Dust!

[Macphisto]

Hi everyone,

Can anyone help me. I need to know what is the best and safest way to clean hardware. My PC is getting a little dusty and I would like to know what is the best way of going about cleaning the insides of a PC. Moses told me that compressed air is a good way but other than that I'm open to suggestions and recommendations.

Thanks for the help guys! Cheers, 1G0R.

[kailinin]

hosepipe

try a hair dryer (on cold)

[wit_skapie]

What about a hand-held vacuum cleaner? Just be sure you have no loose parts....

OR What about a nice steam clean?

[RuadRauFlessa]

Well air is the best way. Get a hairdryer even just don't make it go verry hot and you could get the job done. Otherwise if you got a really sticky problem like someone spilling coke all over the mb then you might concider taking the whole thing apart for a couple of days and dropping it into distilled water. NOTE: distilled water PH 7.0 nothing more nothing less. You also have to make sure there are no other impurities in there that could eat away at the mobo like chlorine or stuff that could stick to it. Then you need to leave it for a couple of days before trying to switch it on. Oh and do remember to take the CMOS battery out I know a guy that tried it and forgot about the batterie. That little bugger has enouth potency to blow your cpu on a bad day. And make sure it is dry before switching it on again.

Well I did it with a laptop of mine and it worked so if not why not?

But be carefull. It is not a cooling solution.

[Leigh]

I've always just used a regular vacuum cleaner, using one of those ultra-thin nozzles

[skunkymunky]

take out every removable part in ur pc, dust it off with a feather duster than put it back all together again

provided u know where it goes


seriously tho my pc was beeping and wudnt switch on till i did tht

[kailinin]

i dont seem to have a dust problem in my case. could it be that i've got so many fans in my case?

[lancelot]

How about vacuuming your room and curtains occasionally! It does wonders for dust and makes your room smell better.
<img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_12_16.gif' border=0>

[simmy]

I usually waited till its filthy then do this...

take out every removable part in ur pc, dust it off with a feather duster than put it back all together again

This I should learn...

How about vacuuming your room and curtains occasionally! It does wonders for dust and makes your room smell better.

Also thinking of getting a PCI Fan Card

[LiZZ8rD]

Use compressed air, from a can, from the shop. Compressed air is free from any dust/metal particals which causes ESD. Yes, ESD. Electrostatic Discharge. If you bring a VC near your pc you could just as well say goodbye to all your hardware components.

I think these people posting these answers should go and do their A+.

[skunkymunky]

feather duster is the safest

[RuadRauFlessa]

Feather duster still creates friction which creates a static indiffirence between diffirent cercuits on the mobo and could lead to a discharge.

[skunkymunky]

even switched off?

[Moses]

static indifference? hmmm....

[RuadRauFlessa]

Yip you could have two pieces of metal next to each other and both of them could have diffirent charges without there being a flow of electrons between or through them. All you need do is add some to the one and take away from the other and it will create a potential diffirence (V) the thing is just that usually the resistance (Ohm) between them is too big for the equasion to balance itself out since it will take more energy to do that than it does to stay in the state it is. But you get those occasions whereby you fiddle around in your computer with a feather duster, with which you can create such a potential on a simple piece of plastic even that you can lift a piece of paper with it, and we all know how much of a bang a simpleburst of energy down the wrong pathway can do to that all important black brainy box.

[Macphisto]

Hey LiZZ8rD,

Thanks for the info, it really sounds like the best thing to do... use compressed air that is. Where do you get the stuff from? A hardware store perhaps...

[Moses]

Don't trust me I guess...

[Macphisto]

I do... sorry Mo, just checking if anyone else had any ideas. See you later.

[lancelot]

Very interesting observations regarding electrical discharge, whether static or any other! How many of you actually earth yourselves with an earthstrap attached to your wrist before handling chips and memory sticks? You are supposed to but nobody bothers, use an hair drier and be done with it! 8O

[kailinin]

you can also keep one hand/arm on your case when working in your case.

[Kronos]

Blah blah blah...I think these people posting these answers should go and do their A+.

I wish everyone that does an A+ would just go and test all these things for themselves instead of regurgitating everything that they read in the A+ books

As some of the folks have said, They've vacumed there PC Components time and time again, with no negitive effect. So have I.

I've also built zillions of computers without wearing a wrist strap even once and I've never blown any chip on any component.

I've gotten so irritated with some of these A+ graduates who have a fit when you just touch the connectors on a DIMM or an Inkjet cartridge for instance, and they trully believe that you completely screw up the component, because of these Incredibly Strong Acids on Human Skin that Permanently Damage the Copper and gold plating.

Oh Please.

[kailinin]

Blah blah blah...I think these people posting these answers should go and do their A+.

I wish everyone that does an A+ would just go and test all these things for themselves instead of regurgitating everything that they read in the A+ books

As some of the folks have said, They've vacumed there PC Components time and time again, with no negitive effect. So have I.

I've also built zillions of computers without wearing a wrist strap even once and I've never blown any chip on any component.

I've gotten so irritated with some of these A+ graduates who have a fit when you just touch the connectors on a DIMM or an Inkjet cartridge for instance, and they trully believe that you completely screw up the component, because of these Incredibly Strong Acids on Human Skin that Permanently Damage the Copper and gold plating.

Oh Please.

it gets that bad 8O didnt know that my sweat was that strong

[LiZZ8rD]

Well,well some sarcasim. I enjoy a good fight. It just disapoints me that you steer the poor soul into the wrong direction. Tell me something - What sort of books have you read and what qualifications do you have? How many pc's have you assembled and supported? Whats the largest network you ever supported?
Windows isn't the only OS. Duh, have you ever worked on Novell, Citrix, Configured Routers. Seems like you need to go and play some Online CS and leave the real answers to someone that knows what he talks about.

~Hey Check it out! A wet spot!~ Oops I think someone wet their pants...
Grow-Up

[kailinin]

ummm, lets see, about 300 machines between myself and my team mate. work on linux, novell and w2k systems on our network. not once have i used a wrist band, and not once have i messed up a pc because of this.

dont think my boss would appreciate it if i played online cs at work

[simmy]

...Ahem... If ya'll dont cool-it i'll tell my mom, and she dont play, she'll get you fired /me stick out tongue