Computer Repairs

You may remember my post recently about removing dust from a computer can cause more harm than the dust itself, although its effects on the computer are minimal dust is still not a desirable for a few reasons.

a/ dust can cause some components to over heat, I am yet to see any proof of this in fact it is more likely to help cool areas where a fan generates a steady air flow, the dust is effectively increasing the surface area of the component and therefore making it easier for the fan to cool, although dust is not a great conductor of heat it is still a heat conductor, dust can be considered a problem where a steady air flow is not available so routing cables to maximise airflow around memory and hard disk drives is a good idea.

b/ Dust on a computer monitor is not a problem unless it is on the display where it can obviously reduce visibility, cleaning with a duster is the easiest way to clean or for CRT monitors a damp cloth with a touch of household soap, LCD monitors can be effectively cleaned by using our previously mentioned cleaning procedure.

b/ Keyboards con now be left unclean, the main problem is a build up of dust can restrict movement of the keyswitches, although dust looks unpleasant it is when you try to remove it that the problems occur, again please look at our Keyboard cleaning guide.

c/ Printers are normally OK when used regularly, the most dust related problems occur with printers when they have been left unused for a while, common problems are pick up rollers collecting dust and not able to pick up or feed the paper, cleaning these with alcohol is the easiest way to get them as good as new, you should also ensure that the laser path on laser printers is kept free of dust by wiping with a soft cloth or following the manufacturers instructions.

Ways to prevent dust entering a computer system

There are covers that you can put over computers to protect them from dust, these covers need to be removed when using the computer to avoid it over heating, there was a comment from a reader about a product they sell that acts as a filter itself but need to be replaced, I can not vouch for how effective these are but they appear to make sense, if he adds a comment here I will publish it again.

The worst time for dust is when the computer is being used, CRT monitors caused by static generated on the screen, computers by dust being drawn in by the fans, normal nylon or plastic covers can be used to help crt monitors, base units, keyboards and printers while switched off, I would never recommend the use of a cover on an LCD monitor, no matter how good the construction of the cover there is always going to be a part of the cover touching the display, over time this will scratch the display, it is not a maybe it will scratch, you may not notice for a while but eventually it will show and that time will be too late, its like putting your car through an automatic car wash you get millions of tiny scratches over time it will build up.