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BOOT CAMP 065
BACK TO BASICS -- SPRING CLEANING, Part 1
It's that time of year again. If your PC is starting to look
a bit grubby on the outside you can be fairly sure that it's even worse inside!
Dust and dirt is sucked into your PC by the small cooling fan on the back. This
can become a problem if it starts to accumulate in the floppy disc and CD-ROM drives,
in extreme cases it could block up the cooling vents and even stop the fan
working. A hot PC is not a happy PC…
Computer mice attract a particularly hairy sort of grime; it
clings to moving parts inside the mouse making pointer movement erratic. Keyboards
are actually highly effective crumb trays; you'll probably get a fair idea of
what you've been eating and drinking over the past few months if you decide to open
it up -- more about that in a moment. Printers also need mucking out on a regular
basis otherwise the paper feed can become clogged and print quality will
suffer.
Don't worry, if you don't fancy the idea of poking around
inside your PC or peripherals there's still plenty you can do in the way of
preventative maintenance from the outside to keep your machine in tip top
order. You can start with the disc drives. Cleaning kits for floppy and CD-ROM
drives are readily available from PC dealers, they only cost a few pounds and
they are very easy to use but always follow the instructions. Be especially
careful with 'wet' cleaners, always allow plenty of time for the cleaning agent
to evaporate, if any gets onto the surface of a floppy disc it can cause loss
of data.
With the PC switched off give the outside of the case,
printer keyboard and monitor a thorough wipe over with a specially formulated cleaning
agent or pre-moistened cloth, preferably one with anti-static properties. Again
these are readily available from PC stores. A soft damp cloth and a dab of
washing up liquid works well too but make sure nothing gets inside the machine.
If it does unplug the affected device and leave it switched off for at least 24
hours in a warm room or close to a radiator, before you switch it on again.
A tin of compressed air or gas with a long nozzle is very
useful for getting into nooks and crannies. They're really handy for cleaning
printers too, most models get a sizeable accumulations of dust in and around
the paper path, it's far better to blow it out than use a brush or cloth, which
tends pack it in even harder or spread it around.
Don't forget your mouse again don't attempt any cleaning
operations with the PC switched on. On most models you can remove the ball inside
by turning it upside down and twisting the retaining ring until it pops out.
Take out the ball -- give it a wipe over -- and have a look inside. You should see
two metal rollers and a couple of guide wheels, chances are the rollers will be
encrusted with furry grime. You may be able to pick it off with a match, cocktail
stick or cotton bud but it's usually far easier to take the mouse apart and
clean it properly. They're normally only held together by one or two screws, make
a mental note of where all the bits and wires go so you can put it back together
again.
The only way to clean inside the PC system unit is to remove
the lid, so make sure it is switched off and unplugged before you begin. On most
'mini-tower' PCs the case is held in place by two or four screws on the back
panel. It's usually easier to disconnect all the cables before you start but if
you do mark each one with a sticker or make a diagram, to make it easier to
reconnect them. Once the lid is off look but do not touch anything and if your
hand does stray inside be sure to earth yourself by keeping one hand on the
metal case. Use a tin of compressed air to gently blow the dust and fluff out of
the case, do not use a brush or vacuum cleaner nozzle, you're bound to dislodge
something! A lot of dust ends up inside the power supply module. It's the metal
box with the fan bolted to the back panel. Use the compressed air to blow the
dust outwards and give the fan itself a quick blast.
Do not attempt to open up the monitor, you can clean the
screen with an anti-static wipe or fluid and blow dust out of the ventilation slots
on the top of monitors.
Finally the keyboard. Unfortunately there are so many
different types it's impossible to generalise but if you turn it over and see a
forest of tiny screws it's probably best to leave well alone, just turn it
upside down and give it a shake to get out the worst of the dirt. If there's
only half a dozen or so screws holding it together it might come apart quite
easily but if not don't force it. All of the keys should be mounted on a single
large printed circuit board that will hopefully separate quite easily from the top
and bottom halves of the case. You may be able to disconnect the cable from the
circuit board on a small plug and that will make things easier. You can give
the case halves a thorough clean and the keys should be more accessible, so you
can wipe them too. It's worth giving the key caps a little tug, some types come
away quite easily and they can be properly cleaned but only do a few at a time
otherwise you could get into a tangle remembering where they came from! Next
week we'll turn our attention to spring cleaning your operating system and
freeing up wasted disc space.
Next week -- Cleaning Windows
JARGON FILTER
KEY CAPS
Press-fit embossed keys tops on a PC keyboard
PAPER PATH
The rollers and guides inside a printer through which sheets
of paper pass
WET CLEANERS
Disc drive cleaners that use a liquid agent (usually
isopropyl alcohol) to remove dirt and dust from the read/write heads or laser
pickups
TOP TIP
Windows 98 users and those with Windows and Internet Explorer
4.0 installed will have noticed the small 'Quick Launch' Toolbar on the Taskbar,
next to the Start button. This is normally populated with IE4 and Outlook icons
but you can also drag and drop program and file icons straight on to it, for even
faster access. If it starts to get crowded little arrow search buttons appear
or you can widen it using the separator bars. If you want to remove them later
on right-click on the icon and choose delete.
NEXT
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