The OneMinute Geek

What's that growing in your computer?

Too few of us think about computer hygiene. Yet dust, dirt, crumbs, even critters are often the cause of expensive PC repairs. It's not uncommon to find geckos, mice, cockroaches, ant colonies, cat hair and dust balls nestled inside a warm, cozy PC case.

Problem:

Problems start because of the internal fans that keep your PC cool. They suck fresh air--and dust, smoke and animal hair--into the PC case. These coat the internal parts and, eventually, cause PC components to run hotter and wear out faster. They also offer an access route to bugs and small beasts.

Solution:

Keeping your PC clean is a two-part "housekeeping" process. First, try to minimize the dirt that gets into your PC and, second, schedule routine, regular cleaning.

To help minimize the dirt, keep the case on your PC and avoid eating, drinking, and smoking near your PC. Especially avoid these activities while you're working at the PC keyboard.

Smoking is a major problem. If it is sucked inside your PC, smoke can leave a residue that builds up quickly. The more you smoke, the faster the residue builds up.

Eating at your computer inevitably produces crumbs. You can clean up crumbs. But can you get them all out of the keyboard? If you can't, it's an open invitation to critters.

Liquids are an obvious hazard. Spills can be damaging spills and, once a liquid has invaded your keyboard it will give creatures one more reason to visit your PC. This is nontrivial. A gecko inside your PC case usually becomes a fried gecko, But your power supply may fry along with the gecko.

Lastly, remember to cover your PC, monitor and keyboard when you turn your PC off.

Routine cleaning requires first turning your PC off and unplugging it. Then, use canned air to blow dust away from the back panel and all the exterior vents on the case. Next, clean the exterior with a damp (not dripping wet) rag. Do this at least once a month, more often if your PC is on the floor, near an open window, or in a heavy traffic area.

Once a month, reach behind your PC and be sure that the fan is not clogged. Can you feel the air flow? And, once every six months, turn off your computer, open up the case, and blow out accumulated dust using canned air. Look for any foreign objects--or critters--and remove them. Check to see if they've been gnawing anything they shouldn't.

James Kerr is President/CEO of SuperGeeks, a Hawaii-based computer service and repair company (www.supergeeks.net). Please feel free to send your questions, comments and suggestions to Mr. Kerr. He can be reached at kerr@supergeeks.net and 942-0773.