the_marq

Damnit damnit damnit.

My video card just pooped out because I let my cooling fans pack up with crap and seize up. The fan on my video card (GeForce 4200ti) is locked tighter than ...well something really tight. I can't even get it to budge with my finger or a screwdriver. So presumably the fucker overheated last night while I was sleeping.

Lucky for me I never throw anything out so I have my oooold GeForce2 in running back up for the time being, but damnit. Now I have to buy a new card.

So there's your reminder all my fellow TFP'ers, clean your fans, or wind up lke me.

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superiorrain

How would you clean a laptop fan? or make it queit down?

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P-Naughty

Take the laptop apart, a tricky process. No two are alike, things are located in various places, or atleast that has been my experience. So basically, you don't.

As for the your PC... yeeeaaahhhh. Over the Summer I had to do work on some of my friends' computers (graphics card upgrade, DVD-RW, hard drive replacemment) and almost had an asthma attack when opening the suckers. People just don't realize what a problem it can become. Just taking a can of compressed air to the inside every 2 months or so can really prolong the life of any PC, just be sure to turn it off first. And power supplies and chipset, CPU, and GPU heatsinks are all notorious for being overlooked. I've actualy drained a few PSUs, taken them apart, and removed gobs of dust and hair by hand before blowing the rest out with a can of compressed air. All that dust build up takes effect on ball bearings in the fans and keeps the heatsinks from properly doing their jobs. And the more fans you have, the worse it is. But don't let that keep you from putting them in.

And smokers are gluttons for punishment when it comes to this. The tar and ash in the cigarette smoke combine with the dust make for a long cleaning when neglected. The PC my dad had when he passed away had only been in his house for a couple of years. This is one of the PCs whose PSU had to be taken apart. You could look through the vents with a light shining on them and see nothing but this brown dust. Now wires, no conductors, no heatsinks, just dust. After taking the whole thing apart, I had to scrub off the "smoker's dust" from many components with Q-tips and Isopopyl alcohol (as to not ruin any circuits or cause water damage). The various fans and heatsink were most difficult. The dust on the fans had actually caked on to the point that compressed air wouldn't remove half of it. I guess the tar acted as some sort of adhesive.

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the_marq

Yeah, like he ^^ said.

I can't say enough about compressed air. It seems silly to spend $8 on what amounts to an empty aresol can, but there is no better way to keep your fans running clean and clear. Just open the box every month or so and give all the moving parts a blow job. Hell in the end, $8 for a can of air beats $400 for a new video card (or processor).

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#3 in a series

THGL

8 Bucks?!?

Word of advice, next time you need a can of compressed air, don't go to a computer store or computer dept. Go to your local Spral-Mart and look in the sewing/fabric dept. Apparently, little old ladies use compressed air to clean out their sewing machines... and they pay at least 1/2 the price.

Fremen

That's good advice. Thanks for the info!

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TrollInvestigtr

4200ti? It was time for you to upgrade anyway.

Latch

Little old ladies know all the deals.

And I plan on buying a can or two of compressed air in the near future now, thanks.

Sucks about the card, though.

BoltedDown

At Costco you can get 4 12oz. cans for ~$9. It's a pretty sweet deal.

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kutulu

Compressed air sends all the dust flying. Instead of that can you just take the upolstery attachment to the computer, keeping it about 6 inches from the parts?