Cleaning Computers and Other Electronics? 15
Pru asks: "What is the best way to clean out those old computers systems now caked with dust? The Slashdot community would probably be a great one to ask.. How should I clean out that old computer system? With dust caked on it and marks and scuffs all over the case; I would like to take a couple of the old systems I have around and put them back to work. But I would like to clean them up some first. My question is: How important is it to keep it free of dust? heat considerations, damaging the parts with cleaning and so on.. Maybe some of the veteran /.'ers that know some great advice and tips and tricks on this can help out the fairly new users here."
hah (Score:1)
I'm the computer man of the family and I'm stuck with one from almost everyone that gives gifts every Christmas... NEVER ever use one of those cheesey little vacum things they give you for Christmas... They break to easy and rarely work :)
Re:hah (Score:1)
Here's another issue/problem to resolve. I was at the house of a friend who is a big-time smoker. His computer used to be the same off-white beige of most every computer, but now it is a nice bright shade of nicotine. I tried wiping off this nasty nicotine and sure enough it comes off onto anything that you wipe the case with, but it also still remains on the case.
1. Is there any way to actually remove this foul nicotine?
2. Doesn't the fact that it comes off onto a rag and simultaneously stays on the case defy the laws of physics? Could we invent any anti-matter or cold fusion devices because of this property?
Re:hah (Score:1)
Basic PC Cleaning HOW-TO (Score:3)
1. Dont use a feather duster, or anything of the like that would cause lots of static, and besides, those just move the dirt around, not remove it.
2. Compressed air in a can is good, but if you have access to an honest-to-god air compressor, use it. They work WONDERS on that caked-on dirt. Just be carefull of how much pressure it can put out. You dont want to go chasing after the 128 Meg DIMM you just sent hurtling across the garage.
3. Use an alcohol-based solvent (preferably plain rubbing alcohol, but windex and the like work too, just dont use one with a lot of detergent) to loosen up the mud and then use a nice wipe to clean it off. Dont worry about using too much, as it's alcohol and will evaporate really quickly. Just avoid turning the PC on before it's done drying.
4. If your PC's fans have filters (some do, some dont) throw them in a sink full of water, the washing machine, or in the bath with you. If they dont have filters, use the alcohol and a wipe to clean out individual fan blades and around the housing of the fan. Those are usually REALLY dirty places.
5. On boards and cards themselves, compressed air is best, but once again, you can use alcohol, just as long as you let it dry. I've fixed more than one memory and video card problem by removing the offending DIMMS or cards and cleaning the gold contacts (male and female) with a little alcohol. Use a q-tip to get into the female PCI and mem sockets, just be really really careful not to leave little bits of cotton behind.
6. Inside the power supply is usualy HORRIBLY dirty, and I dont reccomend opening it up unless you know what not to touch. So, compressed air is the only option. Just remember one thing: The dust you're blowing has to go somewhere. Do it outside and remove all the components from the system first, or you'll have a nice and clean PS, but a filty system.
7. CDROM drives usually fail due to dust, so these are also great places to keep clean. Compressed air is good for this. Open the drawer, and put the nozzel right in the widest spot and blow. Try and get it from the back, too, just blow near an opening by the IDE connector, and the PS connector.
8. Hard drives are sealed, so you dont really have to worry about these. =)
9. Floppy drives you can clean just about the same way as the CD ROMs, just blow from each side.
10. On the outside, wipe it down with more alcohol and try and scrub all that yellow and brown dust off the front of the case, and make it all perty.
11. CPU fans also get really dusty, and can even fail if not cleaned, causing big headaches later. Just blow them with comp. air and use a q-tip and some alcohol again.
To recap: When using comp. air, the dust has to go somewhere, so know which direction you're blowing. And let the alcohol dry before turning the system on. It's not really conductive, but can cause problems.
You could do all this, or just do what I do. Use a garden hose. Takes a lot less time.
-Josh
Re:hah (Score:1)
Get them to quit smoking. Their PC will last longer, and for that matter, so will they.
-Josh
one word. (Score:2)
Re:hah (Score:1)
Windex does OK, but not great.
Only problem is that some of the residue will remain in tiny little pores in the plastic, and any attempts to remove the final yellow sheen it provides will be futile without the use of abrasives.
Alas, this problem may not even be tobacco-related, as it affects things even in strictly non-smoking enviroments. (Ever see an Apple II in a school? Ever note the color? It didn't come out of the box that way...)
Tried and true methods (Score:2)
Generally, try to knock as much of the big crud off as you can first, either by brushing or vacuuming. You might want to check for CMOS componentry before you start and if there's ay, be careful about static electricity. (Search the net for how.) We just remodeled out house, and I've vacuumed out the computer twice now and it's working fine - the keyboard is toast, though, which was a real surprise to me. (Ceramic tile dust is really abasive, and when you rip out old tile, it gets *everywhere*!)
If that doesn't do the trick, the best thing to follow up with is a cleaner like Freon TF. Freon is perfect, but the enviros have made it quite difficult to get anymore. The nicest thing about it is that it's so inert it really won't hurt anything, even delicate plastics, and it leaves no residue - like I said, it's about perfect. Freon TF is a strong degreaser, though, so if you apply it to any mechanical parts, they'll likely need lubing afterwards.
If you can't get Freon, then you can use either other solvents/degreasers like chlorothene (ok for most circuit boards as long as they don't swim in it, but it attacks most plastics, so be careful.) I've also used mineral oil in some cases - it's inert, non-conductive, and safe for all the plastics I've tried, but leaves a residue that could require degreasing. I have successfully used a sequence of mineral oil followed by GoJo hand cleaner to degrease and a distilled water rinse on severely dusty oil-soaked stuff.
Another alternative if you really need to scrub off the crud is just plain *distilled* water. Make sure it's distilled, not just filtered, since you don't want any mineral salts left behind causing you problems. I've successfully cleaned up lots of electronics with this method (including my Palm Pilot and cellphone) - just make sure everything is thoroughly dry before firing it up again. Oh, and don't try to speed up the process by drying it in a microwave oven... [grin]
Obviously, any of the above advice may be bad or wrong in your particular situation, so use your best judgement. Reserve extreme measures for extreme cases, and good luck. Almost anything is cleanable if you're careful.
Oh, and for cases... (Score:3)
I've also found Dow Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom cleaner to be very good at cleaning cases (it's also great for tennis shoes.)
Finally, although it smells like it would eat anything, brake cleaner is safe on many plastics (as always, try it first in an hidden area) and cleans off nearly anything. You can use this stuff to clean really nasty engine grease out of a white shirt without a trace - just make sure you do this *before* running it through the wash. This stuff is so handy, I keep a can around the house all the time now.
Slashdot strikes again! (Score:1)
First, though, some cautions:
DON'T EVER DIP ANYTHING IN YOUR COMPUTER IN WATER. Most mechanical and electrical things in your computer have some metals that rust. You don't want a rusty computer. Mechanical parts take a long time to dry. Remember, chip sockets are primarily mechanical devices! Water is a poor conductor, but that lets it conduct where it shouldn't and hinders good connections enough to break them. If you ever get a computer wet, let it dry for two weeks, after removing all chips on the motherboard, cards in slots, and cables in plugs. Obviously this should be done professionally. Oh ya, you'll ruin your hard disk if you get it wet.
Second: Don't use an air compressor! You could end up sand-blasting delicate electronics and you probably will destroy your fans.
Here's how I do a PC cleaning...
SAFTY WARNING: Don't ever touch electronics when plugged in. Don't open the case of monitors or power supplies.
Tips: Static will be hard to kill your computer with. I don't do anything other than make sure I'm not working on carpet. I did this in Wyoming, with 0-5% humidity and never ruined a computer due to staic. I never wore static wristbands or such nonesense. Computers are really very durable. On the other hand, if static destroys your computer, it isn't my fault!
Always "blow" and never "suck". Sucking requires you to almost touch chips and electronics. Don't do that.
Monitor: Unplug it. Use windex on outside only. You can use a plastic cleaner if you need to. Don't get any liquid into the holes in back. Monitors contain extreamly high (and deadly) voltages, even when unplugged -- they store the current. Unless you really know what you are doing, don't touch it. A $200 monitor ain't worth your life. Period.
Keyboard: Unplug it. Take the keys off *IF THEY COME OFF WITHOUT DAMAGING THE KEYBOARD*. Hold keyboard upside down and shake vigorously. Tap it several times. You should have a pile of grime under it. Soak the keycaps in soapy water and scrub with a spunge. You can use canned compressed air or a vacume cleaner in exhast mode to blow dust out of the keyboard at this point. Leave the greas on the metal pieces like the spacebar, since it lets it work right.
Put on a dust mask at this point. Your lungs will thank you in 25 years. Dust can kill you, but it takes it some time to do so. A $2 mask will save you years potentially -- especially if you do a lot of this.
Main CPU case: Unplug it. Clean the outside with a general cleaner. Open it up, flip it upside down to get the "big stuff" out. Then blow out the power supply and system fans. When blowing out the power supply, first "block" the fan. You can do this by inserting a non-conductive tool or stick into the fan cover in back, so that the fan won't spin when you blow air through it. Don't ever spin the fan with canned or compressed air; they aren't designed for that and are made very cheap. They will break! Then, stick the nozel of the canned air into the slots and move it around, or use a vacume cleaner in exhast mode with the hoze pressed up against the vent holes around the power supply. A lot of dust will come out. Remember to never open the power supply up. It contains high voltage when unplugged, too. Do the same thing for fans. Then, blow dust off the main board and out from other parts of the case. Use care around hard disks, as you can ruin them with too much air pressure -- you can actually blow dust INTO them!
Then, reassemble the computer, power it on, and insert floppy and CD cleaning disks. Follow their instructions. You must do this, as you probably blew dust into them. Remember that floppys serve a dual function of also being air intakes in most computers! (you can stick a vacume outlet hose or compressed air can hose into the drive and blow it out before you reassemble the computer, if you want; it won't hurt it)
Hope this helps. Try to stay away from getting your stuff wet like this group keeps trying to tell you to do! Also, don't attempt this work if you are uncomfortable with doing it. It is unlikely, but even if you follow my instructions, I can't gaurantee you won't get hurt or hurt your computer.
--
Joel Maslak
Former Coal Miner!
My experience cleaning neglected computers (Score:1)
Yes, remove the dirt. It's a great insulator; the insulation in my parent's attic is chopped up newspapers, one step away from dust bunnies. Also, dust caked on your CPU fan or power supply fan reduces the effectiveness of the fan noticably.
0) Let the computer sit unplugged overnight. You don't want to be shocked by a capacitor when you are wiping the monitor's insides, or cleaning the power supply.
1) Remove all media. I know, I know, but the people you got it from may have put 'that old computer' in the garage with a CD in the drive. All you have to do is start the boot, hit eject, remove the CD, push the tray back in, and you can turn it off before it gets out of BIOS. There may be ways to manualy eject the CD tray, without power.
2) Set up your "surgery center". Probably in the garage. You'll need the right tools nearby, and you don't want those dust-bunnies getting under the couch.
3) Take the whole computer apart. COMPLETELY. Well, only after you have let it sit unplugged overnight; think big capacitor discharging when your screwdriver slips. Remove every card, the motherboard, each drive, and the power supply. Then look for ways to remove the plastic attached to the metal frame. (The second computer had this 'cool' front plastic panel which was spring loaded to cover the drives when a button was pressed. The spring-pulley mechanism was dirt-encrusted and didn't work until it was cleaned.) Let the monitor sit unplugged overnight. Take apart the monitor, after the capacitors are allowed to discharged! (Remember, when high voltage is involved, paranoia is your friend.) Remove the power supply, and try to disassembly it. I say try because the second computer had Torx instead of phillips head screws, a six-pointed star needing a driver to match. Pain in the rear. You probably want to take apart the printer too.
4) Ventilate your workspace. Dust bunnies make me sneeze and allergize, and some solvents are BAD to breathe.
5) Blow dust away with lung-power or compressed air. I'm a student, so my lungs do a great job at a great price, but compressed air is very nice. Hmm, one amendment, I used compressed air on a part of a power supply I couldn't take apart any more. And, yes, do take apart the power supply (high voltage danger, let it sit). A power supply which is filled with dust is a hear problem waiting to happen. Use some pressurized air to help you clean the power supply. But be careful about where that air is going, if anything goes ballistic, it could cause damage/pain.
6) Wipe the components with a damp rag, water or alcohol. Water is cheap, alcohol cleans a little better. Alcohol requires ventilation. Clean the fan blades and casings of all of the fans you can get to. Clean the grills where the air flows. Wair for capacitor discharge. Wipe the monitor glass down. (When we cleaned that second computer, we discovered that the owner had spilled coffee on/in the monitor. The glass tube was coffee-dust brown, and the dirt didn't come off without serious elbow grease. That CRT tube should be transparent, if it isn't, you may have a coffee fiend on your hands.) When cleaning the monitor, don't change any adjustments you don't know about; some adjust the electron gun alignment.
7) Let everything dry, and re-assemble. Drying shouldn't take longer than a few hours, even if you washed the motherboard in the kitchen sink. Just don't leave ANY moisture on it when you hit POWER.
8) Let us know what happens. Take pictures, post them, and put a link in your bio. I like to see before/after pictures of computers. If I were a car guy, I might be restoring classic cars.
Louis Wu
Thinking is one of hardest types of work.
About compressed air. (Score:1)
Just one thing that must be noted if someone intends to use compressed air: there are many kinds of compressed air: Oil-flooded, oil-free and dry.
Oil-floded air is the one you obtain from oil-flooded screw compressors, the cheapest and most simple design for pressures between 50-200 psi. This is the most common type for medium to large compressors. Those we see in the street supplying air for concrete breakers are almost all screw compressors, but they are largely employed in industrial plants as well. This is not bad per se, for some tools benefit from it, some even demand extra lubrication in the air line. You don't want to use this kind of compressed air in your computer! Check with your maintainance staff before using it. If you are in doubt, blow some air through a white cloth for some 5-10 seconds and look at it: it it is yellowish or brownish, forget using it.
Oil-free compressed air comes from oil-free screw compressor (a different design with synchronized screws that do not touch each other) or piston compressors. Tire repair shops generally use the later. There are other less common designs. You can also have oil-free air if you pass oil-flooded air through special filters. It has some oil, but it is acceptable. If you use this, allow for a few hours for the more sensitive components to dry.
When you compress air it heats up a lot, then it cools down and a lot of water condenses. Dry air is the one that has passed through an aftercooler and an air dryer. These are actual filters, do not confuse these with watertraps, which only remove the bulk of it. This is the air you really want to use.
Last, be careful about air pressure. If the line pressure is above 50psi, don't bring the nozzle too close to whatever you are trying to clean.
NOT BRAKE FLUID.. (Score:2)
Additionally, it's toxic. Dip your hand in some DOT-3 and see how long it takes you to pass out!
This said, try carbochlor for grease on metals (wear gloves!), naptha if on plastic, and a tube of plain old Goop handcleaner for clothing.. If it's not a spot cleaning cleaning, cheapo foaming engine degreaser will take almost anything off with a tiny scrubbing. Even safe on those old 'Dip and dry' Model-M's!! Plastics, metals and paint are safe.. You may wish to top it off with a quick treatment of soap and water, because some brands leave residue...
Re:NOT BRAKE FLUID.. (Score:2)
Re:NOT BRAKE FLUID.. (Score:2)
No it's not that dangerous.. Worse than linseed oil and cotton cloth, but I will admit it was a bit of a THOU SHALT NOT preachy scare.. You pretty much have to mix it 50/50 with laundry bleach or pool treatment to get any sort of guaranteed effect, and even then it rarely spontaneously combusts.. Still, it was significant enough to cover in-depth during in school, so...
Most of those 'brake cleaners' are pretty good.. I like carbochlor, but only because a $2.59 quart lasts twenty times as long as a big aerosol can of $1.99 chlorinated stuff..