About performing a basic repair of ur system
India
July 28, 2009 12:42pm CST
I know , i know that i'm gonna talk about a much blabbered about topic , repairing computer systems . There can be catastrophics damages caused to your system due to rugged usage and improper maintenance . Well, repairing those is not the end user's business,but we can always do minor repairs and maintenance ourselves,which in turn can save a lot of money . In india ( that's my native place) , they charge a premium for even minor repairs : like from Rs 400 and above ( that's around 10$)..If u know the stuff that i'm going to discuss below , maybe u can save that money. I'll list the procedure as steps :
1. Open your system cabinet (Assuming a normal atx cabinet) and remove all the dust with some sort of brush or a clean towel.
2. Now , u'll see a metal board with piles on it , that's the heat sink above the processor ( it can also have a fan on top for older models ) . Remove the fan and clean it , do the same to the heatsink ( This will magically improve the performance the next time u switch on ur pc , provided it is not infected).
3. If u have a well designed motherboard , u'll see the ram slots a bit away from the processor with one or two ram sticks on it . The ram sticks are easy to identify , even for a novice ,as they are clamped to the slots . Unclamp them and remove them. Using the edge of a smooth pencil eraser , rub the edges of the sticks and place them back.
4.Similarly , open the smps ( the power supply) and clean it. If u hav the confidence , u can also open the optical drives and clean the inside and the lense using isopropyl alcohol( only if the drive has started malfunctioning). That's it for now , cu later.
1 person likes this
2 responses
@icehut (508)
•
29 Jul 09
It's a bad idea to simply remove dust with a brush or towel. Wiping the components with a cloth can generate static that will fry delicate parts. The ideal way to remove dust is with a handheld blower as used for blowing dust off camera lenses. You could also use cans of compressed air, but you should be careful as the force of the air may break components. If you must use a brush, a high density nylon anti-static brush should be used. Rubbing electrical contacts should only be done where there's evidence of oxidation, otherwise you'll end up eroding the electrical contacts, rendering the part useless. Opening the PSU is not something anyone should just attempt - the capacitors inside hold residual voltage that can give you a nasty shock... ^_^
@aravindkrd (610)
• India
28 Jul 09
Yeah.. Its the first time that I'm finding a topic with some substance.. First up thnx for the tips. and Yes thats a very important point here in India.. that they charge a minimum service charge of 400 , 500Rs even for minor software repairs. You have everything clear cut in your question. and.. I have one suggestion for you. the question should have been "how to repair your system yourself". So that more people who donno about it will refer this. But this gets mistook as a helpdesk question.
Once again thank you for the quality content (its very rare in this website at times)
and keep posting good ones! 
