Time to clean your computer of dirt, dust – and ash

The raging forest fires around California are dangerous to your computer and can cause failure.

Dirt and dust build up over time in your computer, clogging the cooling systems. The results of that are life-threatening.

Laptops, desktops, towers and servers attract dust because of an electrostatic effect of the cooling and exhaust fans spinning, cool air moving across the hot surfaces of the CPU and the air pressure it creates. Now there is also ash in the air to worry about.

When the spinning fans that cool and protect your processor, known as a CPU, become clogged, the CPU will overheat. That triggers a protective “circuit breaker” inside the CPU and the computer shuts down. A symptom of this problem is when the computer runs for a few minutes, then it either locks up or shuts down.

If you let the computer cool for a few minutes while it is off, you can restart it. However, it will likely shut down or freeze again. (Funny, we call it freeze when it is actually overheats.)

Dust will cause damage to other components inside your computer as well. A condition known as “blown caps” will occur when the temperature inside the computer enclosure (chassis) becomes too hot. A cap is a capacitor, a small component that acts like a short-term battery. The capacitor bursts when it overheats, and that results in motherboard failure.

There is an easy way to prevent this and all you need are your fingers or a Phillips screwdriver and compressed air. First, unplug your computer from the wall. If you have a desktop, remove the case/chassis cover that is held together with thumbscrews or a Phillips screw.

The screw looks like it has an “X” on its head. Take the computer outdoors and use compressed air, aiming directly at the cooling fans. As the air hits the fan and metal heat-sink, dust will fly off. Don’t touch the spinning fan as it can shatter. Be sure to get all the dust out and dust other components as well.

If you have a laptop, unplug it, turn it off and then turn it upside down. You will see air slots on the bottom and one on the side of the laptop. Blow air into both sections until you are sure all the dust is out.

That’s it. But if this technique is beyond your ability, several computer stores, like ours, offer this service for free.
Now go do the right thing – and keep it clean.

William Claney is an independent tech writer and former owner of Computers USA in the Clayton Station. Email questions or comments to willclaney@gmail.com.