LOL :-) BTW, OtheHill, is there any truth to someone's assertion to "be careful not to cause the fans to spin. It can cause damage"? i_XpUser

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I guess if you were to get a fan up to 50 or 100 thousand RPM you would probably damage it. I have old blowguns with 1/8" pipe on the end so lots of air comes out. I keep the gun far enough away so that you don't blow the cables out of the sockets, etc. I do get the fans going alot faster than they normally run and the only fan I have ever had fail on me was one that had never been blown out. I guess common sense is needed here. BTW, I buy BB fans, sleeve bearings will eventually need lubrication. Blow hard enough to get the dust out. If the computer is at a kitchen desk location or as was mentioned, heavy smokers are using the machine, I suppose more drastic measures are needed. No smoking allowed in my home at all.

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I imagine that spinning a fan at very high rpm for quite some time could damage it but don't feel it's anything to worry about when doing a normal cleaning. If a blast of air kills a fan, I'd have to think it was a pos to begin with. More pics of dirty machines: http://www.halfdone.com/Personal/Job/Pictures/ScrewUps/ Skip

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OtheHill, Good points as always. Probably worth holding the fan still with a q-tip or popsicle stick. Not only to avoid stress testing the bearings, but to blow the blades clean. M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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Actually I prefer to let it rotate. I feel this causes turbulance that helps clean the places you can't reach. Mainly the inside of the PSU and the fan cage in the lower front of the case. They get clean with my compressor. Maybe with canned air they wouldn't. Trial and error here. I usually blow from both directions if possible. Also the backside of the fan blades may be hard to reach but if the bleade is rotating fast enough the dust WILL come loose.

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A fan is a small motor and as such can be a small generator. Spinning it up too much can cause back EMF problems. Get it spinning fast enough and you can risk component damage. Whether or not this occurs before the fan itself is physically damaged is dependant on the motherboard's design. I usually use a one inch paint brush. It does nearly as good a job as compressed air and is unbeatable for portability. Not only that, but as a field engineer, when the customer sees you carefully brushing away the dust, it instills an aura of competence!

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...it instills an aura of competence! I like that! i_XpUser

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Yes it's a sad fact. In field work, 90% of the difference between what a customer perceives as a really good tech and a poor one is showmanship. It makes a world of difference when a customer rings and appologises for breaking it again, even on a refault, as opposed to the demand the you get it right this time.

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I've done everything I can to install an aura of competence with no luck at all. I feel I'm either a: 1. Moron 2. A bad actor 3. A real field engineer 4. Sober Any other suggestins? I'm 55 and need to get on with my life. Skip

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SkipCox, Remember, if you fix more than you break, you're a great technician. Remember also that a good tech never says UH OH. Where something weird happens s/he says , AH interesting. M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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Hey Skip, Point 4 can be a real handicap. Alas a necessary one.

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Try this line in your config: aura=on, bright M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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just like to add and i will try to get some pics up. just scrapped a 450mhz old dell pc that was in the workshop of a concrete casting works. it makes the pc in this article look brand new Athlon xp 2500+ @2.17 pc 3200 512mb ram radeon 9200se win xp home oem

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I use a shop vac and a clean soft bristle paint brush as I brush the dust off the parts the vacume is held a few inches away and sucks the dust right from the air, as for static... ahh interesting.

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Yeah, somehow PCs and Portland cement don't MIX. ;) M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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A point to bear in mind with using compressed air from a tank/compressor outfit is you really need a moisture trap in the air line. I used to see a lot of crap (oil/water emulsion) coming out of the nozzle when I was a mechanic, even with a moisture trap fitted it wasn`t entirely eliminated silica gel in the trap can help too just dry the sachets out accasionally. Woof Curiosity may have killed the cat but at least the cat wasn`t bored

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A plunger works well too.

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Woof, Good point about oil and water. I've got a 'divers emergency air tank' so if I got it filled at a scuba shop it should be clean. Gee, I wonder how fast a CPU dan would spin if I hit it with 3000 psi air. ;( doooooooooo M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

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