PC Maintenance

[Duckman]

I was just thinking, that I have done no real "clean out" of my PC since I got it a year and a bit ago. I wasn't too sure on what I need to keep an eye-out for (apart from obvious dust buildup near the fan etc), but I was just wondering where else is an issue, and what needs to be cleaned.

I am talking about the PC case and all internal parts, not stuff like AV scans and the like.

So what should I look out for, and how often should a PC be cleaned??

 

[Roshambo]

They should be cleaned every 3 months while off with canned air. The CPU heat sink, the seating of the RAM, the power supply fan, and the heat sinks of the graphics card and sound card, should all be cleaned regularly to prevent overheating, crashing, and increased component degradation.

 

[Duckman]

Sorry about this, PC (hardware) n00b

Just thought you guys might have some extra info on maintenance, but thanks Rosh

 

[Roshambo]

Nsh, it's not that complex to do the basic dust-cleaning, just have to remember all of your components or if one heats up, data is lost and crashes happen.

If you know how to re-seat components yourself, I'd suggest to clean the contacts of each board and let them dry before reseating them in. That tends to lower the amount of data dropped, and some crashes.

Every year and a half to two years, replace your IDE ribbon cables, as they can crack due to heat issues.

You don't have to worry about the DC cables as often, as they are generally best replaced entirely when you buy a new power supply.

 

[SuAside]

the accepted 'realistic' average is a cleanout every 6 months (unless you're in an especially dusty environment).

anyhow there are several things you need to watch for and prepare yourself for.

1 ) earth yourself before touching anything & be careful using magnetic screwdrivers. (grab some naked metal on the case or some metal plumbing or something)
2 ) be extremely careful with liquids. (liquids + current = BBQ'ed pc)
3 ) if you remove cables, memory or add-in cards (pci/agp/pci-x/pci-e...) be sure you replace them back correctly and be extremely careful if you want to clean the slot itself, don't push the dirt inside. (bad/half contact = BBQ'ed card and possibly the slot itself as well)
4 ) get anti-static rags or simple paper towels. (you can swap a lot of crud away with that)
5 ) use those "ear cotton on a stick"-thingies for reaching hard to reach places. (you can moist the tip a little with cleaning stuff such as window cleaner, but remember warning 2)
6 ) do not use a vacuum cleaner, they are static deathtraps. (you can use them on fans if you like, but the result is disappointing and having a static source near your pc will eventually end badly)
7 ) pay special care to your CPU fan/heathsink, northbridge/southbridge sinks, GPU fans/sinks, your HDD's and any other fans. (these are usually the dirtiest places)
8 ) if you're a noob, never attempt to open up a PSU, even if the fan inside it is dirty. (it will void your waranty and the coils inside retain electricity, touch em & you're in for a surprise)
9 ) if you have cpu temp probs, it might be time to renew the thermal paste between your cpu & the heatsink. (if you don't know what you're doing, don't touch it)
10) if the fins of your cpu cooler are deep and it's very dusty (dusty enough that compressed air doesnt get it), you can use a brush to reach it, but be careful with static electricity. (i received a cleaning brush with the trimmer that i use on my hair & goatee, it's perfect for cleaning heatsinks as well)

as for the IDE cables, i've seen dead IDE cables, but age or temp usually isn't a huge factor Rosh. where did you get that idea from?

 

[Duckman]

Cheers suaside.

I'll try doing that tomorrow morning when I have a chance

Thanks again

 

[Roshambo]

as for the IDE cables, i've seen dead IDE cables, but age or temp usually isn't a huge factor Rosh. where did you get that idea from?

Usually from how many conduct a bit of heat from the drives, and the wires aren't the most troublesome part - the plastic often doesn't have a good rating to keep a good connection for more than a couple of years with regular servicing, hardens, is flexed, and cracks from internally along with wires. That way you don't have much data degradation through those lines with replacing them often.