Questions tagged [cleaning]

Physically cleaning computer hardware, both as maintenance and post-accident

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129 votes
25 answers
26k views

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 ...
Scott's user avatar
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89 votes
7 answers
16k views

Can I use vodka to clean my keyboard?

I spilled beer on my keyboard a while back, and some of the keys are sticky. It's driving me crazy, and I don't have any isopropyl. Can I use vodka to clean it?
user1068446's user avatar
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87 votes
5 answers
121k views

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 ...
Mike Weller's user avatar
79 votes
3 answers
42k views

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 ...
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71 votes
11 answers
25k views

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 ...
52 votes
18 answers
8k views

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 ...
AJ.'s user avatar
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51 votes
8 answers
4k views

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 ...
raven's user avatar
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41 votes
13 answers
81k views

What's the best way to get ants out of laptop keyboards?

What's the best way to gets ants out of a laptop?
wayne's user avatar
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32 votes
8 answers
7k views

Cleaning computer cables In the dishwasher

A large quantity of assorted computer cables came into my possession. The collection includes almost every type of computer-related cable (video, USB, Ethernet, printer, audio and speaker, SATA, ...
user58446's user avatar
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30 votes
13 answers
13k views

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 ...
Jonas's user avatar
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29 votes
6 answers
8k views

Best way to salvage SD cards exposed to salt water and contents of the lithium batteries?

So, right off the bat, I want to acknowledge that the data on these cards is likely lost to time. However, I am hoping someone may know some best practices to check for sure. I recently recovered some ...
etgriffiths's user avatar
27 votes
9 answers
141k views

How to remove keyboard grease?

I always wash my hands before using my computer, but after 2.5 years the keys have started getting a little greasy from my finger oils. What is the best way to clean this? EDIT: Clarification - it's ...
Nick Heiner's user avatar
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26 votes
6 answers
32k views

Cleaning a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 keyboard

This is one of the best keyboards for programmers. I read an article saying that running a keyboard through the dishwasher would clean it, but I'm unsure about a keyboard like this which has a faux ...
Clay Nichols's user avatar
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22 votes
4 answers
169k views

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 ...
user658091's user avatar
22 votes
3 answers
3k views

Greasy water in laptop's DIMM slot

I have a laptop that got some soup spilled onto it between the space bar and the touchpad. Almost all of the soup ended up in the upper DIMM slot which sits underneath the keyboard. I took the laptop ...
Boris B.'s user avatar
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21 votes
5 answers
31k views

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 ...
Tio's user avatar
  • 351
20 votes
6 answers
23k views

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 ...
ChrisInEdmonton's user avatar
17 votes
6 answers
73k views

How to physically clean a USB connector safely

I have a USB flash drive, and the male USB connector on it has gotten rather disgustingly sticky (lent it to colleague with small child, he let the child play with it (never again)) Can anyone ...
Kevin D's user avatar
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17 votes
2 answers
65k views

Is it safe to delete the Windows logs folder?

Is it safe to delete the contents of the following Windows logs folder: C:\Windows\Logs (OS: Windows Vista) Directory of c:\Windows\Logs 10-02-2009 21:23 <DIR> . 10-02-2009 21:...
Joshua's user avatar
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16 votes
4 answers
22k views

Can dust cause damage to my motherboard?

During the last few days, my screen froze a couple of times. After opening the chassis I discovered plenty of dust beneath my mother board. I wonder if that can cause short circuits.
Holy Sheet's user avatar
16 votes
3 answers
75k views

"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/...
Daniel Hanrahan's user avatar
15 votes
10 answers
10k views

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 ...
gabr's user avatar
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14 votes
11 answers
46k views

How to prevent a computer from becoming dusty? [closed]

What are your best tips and tricks for keeping your computer from getting dusty? Do you use fans made especially to keep out dust (and do they work?) Do you clean obsessively around your computer to ...
14 votes
1 answer
8k views

How should I clean these faint yellow spots on my display?

It happened two days ago. I thought I had unknowingly used my laptop without sanitizing my hands, so I had sprayed the sanitizer on the keyboard. After that, I closed the left my laptop unused for ...
Utkarsh Verma's user avatar
12 votes
2 answers
61k views

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 ...
Jeff Atwood's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
8k views

Washing electronics [closed]

I've read a related post, "Can you actually Wash a laptop?", but a more straightforward answer would be preferred (or if someone has actually done it). Consider a water contact with the motherboard ...
Mikhail's user avatar
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12 votes
5 answers
27k views

Isopropyl okay to use on MacBook screen?

I've always used a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water to clean my computer screens (50% water and 50% * 70% isopropyl). From what I understand, these are exactly the same ingredients ...
Archagon's user avatar
  • 922
11 votes
4 answers
12k views

How does dust affect a computer?

It is generally known that dust makes computers slower, and that cleaning out the dust regularly can make your computer run better. What I have not seen, is why this happens. From what I know dust ...
Eric Koslow's user avatar
11 votes
6 answers
7k views

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 ...
leeand00's user avatar
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10 votes
7 answers
22k views

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 ...
Axxmasterr's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
27k views

Is it okay to vacuum a laptop keyboard?

Is it okay to vacuum a laptop keyboard? Would it cause any damage?
dsafdsf's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
3k views

Are there any methods of "unyellowing" old beige PC parts?

I have some (really) old PC parts that I would like to repurpose for fun. However the beige plastic on some of them has yellowed due to heat or sun exposure. Is there any way to restore them back to ...
Keltari's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
35k views

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 ...
codeape's user avatar
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9 votes
4 answers
49k views

Is it safe to get dust out of a PC with an air blower?

I use an air blower to dust the inside of my PC every few months. I keep the PC fans from turning when doing this to avoid turning them into dynamos and possibly causing damage to the electronics. I'...
Manos Dilaverakis's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
624 views

Dusting Laptop keyboard

Is there a way to temporarily disable a laptop's keyboard in order to clean/dust it off, other than having to turn off the computer?
Jacques's user avatar
  • 439
7 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to uninstall applications when the system is missing uninstall meta data?

I have a computer where somebody seems to have deleted the uninstall meta data from Microsoft project and other apps. I really need to clean up all the crap in the registry and basically do the best ...
Richard's user avatar
  • 401
7 votes
4 answers
14k views

How can I keep my keyboard clean?

I know there are lots of articles out there on getting a keyboard clean, but I'd like to prevent my keyboard from getting nasty in the first place. The biggest problem isn't anything like food ...
Billy ONeal's user avatar
  • 8,271
7 votes
2 answers
14k views

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 ...
Sergiy Belozorov's user avatar
6 votes
7 answers
1k views

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?
TeeOh's user avatar
  • 353
6 votes
7 answers
3k views

How to clean a laptop screen?

I have a laptop that is about 2 years old, and the screen is getting very dirty, full of smudges from my fingers (yes, I know, I shouldn't touch the screen). The screen is not glass, it's soft and ...
Marius's user avatar
  • 720
6 votes
5 answers
41k views

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 ...
Pops's user avatar
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6 votes
9 answers
13k views

How should you clean your MacBook Pro?

Mac users are supposed to be vain and perhaps this question vindicates that assumption – I'm talking about physically cleaning the machine. The screen and the silvery surface tends to gather a lot ...
alok's user avatar
  • 408
6 votes
4 answers
17k views

Clean thermal paste from touch contact points on the underside of the CPU

I bought an used CPU (Intel "Core 2" E4700) on eBay and it came with the underside dirty with something that seems it´s thermal paste. Before I send it back, I wonder if it could it still work ...
Karolinger's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
756 views

Remove Possible Smoke Damage from a Desktop Computer

I had a fire in my house last week. I have several home brew computers that look like they have not received any actual fire or water damage. I've heard that the acidic qualities of the smoke may ...
TedNewk's user avatar
  • 71
6 votes
4 answers
2k views

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 ...
Enrico Tuvera Jr's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
329 views

How should I clean a DVD?

What's the best way to clean a DVD?
Casebash's user avatar
  • 7,477
5 votes
3 answers
4k views

How to get pasta sauce out of your keyboard [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How to clean a keyboard Possible Duplicate: How can laptop keyboard keys be removed and replaced? I was eating lasagna and it spilled all over the keyboard. This was ...
user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
266 views

Creating hard drive backup images efficiently

We are in the process of pruning our directories to recuperate some disk space. The 'algorithm' for the pruning/backup process consists of a list of directories and, for each one of them, a set of ...
Escualo's user avatar
  • 265
4 votes
8 answers
593 views

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 ...
metal gear solid's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
20k views

How to completely uninstall Jenkins from OS X

I tried to install Jenkins on my OS X, that was successfully but usage is not quite successful. So planning on complete/clean uninstall and redo it back. Any help on what all the traces of Jenkins ...
DJD's user avatar
  • 141