CPU Fan - dusty and dirty

Yes unscrew the screws that are holding the fan in place on the heat sink or use a q-tip.

Famous last words? I think my freinds uncle said that before he castrated himself with a leafblower.

You might also pick up a can of compressed air. They sell it at most computer stores and office depot. It can clean out the heat sink pretty well.

A vacum cleaner will generate static electricity that may damage your machine. That's why I use compressed air and just blow the hell out of the machine...compressed air may also generate static electricity that could damage your machine. Man, life is so unfair.

If you use the canned air method, probably best to unhook the machine and take it outside. That's what I do.

yah mu stock PSU doesnt have a power switch i just pull th eplug when i mes with it

Fact: Wusy=funny

OK. You've been using it for years. So that proves it.

I have no proof to site either. I do know from years in the semi-conductor manufactoring industry, working in characterization and reliability labs that it can cause problems. Will it kill a machine every time? No. Neither will standing in a thunderstorm with a log chain up your butt and a golf club in your hand.

MMMMMM grounding....

i wish i had grounding... grounding is practically non existent in saudi arabia, it is hell touching quite a lot of metal objects and getting shocked... (BTW, my monitor's VGA connector gives me a shock when i touch the metal part of the "screw" thing (partially plastic, shaft is metal) is that supposed to happen?)
now if grounding were used....

i completely disconnect my computer when working on it...

Ara

If I were to recommend using a brush at all, I would say to use a natural fiber brush, and dampen it before using it, but of course dabbing the excess water off so the bristles are just damp. Nylon/plastic bristles will generate static.

No, grounding won't keep your from getting shocked. Grounding might keep you from getting electrocuted.

You're being shocked because you are building up a large potential in your body which is seeking a ground [or a lower potential].

I don't know how the power system works over there so I can't really comment on it further.

Oh, well, that doesn't sound good. Again, I can't really speak to your system, but in this country the case grounds (on all electrical stuff, not just computers) came about to help eliminate (or at least reduce) the possiblity of electrocution. If, for example, a short occured which supplied power to the metal case, and you came along and touched the case, then you may become the path to ground, i.e. you die. By tying the case to ground, any short curcuits would result in a blow fuss/breaker instead of someones death.

In your case, if you are feeling a prolonged electrical shock and not just a static shock, then I'd consult an electrician.

Well. I suppose they make anti-static vacuum cleaners because there is no market for them or no static problems from vacuum cleaners.

http://www.morclean.com/vac/specia [...] aners.html

"Due to its construction and its Anti Static (Conductive) air supply hose, any static build up can be dissipated. "

Here is a page I found that talks about it too, but I didn't look for any sources for their information so take it with a grain of salt.

http://www.wiscocomputing.com/articles/maintenance.htm

"It is safe to use a plastic nozzle of the vacuum cleaner to suck up dirt, dust, food, and hair from keyboards and the outside of the case. Never use an electric vacuum cleaner on the inside of the computer case. Electric vacuum cleaners create static electricity that can damage the internal components. "

Here's another site that says essentially the same thing, see step number 6, computer cleaning no-nos:

http://zdnet.com.au/jobs/resources [...] 283,00.htm

Everyone is certainly allowed to believe anything they wish, but vacuum cleaners can create static. Large volumes of moving air loaded with dust and dirt particles that are slamming into one another and getting sucked through plastic parts creates the potential for static. Just as canned air forced through a plastic tube may do the same thing. I know my vacuum parts have a coating of dirt on the ends that won’t come off, no matter how hard I try. I can move the dirt around with a rag, but it just stays stuck to the wand. What’s holding it on there do you think? It aint gravity, that much is certain.

Simply put, there are 2 ways the majority of people will clean computers, vacuums and canned air, and people will continue to do it regardless. But, they both create static with potential to damage electronics, and saying they don't is just plain incorrect. Period. We don't have to be Henny Penny about it, and just use caution, just like when we jump in our car everyday there is a change we might die, but hey, that's life.

I use an air compressor. As long as you don't use too much pressure, it's fine. I would say probably no more than 40 psi. Gets the dust out of there quite nicely and quickly.

well i clean computers every day, and i use an anti-static band straped at my wrist and conected to a big metal peice, my advice is unplug the computer then push the power button a few times just to clear all the capacitors just to be safe and wait a few minutes to get all clean of electricity and then use the a brush to clean the dust of the components and i use a vacuum with alot of care or compressed air if its' needed

in matters of your processor if it's a stock cooler it doesn't have any screws on it , it connects to the aluminium block my some plastic clamps on theirs sides if you don't want to take the hole cooler with care you must remove these clamps but it's kinda hard to take these clamps of without the hole cooler coming attached because the new intel system the cooler it's not screwed to the board just some plastic pins, but you can try I would recomend having some 90% or more alccol for cleaning and some new thermal paste to put if you remove the hole cooler. just my opinion

Don't do it in a room with carpet. I don't want to start debating with wusy, but I'd rather use compressed air and unplug my PC even though I have a switch on the back of my PSU.

I call it 'common sense'. (and having a higher IQ than you guys )

I have to agree I cant count how many times I have used my vacume cleaner to clean out my or other peoples PC's... I do notice how ever since I moved up to a Dyson that wow I can get the insides to look almost like new I have used compressed air in a can but I found that it just seemed to move the dust around in the case truely clean is vacumed !

yeah but thats a data vacume for sucking up data !!! lol kidding of course hmmmm I like it ! *adds to wish list*

You may not have noticed any static, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. I linked to articles that mention it, and I also linked to an anti-static vacuum. I've given links and shown that what I am saying is correct. I am not saying you all should just stop doing what you are doing, but when people said I'm bs'ing and don't know what I'm talking about, then I found information to back it up. If anyone has articles or references that dispute it, I am truely interested in seeing them. Seriously, I would like to see them.

Um, no, I'm not misinformed about electrocution. I already explained that electricity moved between 2 different potentials. And, in NA if you touch an ungrounded conductor (what ever that means, I guess you mean uninsulated) you only get a shock if you are actually grounded yourself. i.e. if you are standing in a puddle of water on a concrete floor and you touch an uninsulated hot wire, you get a shock. OR, if you standing on a concrete floor and pick up an ungrounded metal-cased tool that has a short circuit causing the case to be hot, then you also get a shock...or you die.

If you are not grounded and you touch an uninsulated wire or a faulty ungrounded tool, you won't know about it unless you are also touching a ground with your other hand.

The reason for the grounding system in NA and probably other parts of the world is because people were dying. Look it up.

There is also something in NA called a ground fault interupte, but it's only required to be used in outside electrical outlets, and in other selected areas inside, like the kitchen, bathroom, garages and unfinished basements. But, that's a whole other discussion.

Now, let me ask you a question. The guy above who lives in Saudi said he gets a constant shock when he touches some metal part on his machine, and it's not a static discharge but a prolonged shock. What would cause that?

No, I'm not trying to save the world, but when people tell me I'm full of it when I'm not, I take it personally. I made a simple statement at the start and people jump down my throat, because 'they've done it like this for years, so they must be right and I must be wrong'

People come here to talk about hardware, not beat their chest and throw feces at each other. Or, at least, that's why I come here (hardware, not feces)

It's not a theory, and I'm not preventing anyone from doing it. I already said that.

The reason for the ground in a 220V panel is so we can have 110V, you are right. The reason for a center tap in an 110v outlet/switch box is to provide a ground to the metal outlet/switch box, and/or to provide a case ground to devices equiped with such a ground lug.

Yeah, OK. I used the term center tap in the panel/outlet box because it gets tied to ground in the panel. When you said center tap I mistook that you were saying that was the ground lug on the outlets.

In any case, what I've said about the grounding in the user accessable areas in a typical NA house and the reasons for case grounding is correct. The ground wire is to bond the metal boxes to earth ground [if they are metal], or to provide a ground to the outets/switches and the ground lug on the 3 prong outlets.