Hello To All

Just a comment to the group et al. When it comes to cooling think air
flow and in turn when you think of air flow think of air filters. Air
filters work be channeling air through smaller and smaller spaces so that
unwanted particles and debris are trapped and the air is thus cleaned.
Unfortunately the same technology applies to computers. The air needed for
cooling is pulled through your PC which contains any number of small spaces
that can also trap particles and debris. This is doubly so for laptops and
other small air cooled computing devices. Additionally any soluble
particles add a cohesiveness to the trapped materials that in turn helps to
trap other small particles that might other wise have passed through. The
end result is blocked air flow and over heating.

As a suggestion, take not of the airflow coming out of your machine when
it is new and relatively clean. File that info away in the back of your
brain and occasionally check it as time passes. If it seems noticeably
reduced, you might want to check you machine for any build up inside. Also
there is the possibility of a fan failure that means heat death to your
machine sooner or later. Yes, your PC will run without the fans, quieter
than ever, but not for very long.

Why do I care? Of late there have been a number of postings here and
else where relating to this as well as my personal experience of late with a
couple of repair jobs.

Additionally here are some common sources for additional junk showing up
inside of peoples computers, from my experience.

- Animal hair - Fluffy likes to curl up on the desk/floor in front of
the CPU. And the air intake on most PCs is where? Can you say PC dust
bunnies?

- Suggestion; keep your pets away from the computer CPU. The
chewing on cords issue is another matter.

- Smokers - I don't care what you smoke, partially oxygenated
hydrocarbons or THCs, they all have some oily components that cause them to
stick to computer parts and in turn help trap other dust and debris inside
your computer. This also applies to industrial/automotive environmental
smoke. You can see why a house full of smokers never has any thing pure
white around for long. Dude, when did you get the yellow phone?

- Suggestion; Try as much as possible to keep smoke away from your
PC. You don't even want to know what an old 80286 machine that has spent
all it's life as the brains of a motorcycle shops diagnostic hardware looks
like inside. Look up the tail pipe of any 90's automobile and you'll have
some idea though.

- Rugs & Carpeting - Fibers and cleaners both contribute to some serious
dust bunnies inside your machine. Cleaners are a serious issue if your
tower is on the floor in an office environment with a cleaning service.
They use some very strong chemicals to clean the carpets and if your machine
is on they will get sucked inside. Even if it is off cleaners rarely move
things and the cleaners will soak into the carpet and will then be sucked in
when you start it up later. I personally have acquired an old PII that came
from an office where it sat running pretty much 24/7 for a couple of years.
Since it worked fine, they didn't move it. The bottom of the case looks
like and old car at the junk yard with rust creeping up from the bottom and
a strong odor of rug cleaning solution that just won't go away.

- Suggestion; Keep your PC off the floor or at leas put it on a
short pedestal that raises it a couple of inches off the floor covering.

- Your vacuum cleaner. Older machines do not catch all small particles,
they just circulate them through the room. This also applies to machines
with over full bags and the usual gunk that escapes when you change the bag
or open the collection bin to empty it.

- Suggestion; Get a new machine or use HEPA filter bags. Follow
the manufacturers directions on when to change the bags. Don't change the
bag or open the collection bin near your PC.

KC