This is why you clean your computer

Tekno Venus

Tekno Venus

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I received a computer from my mum's work today. They bought new machines a while back and wanted this old one wiped. I said I'd take it and do it, since I have done IT work for them before.

I opened the machine up to take a look inside and well.... see for yourself. Let this be a lesson for you all, clean your computer(s) regularly! This one is ~5 years old and never has been cleaned.

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What would be, do you think, the best way to safely clean this amount of dust out of a system? The problem with canned air is that it is expensive, so do you know of a better, safe, alternative for this volume of dust, dirt and grime?

Stephen
 
Wow... that's the worst I've ever seen. I would hate to work with anything worse!!!
 
As Bruce said, that's actually not too bad (although it's bad enough... not trying to take away from your glory).

My DataVac would have had a field day with this computer.
 
Patrick said:
not trying to take away from your glory).
Click to expand...

lol, I don't mind! :) I've not seen anything that bad before so just wanted to share it. Seems I've been fairly lucky then!

You've got a datavac? I've seen them around, they'd make light work of this machine! I may just have to make do with plain old canned air! :(
 
Tekno Venus said:
Patrick said:
not trying to take away from your glory).
Click to expand...

You've got a datavac? I've seen them around, they'd make light work of this machine! I may just have to make do with plain old canned air! :(
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's one of the best computer related purchases I have ever made. Canned air is pretty expensive these days (for being canned air). I figured I could make a $60 one-time investment for a high powered vacuum, or I could constantly spend money on canned air that doesn't last long enough.
 
That's dusty, but not too bad considering the state of some computers, when I used to go to school, someone managed to jam a thin plastic cup inside a computer :eek4:

With the family desktop, I just blow most of the dust out with my own breath, and then dismantle all the fans and clean them with a soft cotton pad thing.

My laptop is really hard to dismantle, the case slides off, well..it's meant to slide off :banghead:

Anyhow, the fan is really small (from pictures) and I have a dust cover when I'm not using the laptop so it shouldn't really get dusty. I need to buy a can of compressed air, but I sometimes just blow through the vents. I'm not sure if it actually does anything.

At least, the PSU didn't fall out when you opened up the case, I've had that happen with one of the two old computers given to my Dad and then to me :lol:
 
Dusty much? I've come across much worse, even myself. But that's bad none-the-less.

My mom's computer is cleaned bi-weekly and fully tested at least monthly.
 
So, the PC is clean but.... It won't power on. At all.

As soon as I plug the power in, a small amber light turns on on the mobo, and the power button flashes orange. Dell manuals for the machine indicate a power supply or system board failure. Great.

Looks like this machine is set for the hammer and bin! I was only given it to use as a testing machine after I wiped the HDD with KillDisk. Well, since I can't run KillDisk, and it's dead, a hammer may have to suffice. I'm not spending anything on fixing it! I'm not certified, qualified, equipped enough and certainly not knowledgeable enough to test the PSU myself, so that's not an option!

I've heard failing caps is an issue with this PC (It's a Dell Optiples 745), but all the caps are fine (or visually anyway - no brown stains or bulging tops). Either I fried a component de-dusting it which is quite possible since I didn't follow the strictest ESD precautions (I grounded myself etc but didn't go out of my way) or it was dead when I got it.

It was BSODing (hence why it was replaced), and a failing PSU could well have been the cause of them. They were hardware based, I had a skim through the dumps.

So, unless it starts working miraculously, or anyone has any ideas, a hammer is in order!

Stephen
 
So...

Took the computer apart today to first see if I could get it working, and secondly to see if I could salvage any parts if I couldn't get it working.

Did some PSU tests with a multimeter (I had assistance from my Grandad - he has Electrical qualifications so was able to assist me), but there was 0V on all the outputs that I could test. Zilch.

So, with his assistance and knowledge, and a very careful hand, we disassembled the PSU completely. Before you say "THIS IS DANGEROUS AND STUPID!!", I know, I am fully aware of the dangers. But I had my Grandad's assistance, and was very, very careful.

Anyway, disassembly of the PSU found lots more dust, and a burnt out voltage regulator. Taking the PCB out of the housing showed the burnt out voltage regulator had actually burnt the underside of the PCB, and the laminate of the board was peeling away. So even if I installed a new regulator, the board was broken. I wasn't about to buy a new PSU off ebay, so decided to scrap the PC.

Was actually quite interesting, I don't do very much hardware stuff, so this was a good look and insight. I salvaged a GPU, some RAM, a DVD Drive and a few assorted cables. Didn't salvage the CPU, although I was tempted, I have no use for it and it was only a low end CPU anyway. So I didn't see the need. It was filthy too!

Anyone else find smashing a HDD up really satisfying? After salvaging a few magnets from the inside (they're really strong), I took a hammer to the platters. If anyone managed to get the data off them now, they deserve a prize!

WP_000212.jpg

So, I do believe, judging by the amount of hidden dust under and inside components (especially the PSU), the computer had overheated, and the heat burnt out the voltage regulator in the PSU. Hence the BSODs before when they used the DVD drive, the PSU couldn't cope with the extra power draw.

The lesson once again is, clean your PC regularly, or at least use it in a fairly dust free environment!

Stephen
 
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