#683 – Creeper
Posted on January 22, 2009 at 12:00 am by Chris
Chapter: Comics
I’ve actually fixed a few PCs in the past by opening them up and cleaning them out. Enough dust can accumulate that fans will no longer spin fast enough and other components will start to overheat from their new fuzzy blankets. A few trips outside with a can of compressed air and all is working again. Make sure you are standing upwind. It’s embarrassing when your neighbor looks out the window and sees you prancing around the front yard waving your arms around like there is an invisible swarm of bees following you.
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You mean, uh, upwind?
The sad part about this comic is that it’s happened in real life. I was in a local computer store, and somebody brought in their machine to get them to get a diagnostic, since it wasn’t working right. When not even the man nicknamed “The Doctor” could turn it on, the man said when it stopped working. “It happened after I cleaned out my computer. I used soap and everything, so it should’ve just been fine!”
I left quickly so I could laugh my ass off, but he still saw me through the huge front window. Oh the face he made as The Doctor explained the flaw in the man’s cleaning process.
But if they were particularly loud neighbours (Canadian!) you could make them believe there were invisible bees and get a couple hours of quiet time in the backyard.
@SharkJumper – Fixed!
Although we IT crowd all know, computers work with smoke.
If the smoke comes out, the computer stops working…
I am a computer technician and I went on call a few weeks ago to a guys house, he was complaining that his mouse and keyboard weren’t working. So I opened it up, took it out side and blew it out. After I plugged everything back in, it worked fine.
no, im pretty sure he meant downwind, dust is natures warm coat XD
lol
Um…what kind of dust do you have there, Chris?
Better yet, wear a mask ( I have one that looks like Guy Fawkes). Depending on where they kept their computer, the dust will have some things you DEFINITELY don’t want to breathe in (carcinogens, pet dander, bug parts, etc…)
Was all of this before Biff got his current job? Because I seem to remember he has a desk job and works on a computer.
Damnit…I think you need to give us a timeline, Chris.
Ah, customers! More evidence that Biff is not alone.
(mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah…)
There was also that waiting for the plumber thing, and practicing for the school play… (surely not a school of one)
The list goes on… (set these words to a Sonny and Cher tune)
I have to clean my computer regularly – because it doesn’t require screws for the sides of the case, I just use the vaccuum cleaner and a brush attachment (very gently, obviously). I have a Border Collie who seems to constantly shed fur, and it ends up in the case. Not to mention that this seems to be a very dusty house…
My old laptop, however, died due to dust. I couldn’t find a screwdriver small enough to remove the screws from the back and clean it out.
Hum, I must be doing somethimg wrong, I usualy vacuum the dust out.
My new computer has such a huge cooler, I guess the only problem I have is with mosquitoes getting grinded in it.
The dust problem doesn’t just stop computers from working! I have an old mono Marconiphone record player which would just hum when turned on, and no music would come out of the speaker. A blast of WD-40 in the volume and tone controls blew the dust out and had it working like new.
Bluebottle:
I usually keep a can of “contact cleaner” in my workspace for just such an occasion… I’m worried that WD-40 might be bad for the materials. O.o
Also, anybody complaining about a really dusty computer should try this: Get it off the floor! I thought it was okay to have a computer sitting under the desk, but it turns out they get *much* dustier that way… I guess the cooling airflow just sucks it up off the floor?
I`M THE CREEPER CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.
@DTanza – 5 points!
Wait, what?!
huh?
Funniest thing I saw while working in a computer shop was the box with one whole side covered in magnetic business cards. He’d taken it to other places before but nobody could find anything wrong. ‘Course he’d always taken the cards off, then put them all back on when he took it back to his office. He just happened to leave them on when he brought it to me. After removing them all, it ran just fine.
You CAN wash every part of a PC in soapy water, except for the drives. Even the fans can withstand a dunking, though it’s a good idea to blow them dry then lube the bearings. I got a little HP Presario that belonged to a smoker. HIDEOUS YELLOW FUR everywhere inside and the normally grey and purple outside was stained so bad that after scrubbing with bleach I had to paint the case.
My favorite lube for fan bearings is DOT-5 Silicone Brake Fluid. It will seep into any small crevice, so it will work on ball bearings as well as sleeve bearings. One shot of this lasts forever because unlike light oils it has little to no volatile components and is made for much higher temperatures. Silicone fuser oil that some photocopiers and laser printers used to use is also an excellent fan lube.
DO NOT get any silicone oil onto any surface you want to paint! It’s nearly impossible to clean off.
@Nathan. Ohhh yeah. After smokers, setting a PC on a floor, especially with pets in the house, is the 2nd worst thing one can do to a computer. Most of them have air inlets down low at the front where they can hoover up all the dust and hair that drifts past.
I worked on a co-worker’s computer a while back. When I cracked the case, I really thought the dust bunnies were going to attack.
Just wanted to add that the reason you should blow dust out instead of vacuum dust out is because of the possibility of static charges building up from moving the vacuum’s attachment around inside the computer. You could generate a static shock to the motherboard frying your computer completely. I recommend taking it to Goodyear or Walmart’s Tire and Lube center and asking to borrow their air compressor. They are very powerful and can even blow out dust that sticks.
I bought my computer second hand and when I took the face plate off to install a DVD burner, there was a big ball of dust and fluff stuck inside it. It must have been at least 15cm around.
We laptop users have no need for hard drives.
This Biff comic reminds me of this other comic I like. http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20030530