cleaning your pc tower

[W2NAP]

oh god this is so fun. one thing i just cant figure out. how the hell dose all that dust get in there.

spent 2 hours cleaning the cpu fan and heatsink. holy f'n hell. i have never seen so much dust in my life.

so for anyone who has spent a good couple hours cleaning dust from your pc. the next drink is on me.

[KG4CGC]

Usually only takes a couple of minutes when done all regular like. Neeneur.
Been to the sticky dust bit. Not fun. Teflon coated fins helps a lot towards that end.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/bebop5/001/beck-blackboard-blank.jpg

[W4GPL]

Funny story.. funny because no one died.

I had an older box I was using as a file server and the temps were really high, so I figured it was time to take it out on the porch and give it a good blowing out with a can of air. I set the box on the edge of my porch (2 1/2 stories up) and went to grab the can of air. Unfortunately I must have misjudged just how wide the guard rail was and the damn thing went crashing down right into the back ally. It was easily in 20 different pieces.. :doh:Has to rank up there in the Top 10 Bone Headed Things Jeff Has Done listings.

Interestingly enough, I was able to yank the 120GB Maxtor drive out of there and get almost all of the data off of it -- those suckers are tougher than you'd think.

[NQ6U]

Compressed air is the best way to clear the dust out of computers, but you need a real compressor--that canned air stuff just doesn't have the cajones to get the job done--and a good water trap installed or you're asking for trouble.

[KC2UGV]

Computers are really efficient electrostatic air filters... That's how :)

[W2NAP]

jeff. i done something similar. was at a friends 3rd story we was on the deck set the laptop on the rail (it was wide enough) gust of wind took the lappy right off to a painful death.

anyway cleaned the fan/heatsink since i didnt like the temps my sensor was showing. (85 idle 95 under load) after cleaning i got it down to 68. 75 under load. still would like to get it dropped down more

[ad4mg]

Make sure to insert a pencil into any fan that's still plugged in to keep it from spinning when using compressed air to clean the machine. Some of those things, especially the 12v box fans in power supplies, will generate a current when spun at a high speed, resulting in popped diodes, or worse. Plus, it's hell on the bearings to spin the fan at 35,000 RPM ...

I have a set of plastic TV tuning screwdrivers that I use instead of pencils.

[kf0rt]

Another hint... Don't keep your PC on the floor. It collects way more dust 'n' crap down there.

[W3MIV]

Another hint: If you open it up and blow it out often, you will find that the job is not so big to do. Make it a regular maintenance item.

[PA5COR]

Don't keep it to computers/laptops..

All electronc devices, ham radio transceivers, PSU's P.A.'s satellite recievers etc.

Takes me 2x a year 1/2 a day to clean the stuff out, and cause massive duststorms in the back garden...

Anything with a fan, clean 2 x a year minimum.
Anything without a fan, clean out 1 x a year.

[n2ize]

oh god this is so fun. one thing i just cant figure out. how the hell dose all that dust get in there.

spent 2 hours cleaning the cpu fan and heatsink. holy f'n hell. i have never seen so much dust in my life.

so for anyone who has spent a good couple hours cleaning dust from your pc. the next drink is on me.

Yes, they do collect dust like nobody's business. The fan vaccumes it in and it just collects. particularly in my machine which runs pretty much 24/7/365.. Usually I open it up and blast out the dust with compressed air or a vacume. if its really bad I'll pull some of the cards and blast out any dust with compressed air. A typical indication that it's getting very dusty is when even in cool weather the fans run at high speed. A sign that things are getting clogged with dust.

[n2ize]

Compressed air is the best way to clear the dust out of computers, but you need a real compressor--that canned air stuff just doesn't have the cajones to get the job done--and a good water trap installed or you're asking for trouble.

I've always had good results with the canned air.

[n2ize]

Another hint... Don't keep your PC on the floor. It collects way more dust 'n' crap down there.

Mine sits in a lower deck near the floor. And dang it sure picks up the dust.

[K7SGJ]

It is really bad here in the desert where we live. Nothing but dirt and dust, and dust and dirt. In fact, the only grass near here is wrapped up in a zig-zag. Consequently, we keep the computer in the freezer where it doesn't get near as filthy.

[kf0rt]

Mine sits in a lower deck near the floor. And dang it sure picks up the dust.

I've got mine on a high shelf. Not only does it collect a lot less dust, but it's real easy to get to the connections.

[kc7jty]

My laptop is a year old. Guess it's time to take the covers off and give it a blow job.

[W2NAP]

took some time on mine. had to keep working at it...

finally got the processor temps down to around 40C idle