I’m often called in to a client’s office because they suddenly develop problems accessing a database, running a complex report, or performing some other seemingly mundane task. Occam’s Razor aside, the first line of debugging is usually to look at problems in the software, investigate what may have changed, put together a timeline, and so on. I try to avoid computer repair, and typically outsource that aspect of my contracts. However, every once in a while, I see something so heinous I won’t be able to sleep at night unless I do something about it on the spot.
One Compelling Example
These pictures are from 2004. One client called me up because their proprietary processor intensive application began to crash fairly regularly on one workstation, a few minutes after starting the main processing loop.
The broad shot looks bad enough:
In the closeups, though, it quickly goes from bad to scary:
Nasty enough? They apparently had two extremely large and hairy office dogs, which certainly didn’t help matters any:
For a second, I thought that pile of fur may have actually been self-aware.
The Science Behind Dirty Computers
Science? There isn’t much, really. Every foreign particle that comes in to a computer case has the potential to cause shorts in the circuitry. Fortunately, most dust is not particularly conductive. Heat, on the other hand, will give high speed electronics a hefty dose of instability, and can cause permanent damage depending on the temperature and duration. It should be no surprise that problems are most obvious at high CPU load. It should also be no surprise that, by design or evolution, animals developed fur to stay warm by trapping heat. So, when Fido sheds his oily winter coat and it’s sucked in by the intake fan on your computer case, you’re probably going to have some heat related issues. These are compounded when gobs of anonymous gunk are allowed to plug up fans–pretty much the only way computer systems trade in the hot air they generate for cooler air from outside the case.
For Larger Organizations
If your company has a sizable network and a large enough IT budget, I would certainly recommend including periodic computer cleaning to your IT team’s task list. Of course, there are companies that specialize in these services (I certainly don’t!) Depending on the relative cleanliness of the environment, a frequency of once every 2-6 months is reasonable. Once you crack open a few of the systems, it ought to be rather obvious if you have not been cleaning frequently enough.
Justifying regular cleanings as a sound business decision (in terms of failure and downtime cost savings) may be a worthwhile idea, especially if management is reluctant to approve your proposed cleaning schedule. The parameters of this business decision will depend on factors such as:
- The cost of the computer equipment
- How quickly it can be replaced (and at what cost)
- Average salary of computer users
- Your company’s specific environmental conditions (probability of a dust-related failure)
- How many person-minutes it will take you to clean a PC
- How frequently the PCs are upgraded
The math is easy, but obtaining some of the inputs is not. Personally, I have had great success by unceremoniously depositing a very dirty computer on the boss’ desk. Half of the time, they’ll be the ones recommending a cleaning schedule. Bonus points if it was their PC.
How to Clean Computers
For the small business owner or home user, the web is full of articles with tips on how to safely and effectively clean computer equipment. Some articles include detailed steps, specific materials to use (and not use), and many of them contradict each other profusely. My method is far from groundbreaking. Hence, I present it in ultra-short format for those folks out there that need to remember how simple it is:
- Unplug computer and all connections
- Open computer chassis
- Blow out inside of computer chassis with compressed air. Try not to actually touch anything, and hold that can upright!
- While you’re at it, carefully push internal connections to make sure all cables and connectors are securely seated. Avoid touching the actual boards or circuit components. Make sure all fans spin freely.
- Wipe outside of chassis with a damp cloth
- Put it all back together the way you found it
- Turn it on
Total time: 5-10 minutes.
If it looks like World War III was silently raging in the vicinity of your network card for a couple of years, you may want to perform step 3 outdoors. Just not in the rain, right?
At this point, you may well be tempted to grab your BBQ lighter and use up the last of the compressed air to exact revenge on the ants that have been undermining your sidewalk year after year. As satisfying as $8 disposable flamethrowers may be, there is a real risk of fire/explosion combined with the toxicity of the burning propellant. On the upside, your neighbors probably won’t invite you to any more of those silly candle parties.
Keep it clean!
Tags: computer, cleaning, compressed air, dust, crashes
