Your Computer Requires Maintenance
Your computer is allergic to dust and pollen! Fans inside your computer cause air to flow through the case, cooling the chips, disks, and devices inside. Unfortunately, the computer also acts like a mini vacuum cleaner, pulling dust, pollen, and other materials into the case. No matter how clean the environment around your computer is, hours of fan operation will almost certainly collect material over the months. As a result, airflow becomes blocked, chips can overheat, and hard drives can fail from the increased heat. An initial warning of this is computer freezes after the computer has been turned on for a while. In some instances the CPU fan becomes blocked, the CPU overheats, and the result is often lost hours restoring data and the cost of repairing or replacing the computer.
If you feel a little ambitious you can perform your own preventive maintenance. First, shut down the computer and remove power from it. Ideally, you would also disconnect all peripherals and relocate the computer to an open area where you can easily work on it. Be sure to take note of where everything plugs in! You'll need to remove the cover - a process unique to each computer but usually accomplished by removing a few screws along the end of one of the side panels. The side usually slips off, exposing the internals of the computer. Most computer stores sell small hand vacuums or attachments that will work with a typical vacuum cleaner. In either case, just vacuum out the inside - being careful to not impact anything inside the computer with the vacuum device. A good second step is to use some canned air to blow out any residual dust you could not get with the vacuum. Be sure there is no condensation left inside the computer from the compressed air before closing it up.
We offer Preventive Maintenance Services if the process seems a little more than you want to do. Our preventive maintenance service includes cleaning the inside of the computer, checking fan functionality, and ensuring the computer’s internal components appear to be working properly.