[swarfendor43]

... dust creatures and mummified frogs

swarfendor43

[Ghozer]

The frog is amazing, but really, I have seen much worse dust creatures in my time, and i'll agree that smokers PC's are horrid.. had one recently, the case was yellow (Should have been white) and it had about 1/2 inch layer of dust over everything internally, but it was yellow dust from the people smoking :/

its horrid to work on a machine like that - I just gave it up for lost (As it was an old Duron or PII machine or sommat like that any ways) and told them to scrap it.

[swarfendor43]

Originally Posted by Ghozer

... and told them to scrap it.

Did that include their habit? And the better performance PC they could have bought if they didn't chain smoke? I do have some sympathy with smokers - especially after the film with Russell Crowe playing the guy who spilled the beans of what Tobacco companies were up to in the Nineties - speeding up Nicotine fixes, although I find cigarette smoke very irritating - I can smell someone smoking 200 yards away down wind probably due to exposure to 'passive smoking' in the past - in my second job I had, when you entered the boss's office there would be a 'fog' hanging above his desk, same when I was a Community Councillor - the Chair was a chain smoker and I would always feel ill with dry eyes afterward.

As a teenager (a long time ago) I used to do some shopping at the weekend for two people who smoked 20-40 a day - I worked out that on what they spent in a year could have bought a moped of the day!

swarfendor43

[sidbobs]

I cleaned one out this week that was as bad as some of those, cpu fan and gpu fan both burnt out with being so clogged up with dust....who needs a Dyson eh?

[segasonic]

Some of those pics are amazing! Glad my PC has an air filter.

[hitchhiker]

I've had a few computers from engineering companies in my time and these are the worst I've ever seen! Oily and thick with dust and spider webs!

[swarfendor43]

Interesting comments Ghozer which has triggered another memory.

My dear departed Dad used to smoke a pipe on an occasional basis and gave it up some 6 months before he was taken ill (many years before he departed I might add) and the GP had asked if he had been smoking as he discovered a 'spot' on his lung - it came to him after the Doctor had visited he cleaned the games room window of a local political club to where he lived (he was the local window cleaner for 33 years) and it was thick with nicotine. So yes there are health issues involved.

swarfendor43

[Frohike]

Those pictures are quite, well, filthy! But, for those of us who are not so savvy with a computer (me) what can we do? I must admit, once a month I do hoover around the 'dusty vents' is that enough????

[sidbobs]

Originally Posted by Frohike

Those pictures are quite, well, filthy! But, for those of us who are not so savvy with a computer (me) what can we do? I must admit, once a month I do hoover around the 'dusty vents' is that enough????

Compressed air is what you want, that way all you have to do is take off the side and blast it, without actually touching any components inside the case

You can get it from most places these days, nearly all computer shops will sell it and even places like asda stock it now

[swarfendor43]

I have been known to use one of these before now:

http://www.mrpcclean.co.uk/keyboard-vacuum-p-122.html

and not limited it to the keyboard!

swarfendor43

[Frohike]

Originally Posted by swarfendor43

I have been known to use one of these before now:

http://www.mrpcclean.co.uk/keyboard-vacuum-p-122.html

and not limited it to the keyboard!

swarfendor43

I tend to turn the keyboard over and bang it - the bits fall out!!

[Frohike]

Originally Posted by sidbobs

Compressed air is what you want, that way all you have to do is take off the side and blast it, without actually touching any components inside the case

You can get it from most places these days, nearly all computer shops will sell it and even places like asda stock it now

Thats the bit Im uneasy about! Taking a screwdriver to my computer, with my luck it wouldn't work after.....

[swarfendor43]

Originally Posted by Frohike

I tend to turn the keyboard over and bang it - the bits fall out!!

If I do that with mine (wireless) it shuts down the PC!

swarfendor43

[Trickle]

Some of those pictures are unbelievable. But you couldnt manage to artificially arrange dust like that to fake them. The builders site one I can understand, but are the rest used in cellars for 10 years?

[Ghozer]

Originally Posted by Trickle

Some of those pictures are unbelievable. But you couldnt manage to artificially arrange dust like that to fake them. The builders site one I can understand, but are the rest used in cellars for 10 years?

Nah, usually wooden and laminate floors in offices or peoples houses, since dust and hair has no where else to go (no carpet to settle in to) it gets sucked in by the fans...

[RiffRaff]

A few years ago I worked for a York-based limestone quarry company, and had troubleshoot PC problems at their sites...and you should've seen some of their PC's!
Limestone dust gets everywhere...and I mean everywhere!
They also used OKI dot matrix printers for their delivery notes etc., and they were truly regarded as disposable items....we didn't bother cleaning, just replaced with new every 2/3 months....

[sccsux]

Originally Posted by hitchhiker

thick with dust and spider webs!

Spiders are good for windows PCs; they eat all the bugs

[Space]

I clean mine out every 6 months with the airline at work, then remove the heatsink and wash it and re-apply with the thermal paste and take out all the fans and use a cotton bud to clean them all over.

Works like a dream.

When this one blows up, I might be investing in an iMac Pro. Does anyone know if those have fans built inside them, or are they gel/water cooled?

[coop]

I used to work in the tropics and had to repair lots of gear from houses etc that were just shacks. The first thing I did before opening them, was to spray the insides with Mortein or Baygon and then watch the coickroaches and other insects running out.