Computer (Basic) maintenance.

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

We all use them and hell we would be lost without them, but dust is a computers main enemy!

Forget spyware tools, firewalls and antivirus software, you do need them but the debate on them would fill a whole year of posts, were talking dust and how to effectively get rid of the damn stuff.

Dust will over time cause the following:

Well its nothing more sinister than household dust, and its not a simple case of blowing it out, the damn stuff gets right under the cpu fan and becomes a blanket.

PC world sells AIR, dont bother, its great on a keyboard but it wont shift 3mm of dust under the cpu fan, you need the following tools

1x screwdriver around 2mm one of those precison ones
1x flashlight

Shine light on fan, and you can see the dust. If you havent turned the computer off and taken the plug out then your going to die, do it now dying isnt the right way to do this.

Where there is VERY easy access to the fan, you can with EXTREME delicacy remove a few bits of dust.
Move the blades round and repeat.
Once you get round the whole 360 you should have removed enough for the fan to throw the rest out when the computer is restarted.

Put any tools down, gently push fan it should spin freely, if it does NOT spin do NOT restart the machine, use the flashlight and find the bit of dust and remove it very carefully.

Now restart the machine - dont replace the side cover yet, theres a dust storm coming

As windows boots you should get bits of dust flying all over the place, let them, there better out than in.

Now your machine should run much better.

Every 6 months should be enough to combat dust.

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:07 am

What about my laptop? Is there a way to clean it w/o dissasembling it? Or shipping it to Nigeria?

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:23 am

Every laptop I've seen (only a few) there is a bezel covering the disassembly screws. Check your manual for the exact instructions. Pop off the bezel and remove the screws. These usually hold the keyboard in place. Lift the keyboard out but be careful not to damage the connections. Find the CPU and heat pipes (relatively large copper conductors). Blow compressed air to remove any dust, especially around the heat pipes and fan. Laptops operate on the edge of over heating so try to remove and clean every area where air circulates.
I have found that you have to get into the internals to be sure everything is clean, trying to blow air from the outside just doesn't work.

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:45 am

@Dr Who... I'm in love with your avatar... Whoa. That would be an incredible way to waste a weekend. :yikes:

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:06 am

Yea. She senses my power and seeks the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
But I do deny them my essence.

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

DrWho wrote:

Women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake, but I do deny them my essence.

Fixed it for you!

Cool

--J. "I Can No Longer Sit Back and Allow" D.

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

Yea you laptop bods can use air Sad

The rest of us with real computers have to get our mitts dirty, as air wont shift the damn stuff.

Just a note on laptops, the keyboard isnt hard to remove and the exhaust fan is normally under it, you still need to clean that too so you dont escape a real world computing experience Twisted Evil

Oh and dont forget the graphics card, if its a decent one it will have 2 mounted fans and a nice barrier for you to circumvent, and to make it even more complex you might even have a stand alone exhaust blower too.

I think im going to make some dust barriers next, they do not look nice, well not yet, but they allow air freely through them but not dust then you can just every now and then wipe off the excess and none will be inside the machine.

Once ive made one ill post how to construct them and the materials used.

War on Dust = end of tutorial.

OK Tutorial on DUST filter.

Computers have openings, so this will not only stop the dust it will act as air freshener too Smile

Product used - Blue peter double backed sticky tape and Bounce dryer cloth 1x

Put the sticky tape on all the openings *not the out ones only the IN ones, and cover with the Bounce.

Now your computer has its own filter. The dust accumalates on the filter - computer runs cool still - because bounce wont stop the air in/out but it will stop the dust, you can replace the filters as there so cheap every few weeks if required.

Also if your artistic you can draw piccy's on them and make them look much better.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 2:24 pm

Nice tips, Digitalone. I especially like the Bounce fabric softener sheet. This should help counteract the litterbox stench, too! Smile

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 4:30 am

Great advice so far but suck don't blow. Blow j is just an expression. Moving the dirt around into nooks and crannies can't be good.

Unplug the machine. Take the cover off and use the vacuum. You should be able to get the cpu fan to spin like crazy. Don't stick your tongue in there unless you are running your video camera and like to post really stupid stunts on YouTube.com. The leading edges are what you are after. Suck out the blades of the heatsinks. Don't disconnect the connection between the heatsink and the cpu unless you plan on redoing the thermal compound.

Suck out the power supply and the video card fan if there is one. Everything with dust bunnies has to be sucked.

Put its pants back on and away you go.

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:08 am

Also, hard drives can get dirty so here is an explanation on how to clean one for that extra boost in access speed. Smile

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/cleandrive1.html

Be sure to read the instructions all the way through before starting.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

^^^ And read the title of your browser window too.

I don't go in for air. Air makes static, especially vacuum cleaners. By all means use the vacuum cleaner to grab the dust when its air-born, but don't get it any closer than a few inches from any electronics or metal. Clean the heatsinks and fans with a natural-fibre paintbrush.

There is a school of thought that takes all the covers off the PC, takes it outside and twirls it around their head for a while. That is probably the most efficient method of extracting loose dust, after using the paintbrush. But don't come crying to me when you drop it or it hits something.

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:59 am

My CPU was running hot the other day and I used the vaccum cleaner. I put the plastic attachment on the end of the hose that you use for getting into corners - no static that way. You don't need to actually touch any hardware as the suction should be enough to shift the dust.
By the time I finished, my PC was running at half the temperature it was before.

419Eater Admin Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 7469

The answer to your dust problems:

http://www.whateverworks.com/itemdy00.asp?c=&T1=K7046#zoom

Smile

Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:10 pm

I use a 1/2 inch brush and vacuum cleaner for cleaning the inside my pc.
Don't forget to get all the dust that collects at the bottom and nooks and crannies of the case too.
Otherwise when you clean the ports/fans etc, all that lovely new fresh air that's now able to get into the innards of your rig, just blows up a new dust cloud and it's starts clogging up all over again.

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

Very true windy.

@Shiver now thats a cool little gadget i like that,

Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 1:04 am

After cleaning out lotsa little fan's I decided that the $5 or so spent on new ones was a good buy. Especially the cool LED ones!

Computer (Basic) maintenance.	View next topic View previous topic