The number one thing computer users neglect is physically cleaning the inside of their 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. Before beginning you need to get yourself some compressed air, here’s an offer I recommend: Falcon Dust-Off Professional Compressed Gas 12oz. (6-Pack)
40 comments
DO FOLLOW LUV says:
Nov 20, 2010
Number ONE thing Computer users neglect!…
Do you know what it is? Are you in the habit of throwing money away because you just don’t take care of your stuff?…
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Nov 20, 2010
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Nov 20, 2010
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Vernessa Taylor says:
Nov 20, 2010
Haha, Daniel, you made me reach down and wipe that accumulation of dust off the front fan on my PC. Sitting on the floor, it really collects the dust, and I’m guilty of only giving it a good once-over about every 3 months. (That’s only because I’m inside tinkering, which causes me to sneeze, which begs me to do the dusting.) Oops!
Thanks for a gentle reminder and a soft kick. 🙂 Stumbled!
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 20, 2010
Glad I could encourage you to clean your PC! Good stuff Vernessa, make sure you tell your friends and family to clean theirs as well.
A. Tatum says:
Nov 20, 2010
To true at one of my previous military station they cleaned each machine every 45 days
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 20, 2010
That’s awesome! Love it, 45 days to the tee I bet! That’s the army for you, they aren’t going to let anything breakdown… Thanks for sharing!
Paul says:
Nov 22, 2010
I recently had someone with a computer problem that was because of the dust that had accumulated in their computer. Their computer froze after a few minutes of being in use. Eventually it was because of the dust build up that caused the computer to overheat.
Processors today have a built-in safety mechanism that causes the processor to “shutdown” if the temperature gets too high, which basically happened to the computer I mentioned above. The processor would go into overheat mode and cause the computer to freeze. Seems kind of funny if you think about it – “overheating causes a computer to freeze.”
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 22, 2010
Paul, you’re right. Too much heat = freeze, that’s a funny thing… only us geeks can laugh at that I guess. LOL
bbrian017 says:
Nov 22, 2010
Look at the snow you guys got out west hehe! I clean my pc about every three months. I think ti’s an important art of keeping the pc running fast and at top performance. This hobby is expensive enough without having preventative issues popping up. I always buy my spray at costco it’s first cheap. 10 bucks for three cans.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 22, 2010
Hahaha, that’s the first snow of the year for us. They say this could be a bad one, but that snow is pretty much gone now. People panic out here it is hilarious! My parents taught me well about driving in the snow, so I don’t really get bothered by it, but you should see the mobs lining up for snow tires, it’s so funny! And then it melts the next day… hahaha.
Patricia@lavenderuses says:
Nov 22, 2010
HI Daniel
This non-techie is thankful that you geeks keep us on track. That would be the last thing I would think about. Is it the same for a laptop? Ttold you I was a non-techie. I so don’t know what is going on inside my laptop. Just want to switch on and get blogging 🙂 Thanks for sharing Daniel. Much appreciated.
Patricia Perth Australia
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 22, 2010
Patricia. Laptops also need to be cleaned, but there is no need to take them apart! (Please don’t!), just blow out all vents / fan slots… ah, just blow out the whole thing!
Patricia@lavenderuses says:
Nov 22, 2010
Hi Daniel
One thing I am good at is following instructions so I won’t be taking it apart lol
When my brother is home next week will get him round to check it all out. He is a geek so will know what he is doing.
Patricia Perth Australia
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 22, 2010
Sounds good. Laptops don’t generally collect as much dust as a tower. (Tower’s are often on the floor, and obviously not moving, so dust builds up). Laptops still need to be cleaned however. The biggest problem with laptops is dirty keyboards with junk getting under the keys, make sure you blow those out too!
John Soares says:
Nov 22, 2010
Daniel, guilty as charged. I’ll put it on my to-do list for the weekend.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 22, 2010
Glad I could offer a friendly reminder!
Thiru says:
Nov 22, 2010
hi dani..
I knew it is important, Always having plan to clean it on sunday. but lot of commitments on that day. little bit lazy too.. what to do…But hereafter will try it dani..
Thanks
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 23, 2010
Only need to do this once every few months Thiru! Set a schedule. 🙂
greg urbano says:
Nov 23, 2010
following your advice i just pulled my pc out of the dishwasher … jk!!
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 23, 2010
haha! Thanks Greg, glad to hear you cleaned your tower! How bad was it?
Alex says:
Nov 24, 2010
hahaha nice man. Talk about left field, but that’s just the way I like it 🙂
I suppose if there is a lot of porn on the HDD that it would need cleaning more often? I know my old laptop must be uber dirty, in fact it died because of the build up of crap on the inside – so there you go
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 24, 2010
LOL Come on Alex, I’m talking about physically cleaning the inside of your computer here! 🙂 … j/k ya gotta keep the CRAP out!
Ileane says:
Nov 27, 2010
Daniel, you are a natural in front of that camera. Bravo! I can’t believe I just found out you have a YouTube Channel.
Do I still need to worry about this if I have a laptop?
Thanks.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 27, 2010
Laptops also need to be cleaned but NOT taken apart! Yeah, check the comment thread I give some instructions further up.
JMontes says:
Nov 30, 2010
I myself clean the inside of my computer when it get hardware error that I have to check it inside. I agree that dust and computer combination can fry. 🙂
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 30, 2010
Maybe you should clean your computer out BEFORE you get hardware errors showing up! 🙂
Treadmill Comparison says:
Dec 7, 2010
Sad to say but we neglected our computer many years ago. A tech came to the house and blew out a ton of dust. I couldn’t believe how much dust there was in that thing.
Western Snow Plows says:
Dec 8, 2010
Very good info Daniel! Cleaning the inside of our computers is something that just doesn’t get done until it’s too late sometimes. I’m thinking maybe we should submit some entries of pics for the filthiest computer! 🙂
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 8, 2010
Yeah good idea! I’ve looked at some You Tube videos and seen some pretty stunningly dirty computers. Ewww!
Secure Hosting says:
Dec 9, 2010
I remember my mom’s computer was running hot, and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. We then took off the side panels and there was like a dust forest in there! I suppose it’s easy to forget- but how often would you recommend cleaning your computer out?
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 9, 2010
Well – I tell you that secret in the video. 🙂 … at least twice a year. More often if you’re in a dirty environment (cats, dusty home etc…)
Steve from ZolexPC says:
Dec 17, 2010
Great video here Daniel, I didn’t know we had so much in common. hahahah. Awesome!!! For high pet houses loaded with dust and Smokers, I recommend once a month even. Also good to mention if you have a high powered Video card, needs a good cleaning too. I speak from personal experience on that one.
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 17, 2010
Thanks Steve! Great minds think alike 🙂
Stephen says:
Jan 13, 2011
Hi Daniel,
I’ve got a Dell laptop and it overheats quite often; it’s a common problem. After numerous untimely crashes I eventually discovered the cause is an accumulation of dust near the heat sink. Now I clear it out whenever I hear the fan doing overtime, which is every few months or so. Great tip!
Daniel Snyder says:
Jan 17, 2011
Hi Stephen! Thanks for your feedback. Glad you figured out what was up with your laptop! I wish more people could discover this, before forking out extra $$$ to fix problems that could be easily avoided.
Justin Germino says:
Feb 18, 2011
This is why periodically I shut my PC off, get a can of compressed air and go to down on the guts. PS read my latest post in this reply it links back to you Daniel
Daniel Snyder says:
Feb 19, 2011
Thanks for the mention in your MyLikes review! I think my PC is due for another cleaning now… 🙂
Interoute Managed Hosting says:
Mar 22, 2011
I am terrible at cleaning my PCs. I will make sure I get the hover on them when I get home. One has the side off to remind me and I still forget all the time!!!!
Daniel Snyder says:
Mar 22, 2011
I wouldn’t personally recommend vacuuming your computer – but that is up to you – some vacuum’s are powerful enough to suck components right off. That’s why professionals always recommend compressed air.