Dust sucks.

So earlier this week, I had my laptop just shut down on me while I was working on something very important. The entire thing would load up, freeze and then I would have to force it to shut down. It didn't feel hot, but I did notice that there was a slight increase in the volume of the fan. I started to think that the entire thing was done for, but I opened it up and cleaned out the fan just to be sure because I remembered the emergency shut down method in the event that the laptop is going to fry. She works like a charm now. It's much quieter, works much faster, and has not shut down on me once since cleaning it out.

Definitely keep a can of blaster nearby that way you can avoid a meltdown and panic attack like I had thinking that my work computer was done for.

 

The dust is the bane of computers. I would be embarrassed if you would see our desktop computer at home. Since the components are all black, from the CPU to the monitor, the white dust is very evident. It should be dusted every week at least because the electric fan that cools the entire system brings the dust. Even the computer table is full of dust a few days after cleaning.

PS. What is that can of blaster? I haven't heard of it. Is it the WD-40?

 

It's a can of condensed air with a tiny straw at the nozzle that you can insert into the machine and press the trigger. The resulting 'squirt' of air flushes out the trapped dust and debris. A tiny, hand-held vacuum might also be a help as long as the suction isn't too strong and it is designed to fit into small areas. This is a process that I need to perform on my computers as well. It hasn't been done in forever and everything starts running so noisily after a while.

 

When I bought my computer a was careful to choose a laptop that had easy access to the fans because of this. I had seen some computer reviews and repairs and some of the computers you had to pull them completely apart in order to get to the CPU fan and the ram.

 

Lucky you know how to open up the back and cleaning out the fan! I will have to spend time on YouTube to learn how to open up my HP laptop to see if I can clean it out. I did use the air compression to just shoot the dust on the outside, but I believe it needs a clean up inside.

 

Thanks for the information. I will remember that can of blaster and I will ask around. It's not really for my laptop because I make it spic and span in cleanliness all the time. But our desktop is always dirty and my husband never opens the case for cleaning. The case is only opened when there is a hardware problem (the most recent was the CMOS battery was faltering). I think I need that blaster for the interior of our desktop.

 

Dust can be a real killer, I think the dust is what ruined my older laptop. Thankfully I learnt my lesson, I keep a compressed air can nearby since then. No problems so far

 

Where can you buy compressed air? I think I need some, my laptop have never had a proper clean and the dust drives me mad.

 

I tend to be like that too. My husband is the one who keeps insisting that the machine get cleaned out routinely, and I'm the one who is too lazy to get around to doing it unless the computer freezes up or something. There has to be an emergency for me to get my rear in gear and do something about it, unfortunately. I am the type to just aim the little straw inside one of the vent holes on the back of the PC and blast away. My husband tells me the only way to properly clean it is to remove the back and blast it that way, but there's my laziness factor again.

 

Well, I don't know where you live but here in Michigan where I am, we can get it at places like Walmart, Kmart, and BigLots. Big box stores like that usually have at least one brand of the stuff, but it's usually quite expensive. I'd love it if I could get the stuff at the dollar store but then again, you're only allowed to buy so much of it as some idiots out there make drugs out of the stuff. People like that ruin things for the rest of us, who only want to use the product as it's intended.

 

I live in the UK so I'm not really sure where I would get it from, I'm sure I can do some research and find a place though. Or I could get it online I suppose, might be cheaper that way too.

 

You gave me a big laugh with that. At least now I know that my husband is not unique with his attitude towards cleanliness of the computer. It was funny because the other night, when he turned on the old home desktop, the monitor was black and it was giving a blinking signal (that means it is not connected to the CPU). My husband looked at me as if to say the monitor is dirty so I said to him to clean it up first before disconnecting and reconnecting the plug (that's usually the problem). Well, he was forced to clean the desktop and I'm happy about it.

 

Yay, you get to look at a clean monitor. I, on the other hand am usually staring at a grubby, dirt-specked monitor that seems to collect all of the dust, dirt, grease and whatever, in the house. This makes for funny situations when I'm typing something. I'll add a period to the end of a sentence and then see two periods. I'll try to delete one and only then do I discover that one of them is a speck of something on the monitor. I recently cleaned the monitor and now it's dirty again. I can't win on that one. I have never had a monitor shut down on me and not connect to the CPU however, so I probably wouldn't have known what the problem was. My monitors usually last for years and years. I had one that still worked after 15 years. I finally gave it away to the Salvation Army Store so someone else could enjoy it for a while. I switched over to flat screen monitors a few years back and I love them for their lightness. Those old, unwieldy monitors were so huge and heavy, it took a hefty person to haul them around.

 

Yes, Dusts suck the life out of your computer and it's really frustrating because it can't be avoided. They are everywhere following your laptop wherever it goes like a creepy stalker waiting it's chance to pounce and hide itself beneath the keys. Lol. No really, i just make sure to clean my laptop regularly otherwise it could mess up the performance of your computer.

 

My laptop also seems to have gathered too much dust. The fan makes too much noise, the laptop heats up pretty fast, and sometimes it hangs and I have to shut it down by taking out the battery. Since I have never opened a laptop, I will be taking my laptop to a mechanic soon.

 

I definitely need some compressed air for this thing. I didn't even think to dust the fan, but I'm sure it needs it at this point. I'm not sure how much I trust myself to handle it, but I am 100% positive this thing is probably extremely dusted up.

 

I've never had a serious problem with dust but it annoys me greatly. There is dust all over my screen and keyboard. I keep trying to clean it but the dust keeps returning. I wish there were some way to have dustproof laptops in the future.

 

I wouldn't use WD-40 on your CPUI LOL! Nor your fan or anything else electronic, Unless you want a hot system...like flammable hot system.

Can of blaster = compressed air canister to blow out the dust with. It's slang for a can of air to clean a PC or electronics with.

 

If you can't/won't grab a can of compressed air, you could take a straw, bend half the side of one end, place tape on the unbent side of the same end, and blow through the opposite. Then, if your lungs are up to it, you can clean your laptop's vents and fans yourself. The bend and tape are needed to concentrate air flow so you get a stronger push. I recommend you eat a slice of bread (or something else that would dry your mouth) first so you don't accidentally send some saliva into your computer. I've done this before and it works.

 

Oh, I see. Maybe I should ask the tech in our office about that can of blaster. I'm ignorant of such not because I'm not a tech but maybe that cleaning product is expensive otherwise we would have that in the office.But I have seen one time that the tech was using the vacuum cleaner (set in reverse mode so it functions like a blower). He said that it was to clean the interior of the computer.