Tip #5, Clean Your Computer

clean-up-your-computerNo I’m not talking about downloading programs that will get rid of unwanted files, or running various scans. I mean literally, clean your computer. “Your computer could fry if you don’t keep it clean,” says Jonathon Millman, chief technology officer for Hooplah Interactive. It’s important to keep dust, out of your system, and taking the time to clean it regularly will seriously extend its life. The biggest cause of hardware failure in a computer is overheating, if you’ve not cleaned dust out of your vents, or off your fan for a while, you could be asking for trouble.

Make sure you get a few things first:

1. A can of compressed air.
2. Screwdriver (you may not need this for some newer towers, and please don’t take your laptop apart!)

The process:

1. Shut down your computer properly, make sure it is off.
2. Unplug everything from the back of your tower.
3. Take the side off your tower (you may need the screwdriver for this)
4. Be careful not to touch too much inside your tower.
5. Use the compressed air to blow out the fan(s), all the components, the power supply box, etc… Keep the air about 5″ away from components, and hold it vertically. You may want to do this outside, especially if you have a lot of dust in there!

How often should I do this?

I would suggest you clean your tower thoroughly like this (and take your time), at least twice a year, perhaps even more often if you have a house prone to dust, pet hair, etc… It’s also a good idea of course to clean your mouse, the outside of your tower and your keyboard… And be careful with vacuum’s you don’t want to suck any keys off your keyboard!

See you tomorrow, three more great tips to come.
True PC Repair, (604)309-2777 “Get it to run like new”