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Computer Maintenance

Discussion in 'Technology' started by A_Ninja_Racer, Mar 23, 2014.

  1. Mar 23, 2014 at 12:29 PM
    #1
    A_Ninja_Racer

    A_Ninja_Racer [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Hey All, How many of you all take time to clean and dust the insides of your PCs? I was never really thorough about it in the past. if it looked Dusty I would blow it out but I never paid any attention to heat sinks and what not. I bout a new gaming rig a little more than a year ago because my other pc crapped out on me. I of course cannibalized my old PC for parts and through the rest in the garbage. They other day I was going through some stuff and found the old video card and thought that my brother could probably use it upon looking at it I discovered that the heat sink had a layer of dust built up on it so think that the Fan was completely unable to blow air over the heat sink. It was a real eye opener! it was probably why my Old PC wouldn't stay running. So I blew it all out and gave it to my brother. He hooked it up and it has been running smoothly for over a month now. But that got me thinking... My new PC is a little over a year old I should probably get in there and clean all my heat sinks out. Now my processor is liquid cooled so I didn't have to worry about that but I would need to look at the radiator and then there was my video card. So I pulled one of the Fans off of my radiator and it was starting to get some Blockage going on so I cleaned it out and put the fan back on. NO PROBS! I then removed the Video Card so that I could have better access. Took the fan off of the heat sink and this one was in better shape then my Radiator but I cleaned it off anyway put it back together and out it back into the PC and that's when the problems started. My PC wouldn't boot up. I Messed with it for over an hour and couldn't get anything to happen. I finally took the card out booted the PC and then then shut it down put the card back in where it finally recognized the card and then to make things stranger in order to get windows to boot I need windows repair to run a system restore. Finally it is working again but I'm having a hard time understanding why I had to go through all of that to get it to boot.

    Anyways I was wondering how many of you have ever gone into your PCs to do some spring cleaning and if you had any issues?
     
  2. Mar 23, 2014 at 12:33 PM
    #2
    Capt Ike

    Capt Ike Well-Known Member

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    I clean mine about every six months or so with no problems. I've been messing with computers for a couple decades now and have learned that anything and everything can happen. You may have not seated the card all the way when you put it back in or possibly installed it at a slight angle. Who knows.

    I usually take my computer out to the air compressor and gently blow out the dust from all fans and heat sinks. Never had an issue.
     
  3. Mar 23, 2014 at 12:36 PM
    #3
    JeffRock

    JeffRock Well-Known Member

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    Always clean them! Depending on usage. If it's always on, once a month. if not every couple months. You would be surprised at how much dust accumulates!
    If your a smoker, even more frequent. Nicotine buildup will kill a PC!
     
  4. Mar 23, 2014 at 12:44 PM
    #4
    Silence9

    Silence9 Solve et Coagula

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    Heat is the killer of electronic and mechanical equipment. Regular maintenece is always a good idea. Repasting underneath the heat syncs is a good idea. If you're blowing out the dust, it's best to use a can of compressed air for two reasons. One is you aren't sucking dust in, and two is if it isn't blown hard enough, it will just all fall back onto the motherboard.

    BTW: Love your sig. Resident Evil FTW.
     
  5. Mar 23, 2014 at 3:01 PM
    #5
    A_Ninja_Racer

    A_Ninja_Racer [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I didn't go as far as removing any heat sinks 1. because I didn't have any Paste and 2. because I couldn't figure out how to remove the shell around the video card with out breaking it. I Do think there is something else good that came out of this. There was a vibrating noise that would drive me absolutely crazy and since I have put it back together I haven't heard it. I'm thinking it must have been an out of balanced fan.

    I do enjoy a good resident evil movie.
     
  6. Mar 23, 2014 at 6:51 PM
    #6
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    One I worked on for someone years ago.. it was photo-worthy.
    Don't let this happen to you!

    [​IMG]

    Blech! Cat hair+lots of dust.

    Air compressor works wonders on my own gear.
     
  7. Mar 23, 2014 at 6:58 PM
    #7
    A_Ninja_Racer

    A_Ninja_Racer [OP] Well-Known Member

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    How does that even happen?!?!
     
  8. Mar 23, 2014 at 7:48 PM
    #8
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    Rear camera anytime switch, 4x4 Illuminated Switch (from rcbs204) , rear view mirror lift bracket (from ImMrYo), 75 cent tailgate anti-theft. Technically not mods but give me a break I'm trying to fill space here... OEM Leather pkg, keyless unlock & ACC chime silence, BakFlip G2, Ultra Gauge EM, WeatherTech floor mats, OEM roof rack
    Years of neglect... sitting on a dusty carpeted floor.... fan pulling in air the whole time.
     
  9. Mar 23, 2014 at 8:02 PM
    #9
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    Rear camera anytime switch, 4x4 Illuminated Switch (from rcbs204) , rear view mirror lift bracket (from ImMrYo), 75 cent tailgate anti-theft. Technically not mods but give me a break I'm trying to fill space here... OEM Leather pkg, keyless unlock & ACC chime silence, BakFlip G2, Ultra Gauge EM, WeatherTech floor mats, OEM roof rack
    That's actually a good reminder for some people.. Most cases have a front that is removable ..either by a few screws in behind the plastic cover, or some simple latches. Good idea once in a while to pop that off and see what you've collected.
     
  10. Mar 24, 2014 at 6:33 AM
    #10
    replica9000

    replica9000 Das ist no bueno

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    Keep your PC off of the floor! You'd be surprised how much a simple CPU and exhaust fan can pull into a computer. I gave one of my old machines to my girl, and she kept it on the floor under the desk. When I opened it up, I thought there was a dead cat inside!
     
  11. Mar 24, 2014 at 8:27 PM
    #11
    jsi

    jsi Well-Known Member

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    The worst computer I ever worked on was on a construction site and was literally full of dust. That was before the day of cell phone camera so I don't have a picture.

    One of my techs snapped this picture just the other day. I've blocked out all the passwords written in sharpie right on the case. And the post it note with passwords is a classic. How does someone get a keyboard so dirty that you can't even read the labels on the keys?

    NastyLaptop1.jpg
     
  12. Mar 24, 2014 at 10:45 PM
    #12
    khx73

    khx73 Well-Known Member

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    Rear camera anytime switch, 4x4 Illuminated Switch (from rcbs204) , rear view mirror lift bracket (from ImMrYo), 75 cent tailgate anti-theft. Technically not mods but give me a break I'm trying to fill space here... OEM Leather pkg, keyless unlock & ACC chime silence, BakFlip G2, Ultra Gauge EM, WeatherTech floor mats, OEM roof rack
    Beauty. The one huge weak spot in even the tightest security policies. :-D
     
  13. Mar 24, 2014 at 11:13 PM
    #13
    flatblack

    flatblack Well-Known Member

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    My computer case has fine mesh over most of the vents that the fans pull from
    It filters out an incredible amount. Maybe you could look into something like that... I'm not gonna say buy a new case; but, I'm sure you could cob-job some mesh over your vents
     
  14. Mar 25, 2014 at 1:38 AM
    #14
    Janster

    Janster Old & Forgetful

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    Sometimes you have to put it on the floor. Make a note-to-self to clean it out at least once a year as part of spring cleaning.

    We bought new computer furniture and with that - we also bought these really neat computer mounting systems. They mount to the side of your computer desk (underneath) and keeps the computer off the floor.
     
  15. Mar 25, 2014 at 1:56 AM
    #15
    SteveO86

    SteveO86 Well-Known Member

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    I upgraded the hard drive in my 2011 MacBook Pro about a month ago. While I had it opened I cleaned it out. Considering that it went through Afghanistan with me, it wasn't that bad, but still needed a good cleaning. I've noticed that my CPU runs a little cooler now too. :D

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Mar 25, 2014 at 7:00 PM
    #16
    wileyC

    wileyC Well-Known Member

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    ...i clean out the inside very 6mo. to a year... i keep mine off the floor (about 4"), and keep the surrounding carpet and such pretty clean through regular sweeping... no pets helps tremendously as well...

    canned air and your vacuum cleaner are the tools for the job... force the dust into the air w/ the canister air while holding your vacuum cleaner flexible hose nearby, ...that will get things very clean in there...

    if you have to put the computer on the floor, .. don't, ...just get it up off the floor by a few inches using a homemade riser of sorts, ...it will breathe easier and you'll get much less accumulation of dust ;)
     
  17. Mar 25, 2014 at 7:02 PM
    #17
    wileyC

    wileyC Well-Known Member

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    ...one guess is you accidentally zapped it w/ static electricity... it's best to use a grounding strap attached to your wrist and to the case or some other large metal object nearby... static discharge can wreak havoc on those elecrtical components in there ;)
     
  18. Mar 25, 2014 at 7:03 PM
    #18
    moondeath

    moondeath Well-Known Member

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    :eek: Looks like my vacuum cleaner filter. Lol
     

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