn’t sound too promising.

  • JIMB0 on 06/03/2022 - 18:21

    Why not get a cheap compressor. I think bunnings has one for about $120.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 18:33

      Yes, I have one coming in about 10 days at the earliest. Unfortunately all the businesses (inc bunnings) nearby were flooded and destroyed.

      EDIT: I'm not sure we even have a parcel service yet. They all went under water.

      • fantombloo on 06/03/2022 - 19:02

        My understanding is that compressors are not suitable as they collect water in the tank and this ends up coming out with the air too. Maybe OK for bulk cleaning but not for some delicate jobs.

        • pharkurnell on 06/03/2022 - 19:11
          +2

          you can get water traps for compressors

        • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 19:17
          +2

          I should have clarified, I'm getting a small electric one designed for electronics. It's more or less a handheld blower, nothing like the typical air compressors.

    • pjetson on 06/03/2022 - 19:12

      An air compressor sprays out dirt, oil, and water vapour along with the air. You will definitely need an oli/water filter on the compressor to use it safely with electronic equipment.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 19:25
      +19

      I'm glad you live somewhere free of floods. For those that live in flood zones, insurance for flood is often prohibitive (9k+/yr here).

      So excuse me while I do my bit for those with no roof of their own tonight. So far, 100% recovery rate of storage.

      • dust on 06/03/2022 - 19:31

        Wow that's high but makes sense. Insurance companies must be getting a hammering over the floods.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 19:38
          +4

          Very much so. They've been seeking the Commonwealth to assist on this occasion. It will be interesting to see what develops as all evidence points to these dramatic weather events becoming more frequent.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 19:22

    https://www.bacs.com.au/store?store-page=DataVac-ESD-Safe-El…

    i bought one of those to blow dust out of my PC, basically just a reverse vacuum cleaner, made in USA. price has gone up 30 dollars since i bought it last year..

    • [Deactivated] on 06/03/2022 - 19:23

      Yep, that's essentially what I have coming.

  • cmc on 06/03/2022 - 20:09
    +2

    Perhaps add a Paypal address or PayID so folks can make donations if they can't contribute gear?

    • [Deactivated] on 07/03/2022 - 11:22

      That's not a bad idea. I'll update the post shortly.

  • MrBear on 07/03/2022 - 09:25

    Are you accepting PCs from people as donations that you can give to the flood-affected who lost everything?

    I have an older micro-PC that is functional, although a bit slow, that I no longer use and could donate.

    Unless anyone else knows of a charity that I could give it to that deals with this?

    • [Deactivated] on 07/03/2022 - 11:12

      Sure, I would absolutely take in any donations and give them to people that have lost their own systems.

      I'm going to build a shared a spreadsheet of systems and parts needed and donated.

  • Gekov on 07/03/2022 - 09:41
    -6

    Flooding in Lismore?

    That's what happens when you locate towns on flood plains …

    "The Northern Rivers district of NSW, Australia is one of the most flood prone areas of the country outside of the tropics. With Lismore at the junction of two major streams - Leycester Creek and Wilsons River - it is often subject to significant flooding."
    http://australiansevereweather.com.au/floods/index.html

    So what stupid idiots decided to set up a town there without precautions for flooding?
    Just asking for trouble.

    • bmxr on 07/03/2022 - 13:13
      +5

      OP is just trying to help people who have lost everything. Can you take this unhelpful crap somewhere else?

  • Elppa8 on 07/03/2022 - 09:44

    Before going off on your climate denial rant you should have read OP’s first paragraph. OP is referring to LISMORE not Brisbane.

    • Gekov on 07/03/2022 - 09:48
      -5

      " OP is referring to LISMORE not Brisbane."

      If the flooding in Brisbane was MUCH WORSE in the 1800's than you can safely assume the same for Lismore.

      • MrBear on 09/03/2022 - 16:23

        Don't think they had computers back in the 1800's. Since you are from that time period, maybe you can confirm?

  • Gekov on 07/03/2022 - 09:45
    -5

    the worst flood on record"

    Too bad "the record" begins in 1917 eh?

    Out come the warmunists blaming this on "climate change".

    he Lismore flood gauge is on the rowing club building at the western end of Magellan Street (red dot on the Lismore Map) and became operational in 1917. River heights since the November 1917 flood are all taken from that point. Prior to 1917 the flood gauge was on Fawcetts Bridge, where Woodlark Street crosses the Wilsons River. Flood heights prior to 1917 cannot be relied on for the purposes of present-day comparisons.

  • Gekov on 07/03/2022 - 09:47
    -7

    NEVER forget DUD warmunist predictions …

    FLASHBACK 2009: DUD PREDICTION FROM “TOP SCIENTISTS” AT BoM / CSIRO
    “WE ARE JUST NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT SORT OF GOOD RAIN AGAIN AS LONG AS THE SYSTEM IS WARMING UP''
    Activist “scientists” confusing climate variability with speculative climate change

    It's not drought, it's climate change, say scientists
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/its-not-drought-its-clima…

    SCIENTISTS studying Victoria's crippling drought have, for the first time, proved the link between rising levels of greenhouse gases and the state's dramatic decline in rainfall.

    A three-year collaboration between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO has confirmed what many scientists long suspected: that the 13-year drought is not just a natural dry stretch but a shift related to climate change… ''It's reasonable to say that a lot of the current drought of the last 12 to 13 years is due to ongoing global warming,'' said the bureau's Bertrand Timbal. ''In the minds of a lot of people, the rainfall we had in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was a benchmark. A lot of our [water and agriculture"> planning was done during that time. But WE ARE JUST NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT SORT OF GOOD RAIN AGAIN AS LONG AS THE SYSTEM IS WARMING UP''

    https://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/the-quotes-th…
    However, it turns out that it is not just Flannery that has been making incorrect statements – many supposed experts including prominent commentators from the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO have been making equally incorrect statements. In principle, these people should really know better…. The mistake that Tim Flannery, as well as the numerous expert commentators made, was that they confused climate variability for climate change. The future impact of climate change is very uncertain, but when one “wants to believe”, then it is all too easy to get sucked in and to get it spectacularly wrong.

    • Gekov on 07/03/2022 - 13:05
      -2

      The current predictions of climate apocalypse above 1.5ºC warming is a SUREFIRE DUD as well.

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 08/03/2022 - 09:10
    +1

    Hey mate, I’m planning on doing a local “drive” to see what I can gather up for you. Could you please dm me your details?

    You’re a good lad.

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