[I]Computer surgery

[GaryN]

Hmmmm. been noticing this system slowing down and getting overheated so I
had the side off it for a look (computer technician me![1]) Cooling fans
all clogged up with muck.

Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the cooling
system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable practice but it
seems to have worked!

gary

[1] Actually I really am trained and qualified.

--
"When California slides into the ocean, like the mystics and statistics say
it will
I predict this motel will be standing
Until I pay my bill"

Warren Zevon.

[Nigel Stapley]

GaryN wrote:
> Hmmmm. been noticing this system slowing down and getting overheated so I
> had the side off it for a look (computer technician me![1]) Cooling fans
> all clogged up with muck.
>
> Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the cooling
> system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable practice but it
> seems to have worked!
>
> gary
>
> [1] Actually I really am trained and qualified.
>

I clean mine out four times a year...

...except that I didn't realise for a while that the GPU card had its
own fan (it's underneath the card, and the card is bottom-most on the
MB). When I did realise, it took a bit of cleaning.

Similarly, when I did my last clean (a couple of weeks ago), I realised
that, in the 4.5 years I've had this rig, I had never cleaned the PSU
fan. A lot of very fine dust came out and floated out over the carpet.

The trouble with fans is that shit tends to hit them...

--
Regards

Nigel Stapley

www.thejudge.me.uk

<reply-to will bounce>

[jester]

On Sat, 05 May 2012 10:20:06 -0500, GaryN
<webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk> wrote:
<snip>

>Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the cooling
>system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable

It's usually a Gerber or Leatherman :-)

--
Andy Brown
First they came for the verbs, and I said nothing because verbing weirds
language. Then they arrival for the nouns, and I speech nothing because
I no verbs. - Peter Ellis on afp

[Denis McMahon]

On Sat, 05 May 2012 23:00:10 +0000, jester wrote:

> On Sat, 05 May 2012 10:20:06 -0500, GaryN <webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk>
> wrote:
> <snip>
>>Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the
>>cooling system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable
>
> It's usually a Gerber or Leatherman :-)

Mines a Victorinox SwissTool tyvm. :)

Rgds

Denis McMahon

[GaryN]

Denis McMahon <denismf...@gmail.com> wrote in news:4fa5baad$0$2905
$a826...@newsreader.readnews.com:

I'm so happy to be a denizen of a ng where a small knife is regarded as
a tool rather than a weapon!

I like the Buck (original pattern brass frame, hardwood fittings,
stainless steel blade) because in extremis you can use it, blade closed,
as a hammer; quite effectively[1] without breaking it. And you get a
heavy leather belt pouch which goes well with my heavy leather belt
(biker - have to stay in character).

I have yet to find a way of breaking one short of a blast furnace.

My spare is at the SO's place "Tidied up" somewhere - it'll turn up when
it's ready, and another one is at the bottom of the Royal Military
Canal. But that's a different story.

I'm old fashioned. Buy the best you can and it'll see you right. Look
after your boots and they'll look after you[2].

gary

[1] Yes I have done that and the knife bears the scars.
[2] The pair I'm wearing are 8 years old and comfortable, Magnum
Standard boots for them as care.

--
"If it's political it ain't correct mate, those two words don't fucking
fit"

Kevin Bloody Wilson.

[John S. Wilkins]

GaryN <webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk> wrote:

> Hmmmm. been noticing this system slowing down and getting overheated so I
> had the side off it for a look (computer technician me![1]) Cooling fans
> all clogged up with muck.
>
> Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the cooling
> system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable practice but it
> seems to have worked!
>
> gary
>
> [1] Actually I really am trained and qualified.

We used to vacuum the motherboards of our computers because the office
aircon made everything very dusty. We had one Mac that would just
restart for no reason - when we opened it we found there was a pile of
dust on the switch due to static electricity, and it would short the
power out from time to time...
--
John S. Wilkins, Associate, Philosophy, University of Sydney
http://evolvingthoughts.net
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre

[Nigel Stapley]

John S. Wilkins wrote:
> GaryN <webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk> wrote:
>
>> Hmmmm. been noticing this system slowing down and getting overheated so I
>> had the side off it for a look (computer technician me![1]) Cooling fans
>> all clogged up with muck.
>>
>> Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the cooling
>> system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable practice but it
>> seems to have worked!
>>
>> gary
>>
>> [1] Actually I really am trained and qualified.
>
> We used to vacuum the motherboards of our computers because the office
> aircon made everything very dusty. We had one Mac that would just
> restart for no reason - when we opened it we found there was a pile of
> dust on the switch due to static electricity, and it would short the
> power out from time to time...

The following links contain pictures of horror and degradation:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/13/ventblockers/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/26/ventblockers_2/

[Free Lunch]

On Sun, 06 May 2012 12:28:41 +0100, Nigel Stapley
<un...@judgemental.plus.com> wrote in alt.fan.pratchett:

I go for this one myself:
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/03/ventblockers_frog/>

[GaryN]

Free Lunch <lu...@nofreelunch.us> wrote in
news:062dq7hcee6i0t0fu...@4ax.com:

<snip>

> I go for this one myself:
> <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/03/ventblockers_frog/>

I did find a fish inside a server unit when working disaster recovery in
Scotland. The unit had, admittedly, been under 12 feet of water for a
couple of days but how the hell the fish got into it was a mystery.

gary

[kegs]

GaryN <webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk> wrote:
> Free Lunch <lu...@nofreelunch.us> wrote in
> news:062dq7hcee6i0t0fu...@4ax.com:
>
> <snip>
>
>> I go for this one myself:
>> <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/03/ventblockers_frog/>
>
> I did find a fish inside a server unit when working disaster recovery in
> Scotland. The unit had, admittedly, been under 12 feet of water for a
> couple of days but how the hell the fish got into it was a mystery.

I could throw in the story about the mouse that took down a main router of
the west Cornwall wireless broadband network, but I'm not sure that statute
of limitations has passed on that one ;)

Oh and hi them as remembers me from the old days

--
james(dot)keasley(at)gmail(dot)com

[SteveD]

On Sun, 06 May 2012 09:33:30 -0500, GaryN <webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk>
wrote:

>The unit had, admittedly, been under 12 feet of water for a
>couple of days but how the hell the fish got into it was a mystery.

Streaming media?

[GaryN]

kegs <m...@privacy.net> wrote in
news:698137713358124405....@news.virginmedia.com:

Hi kegs, nice to see you again. A few of the old crew drop in on an ad-hoc
basis and it's always good to see old faces returning, even if only
intermittently.

[John S. Wilkins]

It was chasing after bugs.

[Nigel Stapley]

GaryN wrote:
> Free Lunch <lu...@nofreelunch.us> wrote in
> news:062dq7hcee6i0t0fu...@4ax.com:
>
> <snip>
>
>> I go for this one myself:
>> <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/03/ventblockers_frog/>
>
> I did find a fish inside a server unit when working disaster recovery in
> Scotland. The unit had, admittedly, been under 12 feet of water for a
> couple of days but how the hell the fish got into it was a mystery.
>

Looking for chips? With cooling fins?

(Yeah, yeah, I know - it's all Abalone)

(Cue Paul J with more excerpts from Kip Addotta's most famous track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1GvDWtccI )

[ppint. at pplay]

- hi; in article,
<t1vhq79kinn9oa687...@4ax.com> use...@vo.id.au,
"SteveD" cast a cute fly:

>>The unit had, admittedly, been under 12 feet of water for a
>>couple of days but how the hell the fish got into it was a mystery.
>
>Streaming media?

- and it were a river port, that's a route as could be taken
by demonic, or any open-licence angler's turning to pike...

- love, ppint."but they'd have to look through [any] windows"
[drop the "v", and change the "f" to a "g", to email or cc.]
--
"It was the lutefisk. Can't have good sex without lutefisk."
- eric d. berge on rasfwr 29/5/00 (5/29/00 for merkins)

[GaryN]

v$af$pp...@i-m-t.demon.co.uk ("ppint. at pplay") wrote in
news:20120508.132...@i-m-t.demon.co.uk:

> - hi; in article,
> <t1vhq79kinn9oa687...@4ax.com> use...@vo.id.au,
> "SteveD" cast a cute fly:
>>>The unit had, admittedly, been under 12 feet of water for a
>>>couple of days but how the hell the fish got into it was a mystery.
>>
>>Streaming media?
>
> - and it were a river port, that's a route as could be taken
> by demonic, or any open-licence angler's turning to pike...
>
> - love, ppint."but they'd have to look through [any] windows"
> [drop the "v", and change the "f" to a "g", to email or cc.]

Since the flood was in Elgin I assume it was a Greek fish trying to regain
it's marbles.

[GaryN]

A.Reader <anony...@example.com> wrote in
news:g62jq7ta6gb0khphf...@4ax.com:

> On Sun, 6 May 2012 11:56:38 +1000,
> jo...@wilkins.id.au (John S. Wilkins) wrote:
>
>>GaryN <webm...@oxtoyrun.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> Hmmmm. been noticing this system slowing down and getting
>>> overheated so I had the side off it for a look (computer technician
>>> me![1]) Cooling fans all clogged up with muck.
>>>
>>> Not sure if scraping crap off the fan blades and the vanes of the
>>> cooling system with a Buck Knife is generally considered acceptable
>>> practice but it seems to have worked!
>>>
>>> gary
>>>
>>> [1] Actually I really am trained and qualified.
>>
>>We used to vacuum the motherboards of our computers because the office
>>aircon made everything very dusty. We had one Mac that would just
>>restart for no reason - when we opened it we found there was a pile of
>>dust on the switch due to static electricity, and it would short the
>>power out from time to time...
>

> For them as uses expensive bottled-air to dust out their
> computers, I can personally recommend the Metro electric duster
> as an alternative.
>
> You can get it via Amazon (and perhaps directly from Metro too)
> for about the price of 10 bottles of compressed air.
>
> It's hand-held (heavy little sod) has a 500W motor, comes with a
> full array of focusing tools, and your biggest worry will be
> keeping it from blowing not only the dust off the boards but the
> chips too. It's powerful.
>
> They also sell a vac based on the same motor, housing, etc. I
> imagine it's for those who want to suck the chips off the boards
> rather than blow them off.
>

Dunno about that. I bought an airbrush compressor set on a cheap deal
so I can paint the 1:24 scale Spitfire and 1:38 FW kits properly *and*,
after cleaning the airbrush, blow the crap out of the computer system.

Fortunately I was able to rescue said item before the SO "Tidied it
up" - still can't find the bloody sledgehammer and brishook that
suffered that fate.

Her place is tidy, mine is a tip. But we can actually find what we need
here.