Comments on: Fixing Computers

By: Mahesh

Mahesh — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:46:48 +0000

I prefer external USB HD Disks because sometimes online services like dropbox are hard to use in case of no-connectivity. Also most of the free subscriptions are not safe in case of dropbox or other programs, paid services on the other hand put customers on priority.
@Nic, I agree, my Pentium 4 box’s fan used to get overheat due to lot of dust.

By: a2251711

a2251711 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:51:19 +0000

The sound turned out to be coming from a malfunctioning hard disk, not from the audio system. Someone has made a video of the same problem.

By: Ealdwulf

Ealdwulf — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:19:08 +0000

A colleague had a most peculiar problem recently, which was that the computer would make an irritating beeping noise some of the time, for no obvious reason. The sound turned out to be coming from a malfunctioning hard disk, not from the audio system. Someone has made a video of the same problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9fLCRWlw4s

By: regehr

regehr — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:38:23 +0000

Nic, yeah, the dust bunnies inside a 5 yo computer could bite your head off, yuck! I often just assume there aren’t any loose parts and use a vacuum cleaner.

Daniel, I’m sure!

By: Nic

Nic — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:22:45 +0000

John, after fixing many computers, I’m convinced that 90% of consumer computer failures are due to dust. The worst cast I’ve encountered was a Pentium 4 laptop that was completely saturated. Given that a Pentium 4 gives off as much heat as a nuclear reactor, the thick fuzzy blanket of dust covering the heat sink caused an overheated auto-shutdown within minutes. 3 cans of duster later, the computer was fine!