Computer Repairs

Looking after your computer is a priority to ensure it has a long and trouble free life, there are many things that can be done easily by you and things that need to be done by professionally qualified people only.

The easiest way to ensure you do not damage your computer is to leave the covers on, by leaving the covers on there is no way you can damage the computers internal working, the only way you can damage the computer working from outside is by plugging in leads incorrectly but a little care with that can prevent any major repair expense.

Dust
Dust is not a major cause of damage in a computer, removing dust can be, contrary to popular belief removing dust can cause more problems than it cures, there is no guaranteed way to remove dust safely so provided it is not obstructing any major airway it is best left where it is.

The dangers in removing dust
As soon as you remove the cover from a PC there is danger of damage from static electricity, this is a very real danger the results of the damage may not show up immediately, but will degrade your computer components and can possibly cause a failure later.

The ways to remove dust are

a/ Air duster, this is probably the safest way to remove dust but has its dangers, air dusters come in the form of aerosols with a compressed gas inside, squirting the cannister releases a low pressure jet of gas that dislodges the dust and sends it elsewhere, the main danger is the dust finding a new resting place that is worse than it had originated from and a small amount of static can be formed on the can tube.

b/ brush, using a brush will build up static electricity and can damage the internal components of the computer, using an electrically conductive brush could prevent this but I have never seen one in my lifetime of computers.

c/ Vacuum, this is without doubt the most dangerous way of removing dust, it is almost guaranteed to degrade your computer, using a standard domestic or industrial vacuum cleaner will produce ten’s of thousands of volts of static electricity on the tube, as soon as this gets near your computers internal components are going to fry or become degraded, using a Toner Vac® reduces the likelihood of static damage because the whole vacuum is earthed.