Cleaning PC tower

Blue_Elephant

my PC tower appears to be full of dust (you can see it through the air vents) and it makes a noise like aircraft taking off lol.

I have been advised to open it and clean it, and vacuum out the dust, but I don't really want to pay for someone to do this as it'll cast a mini fortune, but I'm scared of causing static and shorting the bits inside. what's the best way to go about doing this?

santer_2

Some tips here, including,

The best way to combat static while cleaning your computer is to wear a static strap attached to the chassis and worn on your wrist during the whole process. Disposable static straps are available for a few dollars, professional versions may cost $30-40. Alternatively if you can maintain good contact between yourself and the metal chassis for most of the cleaning process and try not to move around too much then that will be adequate without a strap.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial118.html

If you use a can of compressed air, then make sure the fans are unable to turn while using it as the air may spin them faster than they are safe to run at

societys_child

Leave it plugged in to the mains (switched off at the mains socket if you're worried) which keeps it earthed and you loose any static as you're touching the case. I use a small paintbrush and vac to clean all the dusty bits out.
Been building comps for 20 years and never managed to damage one no matter how careless I've been:rotfl:

esuhl

Once you've turned off the PC at the mains (leaving the cable plugged in, as societys child says), hit the power button, which should (I'm told) discharge any capacitors, etc. Also, make sure the end of the vacuum nozzle isn't made of metal - as that could cause a short if any residual charge is present!

Be careful with the circuit-boards - I wouldn't wipe them to make sure they are totally dust free - a bit of dust won't matter!

Mista_C

If you're going down the vacuum route please be aware that vacuums create static from all the dust and hair swirling around the end of the nozzle (no matter the material of the nozzle). While the chance is statistically low there's still a chance and if you're not willing to pay the £30 or so to have it sorted professionally I doubt you'll be wanting to pay the £80+ to get it repaired if it goes pear-shaped.

Also, if there's that much dust it needs a vacuum you may need to replace the thermal compound between the heat sink and processor.

Please remember that there are qualifications required in PC repair and maintenance for a reason. Joe Bloggs along the street may think it's easy to plug in a card but there's a lot more to consider than "if it fits".

All that said a general spring clean under the hood isn't a complex task as long as you keep some common sense applied to the job.

Good luck.

closed

Dust threads are always amusing.

It's a bit of dust, if you've got huge clumps of it, turn the machine off and blow it out (with a dry mouth), if the psu fan is covered in a fine layer, you can use a vac from the outside, but it's not going to go into meltdown if you leave it, the fan still spins, the air still circulates.

Using a vac on the motherboard isn't wise, and is totally unnecessary.

No need for cans of air, paint brushes, anti-static straps, thermal paste, or qualifications whatsoever.

You don't need to go anywhere near the motherboard or ram so static is not an issue, the majority of it will be in the bottom of the casing, the vents, and the psu fan.

asbokid

Most of the time, an excess noise from a PC is a strong indication that a fan will shortly fail.

In which case, no amount of dusting and cleaning will prevent the inevitable.

The fans used in modern PCs are often very poor quality and the bearings in them tend to fail at short notice.

The first fan to fail is usually the cheap little thing that cools the main processor, but occasionally the fan that cools the GPU on the video card can sometimes fail, too. There may also be additional fans fitted to the case that can become noisy.

Fans come in various sizes, and are measured by their diameter, and by their depth, usually in millimetres. Replacement fans can cost just a few pounds to buy through a famous auction website.

Since the CPU fan is screwed to a heatsink, and the fixings that hold the fan to the sink can vary, it is usually easier to replace the whole heatsink/fan unit.