Don't Let Your Computer Bite The Dust
Dust is one of the worst things for your computer, but most people are
too afraid to open the box to blow it out. You would be surprised how
much dust can effect your computer.
Dust! Have you ever opened up your computer and noticed a healthy sheet
of dust dwelling inside? Well, if you live on Maui you probably know
the dust I'm talking about. The reddish cloud that disperses into the
air when you blow on it is genuine Maui dust! So why should this dust
concern you, and what can you do about it?
Normal dust finds its way to every surface. Not even the fans, floppy
disks, hard disks, and circuitry of our computers are safe from it.
Dust on a computer fan isn't necessarily catastrophic but if you notice
the fan has trouble spinning it's time to replace it. Floppy drives are
very vulnerable to dust because of their exposed nature. You may notice
strange errors or an outright failure of your floppy drive if it is
damaged. Hard drives are not nearly as forgiving as floppy drives. They
are built and sealed in a static and dust free environment but after
years of use it is possible for a grain of dust to find its way inside
the protective shell. Once inside the dust can easily send the
read/write mechanism to its demise by crashing it into the data section
of the disk spinning at up to 10,000 RPM. Unfortunately this destroys
both your hard disk and its data, and sometimes beyond repair! Now that
we have covered normal dust lets discuss Maui's dust.
Everyone knows that Maui's weather is unique, but did you know our dust
is equally unique? Maui's dust is heavily concentrated with iron. Iron
is a conductive, corrosive substance. Once it collects on electronic
components it eventually corrodes through the circuitry's protective
coating and then through the wires themselves. Unfortunately due to
today's advanced micro soldering techniques this type of damage is not
repairable. The entire board must be replaced! I've seen a vast amount
of computers bite the dust while working here on Maui. It's an
unfortunate but avoidable event. So how can you protect your computer
from dust here on Maui?
First , do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean you computer! The tiny dust
particles that pass over the plastic nozzle of your vacuum build a
static charge. If the static discharges on your computer (known as an
ESD or ElectroStatic Discharge) you are sure to destroy something. The
best way to clean your computer is to use compressed air that you can
purchase from Costco or any hardware store. The air will blow the dust
away without creating any harmful static. Another way to prevent dust
from getting to your computer is to cover it while it is turned off.
Those are the simplest ways to protect your computer from Maui dust and
it will help extend the life of your computer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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