|
DAWN
Canada: DisAbled Women's Network Canada System
Maintenance & Care
Introduction: Okay now - admit it. More than likely, you neglect your PC. It just sits there and runs and you don't give it an ounce of thought until it breaks. Sounds like too many of us with our cars. Sure, you probably complain about all the noisy hard drive activity when you're not doing anything. You might moan about how it takes all day to boot up. You might threaten it when it gives you the 100th illegal operation of the hour. Well, it is being neglected. PC's require maintenance, just like any other piece of electronic equipment in this universe. Whether it's a more recent system or an old 486, it needs to be maintained. If you have an old computer you don't much care about anymore, this article is still for you. Sure, your dusty old 486 doesn't compare to today's snazzy machines, but a lot of times they have plenty of horsepower to still do some useful things. You could hook it up as a "second box" just for fun, use it as a server for your network, use it for some mundane processing task that you don't want to waste time doing with your main machine - or, yes, you could just give it to grandma. I'm going to go over some techniques to show mercy towards lowly technology. These tips really are common sense, but they do need to be addressed. These are things that should be done on a somewhat routine basis on your modern PC as well. This is your guide to caring for your own PC.
Part 1: Dust Bunny Central All computers eventually accumulate a layer of dust on the inside. ATX form factor machines, which encompasses just about anything made in the last few years, are much better at dealing with this due to the air flow through the chassis - but you will still find dust in there over time. On older machines (if you haven't kept up with this), you might have so much fur that your computer is bordering on its own classification in the animal kingdom. You need to clean that thing up - dust, over time, can lead to problems with the fans spinning, electrical contacts, etc. To do a proper job, you will need to pick up a can of compressed air. You can get this at any computer store or electronics store. I do not recommend trying anything resembling taking a rag to your PC components. I have seen some get out a washcloth and gingerly run down their PC hardware. Not only does this take a lot more work than air, but you risk electrostatic discharge to your hardware, leading to fried components. Compressed air is safe and easy. Using the air, blow the dust out from the PC. Get the expansion slots, the case itself, all circuit boards, the power supply, the case fan and CPU fan. Get the outside of the power supply, too, as they often develop the largest accumulations of dust in PCs. As a tip, you might want to do this in a somewhat open area, as dirty PCs can expel lots of dust into the air which it is probably not a good idea to breathe in. As an alternative, you could possibly use a vacuum cleaner with a PC-cleaning attachment. When you are done with this, take a moist rag and wipe down the inside and outside of the computer case. Do not spray water directly onto the case.
All components of the PC need to be cleaned up. This includes your monitor, printer, keyboard, mouse, etc. Monitor Printer Keyboard Cleaning a keyboard can be easy or hard, depending on how in-depth you intend do go. If you try to take the thing apart in order to REALLY clean the inside, sometimes this could ruin the keyboard. Not always, though. In the least, you want to take a moist rag and rub down the keys so as to remove hand oil. It is, of course, probably best to do this while the PC is off so that you don't drive the computer nuts with key commands. Getting below the keys is difficult unless you take the thing apart which is, in most cases, not worth it. Sometimes you can vacuum the keyboard and suck junk up between the keys. Sometimes, you can turn the keyboard upside down and gently smack the side of it a few times and watch some crumbs and junk fall out. Mouse Now, there are different styles of mice. The most common is the roll-ball mouse. To clean this, turn the mouse over and twist the cap that stands over the ball. You can then remove this cap and let the ball fall out of the mouse. Once the ball is out, you can see the rollers inside. These rollers are what sense movement. In fact, you can take your finger and roll those rollers around and move the cursor. These rollers can often become chocked full of dust. Sometimes the dust can become tightly layered and wrapped around the roller. You can remove this dust with a little rubbing alcohol. I have sometimes, though, just taken a pen cap or something and pry the dust off and shake it out. However you do it, once the rollers are free and clear, reassemble the mouse and you should find that the cursor is more responsive. Other types of mice are cleaned differently. Some are optical, in which case you just make sure the sensor is free and clear. Optical trackball mice can gather dust. Just snap the ball out and clean the surface out.
The physical drives in your PC need to be maintained and cleaned. Most people don't ever worry about it and get along fine. Usually, though, this is because these drives are not used too often. Hard Drive Floppy Drive I should also mention drive alignment. Over time, the alignment of the floppy drive internals can drift and thus make it difficult to read disk media. The first thing you would notice is that reading disks from other PC's will be rough. It could eventually lose the ability to read its own disks. While back in the day it was worth it to align drives and pay the labour to do it, floppy drive today are very cheap and it is thus easier to just toss the drive and replace it with a new one. CD-ROM
I have already addressed the cleaning of the PC interior. You should have dusted the inside and it should be very clean now. This not only includes the hardware, but also the drive cables, power wires, etc. But, there is more to check while you've got the PC opened up: Ensure that the drive ribbon cables are tended properly. The best thing to do is use a tie to tie up excess slack in the cables. This will help to ensure that the inside of the PC is not a large tangle of ribbons. It will also help ensure that cables do not obstruct fans. Ensure that the
ribbon cables are all securely plugged into their intended drives and
I/O ports. Ensure that each of the expansion cards are securely inserted. On older computers, they can become loose over time. It is best to make sure each is securely tightened down with a screw. Sometimes people install cards and do not actually screw them in. This just makes it more susceptible to falling out or becoming loose as ribbon cables rub on them, etc. Ensure that each of the memory modules is securely inserted. You may also want to remove each memory module, one by one, and clean the contacts so as to achieve maximum connection. A lot of time, just the simple removal and re-installation of each module can reseat the memory module securely. Check for "chip creep". On older PC's, there are sometimes DRAM chips as system memory instead of SIMMs or DIMMs. Over time, with expansion and contraction, these chips can become loose and "creep" out of their slots. You can just press them back in. Make sure their tight. Check the CPU and the heat sink/fan on it. If you have not cleaned the heat sink, you can do this now. Just get some of that dust and gunk out from between the heat sink fins. Use compressed air to clean the fan blades. You can also do a heat check by touching the side of the CPU after the PC has been on for a while. It should not be too hot to touch. If it is, you need to install a better fan and ensure proper air flow through the case. If any of the case LEDs haven't been working, you can repair that now with the case open. Just trace the wire (sometimes they are labelled) and ensure it is plugged into the correct pins on the motherboard. Ensure that the
PC case fan is free of dust and spinning freely.
Well, obviously, there is more to maintaining the PC than just cleaning and checking the physical machine, You also need to attend to the data on the hard drive, the file system, etc. Often, over time, people notice that their PC slows down - sometimes to the point where its taking five minutes to boot up. This is usually because the owner hasn't bothered to perform any maintenance actions on it, ever. Let's run through the basic actions that should be done. ScanDisk If you're fixing up an old computer and want to ensure the durability of the hard drive, you can run a full surface scan. This can help keep track of the drive. See, as a drive ages, it will usually show signs of failing long before it actually does. This is usually seen in that you will find bad sectors on the hard drive. Many times these bad sectors exist on sections of the drive that are very seldom (if ever) used. So they may not show up in everyday use. This is why performing a full surface scan is very thorough, and also time consuming. If your drive passes this scan, it is likely in fine shape. If it seems to be developing increasing numbers of bad sectors, I would recommend backing up your data and preparing for an eventual drive crash, just in case. Defragmentation Windows Update Virus Definitions
Part of maintaining your PC is the act of preparing for a possible failure. There are some things you should do to prepare. By doing this, you will minimize your loss in the event it happens. Back up CMOS A note for older PCs: If you are resurrecting an older PC, you may see a CMOS failure after you boot up. This is usually because the battery is dead and you've lost your CMOS data. What you need to do is replace your battery. If the battery is really old and has leaked and damaged the motherboard, then you might as well just cut your losses and get a new PC. There are a couple ways to record your settings:
Update your
Boot Disk Back up Registry
Your PC will serve you well if you bother to maintain it. I have shown you the basics in how to clean up the inside and outside of the PC as well as its external components. I have also shown you some basic actions to keep up the actual data on the PC. These actions should be done on any computer. But, for older PC's, these are typical activities that would be done to bring that PC back to life. By doing all this, you can resurrect an old PC and at least get it up and running and in shape to be used for something. None of this, obviously, addressed the obsolescence of these older PCs though. It is good to maintain and old PC. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are things you can do with an old PC rather than waste it as a dust collector in the closet. But, obviously, these systems cannot do a lot of what we like to do with our PC's today. Sometimes, you can breathe new life into an older PC by upgrading a few key components, adding some memory, etc. In many cases, though, this is not worth it because it would be cheaper to buy a new system than to upgrade an old one. In this, you'll have to be the judge. And with that, happy (and clean) computing!
|
|
|
back to Technology Content Index
|