Computer Maintenance: The Most Neglected Step

There is one item of computer maintenance that almost everyone neglects. But if you do it regularly your computer will run cooler, and last longer.

It’s a matter of cleaning. Your computer gets dusty inside. Those fans that pull hot air out of the computer’s case are also pulling in air from outside, air that is laden with tiny particles of dust. These particles cling to electronics, acting like a blanket to hold in heat. The places dust sticks to the worst seem to be the biggest heat producers: the CPU, heatsink, and video card.

People generally disbelieve what I’m saying about this, until they open up their own machines that they’ve been using for a year or so. The first thing that catches their eye is the white rim around the fan blades on the CPU. It’s dust, and that same dust was drawn up through the heatsink, coating it, reducing its ability to dispel heat.

Though not as noticeable will be a thin layer sticking to the motherboard. Here, the danger isn’t heat, but that a trace of particles might bridge two components, causing a brief electrical short. The results could be anything from a seemingly unexplainable hiccup that happens once and passes, to total ruin of the board.

Prevention is simple. First, keep the area around your computer as dust free as possible. Just running your Swiffer around it isn’t good enough. You’ve got to prevent dust from happening. Cigarette smoke is the biggest no-no of all. If you have to smoke, go outside.

The second thing to do is get a can of compressed air and carefully blow out your computer. With the computer turned off, and all the cables disconnected, remove the side panel from the case. Discharge any static electricity by touching the metal of the case, or putting on an anti-static wrist strap. Then take the can of air and use it to purge the machine of dust.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Michael Quarles wrote the book "Building a PC for Beginners". His website is www.monkeyseemonkeydobooks.com

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