Questions tagged [cleaning]
Physically cleaning computer hardware, both as maintenance and post-accident
33
questions
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6
answers
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What's using up my disk space?
My Vista 64 installation has drive C, a 150 GB hard drive. I also has a 1.5 TB drive D. My C drive has 12.3 GB free. I don't know what's using up all the space. There's almost 83 GB unaccounted ...
30
votes
13
answers
13k
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How do I clean dust from a computer?
As computers become faster and generate more heat it gets more important to have good ventilation, but that also increases the amount of dust sticking to the components of the computer. It's of course ...
15
votes
10
answers
10k
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How to clean a keyboard
My keyboard is a) full of dust and other particles that are flying around us (hair, skin parts etc) and b) very dirty (keys are not white anymore but dark gray - except on keytops where my fingers are ...
11
votes
6
answers
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Tips for getting latte or soda out of your keyboard?
For the first time in my entire life yesterday, I accidentally spilled some latte in my ergonomic keyboard.
The keys are starting to stick a bit now, and I was just wondering if there was some way to ...
52
votes
18
answers
8k
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What is the best way to clean an LCD monitor?
I have loads of grubby finger marks on my monitor (mine and smaller people's). I'm not sure how to clean them off without damaging the monitor.
What's the best way to safely clean dust, smudges and ...
51
votes
8
answers
4k
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Can I put keyboards in the dishwasher?
After a few years, keyboards develop a fine patina of what I refer to as "hand jam". I've heard that they can be safely cleaned in the dishwasher as long as you let them thoroughly dry out (like for ...
87
votes
5
answers
121k
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Removing dead thunderflies stuck inside an LCD monitor
This summer my flat was "attacked" by hundreds of tiny thunderflies, some of which managed to get behind the screen of my LCD. A few of the cursed creatures went and died right in the middle of the ...
79
votes
3
answers
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I washed my USB drive. Any long-term risks?
I accidentally left a USB flash drive in my clothes, which was then washed with my laundry. This was a colored load, hot water.
The drive survived just fine and was very clean. All data was still ...
22
votes
4
answers
169k
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How do I clean my computer using isopropyl alcohol?
I bought a spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol, but I'm having a hard time to figure out how to use it to clean my computer.
My two concerns are:
Can I just spray it onto the motherboard? Or should I ...
6
votes
7
answers
1k
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How should I choose a screen cleaning solution?
I saw the thread about cleaning screens with distilled water and a microfiber cloth, but if I want to get a specialized screen cleaning solution, what factors/properties should I look for?
71
votes
11
answers
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Suck or blow? What's better for dust?
The guy at the local PC hardware store told me it's better to use a small hand-held leaf blower to blow dust out of your PC case than a hand-held vacuum cleaner. Why is this? I understand that fans ...
21
votes
5
answers
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How can I remove the smell of cigarettes from my computer?
I'm a smoker, and of course I smoke in front of the computer when I'm at home.
Last Friday I moved out from my mother's house to my own, and since the computers were always turned on and the room was ...
9
votes
3
answers
35k
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Do I risk destroying the fan if I use a vacuum cleaner on my laptop?
To get rid of dust that had gathered near the fan, I put a vacuum cleaner to the air intake (with the computer turned off).
This removed the dust.
It also caused the fan to rotate at a fairly high ...
2
votes
2
answers
5k
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How to clean/what to do about getting liquid form of compressed air cleaner on computer equipment?
I'm a little worried. I was using some compressed air cleaner (to be specific, Office Depot® Brand Cleaning Duster) to try to blow the dust off some dusty parts of my computer. The instructions are ...
1
vote
1
answer
2k
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Unpacking a laptop touchpad to clean the keys
How can I get to and remove the touchpad buttons on my laptop in order to try and clean them and the area around the buttons?
I have an Acer laptop and I think I have a hardware problem where ...
129
votes
25
answers
26k
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How to find and remove "spicy" media files from my PC [closed]
I have an embarrassing problem: during my younger and wilder days, I used to download a certain type of movie clips and pictures. The combination of youthful foolishness and a couple of beers ...
16
votes
3
answers
74k
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"Air Duster" sprays - are they safe for hardware?
I picked up a can of Air Duster spray to clean an old laptop. It lists no ingredients, so I figured it was just compressed air. But when I spray it, it's a liquid that smells somewhat like alcohol/...
12
votes
2
answers
61k
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How do I safely remove keys from a keyboard?
I have a custom key I want to use on my new Deck keyboard, but I'm unclear how to safely remove existing keys from the keyboard without damaging them in the process.
Should I use a special tool? A ...
10
votes
7
answers
22k
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How often should I dust the inside of my computer?
I would like to avoid frying my computer. I understand dust collects inside on the boards and the CPU cooling unit. How often should I open up the chassis and what process should I use to safely ...
7
votes
2
answers
14k
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How to clean a keyboard in Toshiba laptop?
I have Toshiba Satellite Pro P300-1CG with slim keyboard. I haven't spilled anything major on it, but I often eat in front of the laptop while watching some videos. Therefore small drops of milk and ...
6
votes
5
answers
41k
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How can laptop keyboard keys be removed and replaced?
I'm trying to fix a laptop keyboard that has issues with keys on its left side. Just by feel, it's clear that something sticky got under there. There could be something crunchy too, but that might ...
6
votes
4
answers
2k
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Water damaged parts, is there any chance of recovery?
I live in the Philippines and our house here was one of the many that was submerged by the flash floods that Typhoon Ketsana brought. We moved one of our computers from the first to the second floor ...
4
votes
4
answers
7k
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What is the best way to clean your dvd-burner?
What is the best way to clean your dvd-burner?
4
votes
8
answers
593
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What things should I run daily, weekly, monthly on my Windows machine?
What things should I run daily, weekly, monthly on my Windows XP machine?
De fragmentation
Scan-disk
Full system scan
Disk clean up
Trojan checker
malware remover
or any other thing...
And should I ...
4
votes
3
answers
21k
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PC cleaning: why is vacuuming a static electricity risk to internal components but not using compressed air?
Both involve using moving air to remove dust and other debris- so why the stigma around using a vacuum cleaner nozzle?
In both cases you are just moving air (negative vs positive pressure), so the ...
3
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Can you actually Wash a laptop? [closed]
I remember Joel mentioning it on a the stackoverflow podcast that you could wash a laptop under a tap.
Has anyone done this? Is there not parts that would just rust up when drying the laptop?
3
votes
2
answers
2k
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What is a good tool to scrub MetaData from files? [closed]
I am curious if there is a good program that will remove MetaData from multiple document types? Some programs have a "prepare document" feature but it generally only applies to one file type or ...
1
vote
1
answer
2k
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Cleaning Canon's print head tips
Printer in question: Canon Pixma iP3300 ... a relatively low grade model printer (otherwise, I wouldn't be doing something like this), has a removable print head, and 4 cartridges that fit inside (C, ...
1
vote
2
answers
9k
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Method/product for cleaning cigarette smoke off of LCDs?
OK, I admit I am a smoker. Im trying to quit, its hard though...
So I have several LCD monitors that have accumulated grime from cigarette smoke over the years. Every so often I take a soft cloth ...
1
vote
1
answer
627
views
Clean Print Cartridge Heads
I have a HP printer and I remember that on Windows XP the drivers had a section to clean printer head cartridges. On Windows Vista, I don't have this option.
Do you know any general software which ...
0
votes
2
answers
17k
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Is it safe to soak a motherboard in vinegar?
Some older motherboards have batteries that will leak over time. Obviously this can cause damage to the motherboard. I read on the interwebs that to clean up the leakage, one could:
take the ...
0
votes
2
answers
8k
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how to remove registry keys of recently uninstalled programs in revo uninstaller pro
I used pc decrapifier to uninstall lots of programs because revo uninstaller takes a lot of your time just to uninstall a single program. Can I remove the registry keys and folders left behind by pc ...
-3
votes
1
answer
290
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Using Isopropyl alcohol to clean SSD, CPU/GPU sockets [closed]
Wanted to ask after reading this other question.
there are visible signs of moisture on or bear components of a laptop after the machine was exposed to steam/water vapor and you are concerned about ...