Many computer users skip routine maintenance

• Enough dust inside to fill the tech's hand-held vacuum
• A family of cockroaches living quite comfortably, thankyouverymuch
• A bee's nest. Yes, a bee's nest. You know, those flying things that go "bzzzz" and sting you? A nest of those.
  

• Keep your antivirus software up to date. Only a third of the 105 techs reported their customers had the current versions.
• If you have a Windows computer, use Windows Disk Cleanup to safely get rid of temporary files.
• Keep your computer in a well-ventilated area and clear out any dust or dirt that's gotten into the case.
• Defragment your hard drive regularly; it organizes your hard drive to maximize your performance
• Check regularly for updates to your OS, whether it be Windows, Mac, Linux or other, and make sure you download any security patches.
• Back up stuff that's hard or impossible to replace - photos, music, important files - on an external hard drive or flash drive. More than 85 percent of the techs said virtually none of their customers backed up data.
  

One word - vacuum. It could save your PC's life...

bees nest in ur comp. thats a lil too hard for me to believe.

I think it could be true. I have seen some funky computers. The roach thing I have seen first hand and dust layered so thick that you can't actually see any of the stuff inside. Just brown dust in the shape of graphics cards and motherboards.

I could see it no problem... mouse nests as well...

SqUiD267:

bees nest in ur comp. thats a lil too hard for me to believe.

 

I have seen some pretty nasty stuff under folks' desks.  I think anything is possible.  Remember the old tech support line stories with the lady calling in saying her computers "slide out coffee coaster" broke?  

Along similar lines to keeping up on security patches, it never hurts to run one of those "driver scanning" services as well.  Chances are very good for instance that your video card's software is going through regular updates.  Staying up to date on those is certainly a good thing to get the max performance.  I've heard that laptop suspend problems can be tracked back to video drivers, but I've yet to find the connection.

There's a bunch of sites that do driver scanning and downloads including http://driveragent.com, driverdetective.com, driverguide.com  ...  I sense a pattern :)

Aww, c'mon, a bee's nest? Maybe if the computer was in the shed out back...unused! Let them just try to nest in my Pentium 4 test-rig...I'll roast their little thorax's.  

Why have a PC if you don't want to take care of it?

It is a very bad idea to use a domestic hand-held vacuum cleaner on a PC. The airflow over the plastic nozzle creates a vast amount of static electricity which can fry the circuits. Personally, I use a small, natural bristle, paint brush.

I just took a leaf blower to my case a couple weeks ago, as part of my normal maintainance.  It does wonders.  But I must recommend against it because it is dangerous since you might accidently blow a lose part like a screw into a vital component.  Whatever way you do it, just make sure you always periodically clean your case.

When I was but a young boy working for a computer repair company that shall remain nameless, we had a repeat customer who was always having problems. Things would work fine when we looked at it, but she always said it wouldn't start up or something else wouldn't be working. We assumed it was related to the yellow-stained dust we always found in the computer. We dismissed it as a smoker's pc.

One day, I had the misfortune of working on her pc (which was unbelievably nasty looking and smelling). I start up her pc and get to a BIOS password prompt. I say, "can you tell me what the password is?" She says, "Sure, it's 'cat1pee'," spelling it out for me.

"That's an interesting password. Do your cats pee all over the house?" I innocently inquire.

"No, we let them pee in there. We leave the case open and they just get in it and pee."

Eww, wtf??

Trust me, I'd rather not be able to tell that story. I took a very long bleaching that night.

RonnyGunz:

Trust me, I'd rather not be able to tell that story. I took a very long bleaching that night.

That is just crazy... I mean why even spend money trying to get it fixed?  Certifiable...

I found a dead mouse in a PC once. He had Peed on the graphics card and was fried whilst doing it.

realneil:

I found a dead mouse in a PC once. He had Peed on the graphics card and was fried whilst doing it.

Serves him right!

I haven't had a horror story and plan to keep it that way.  Keep my rig clean and my parents' (when I'm home that is.)

tanka12345:

Why have a PC if you don't want to take care of it?

 I agree why even bother these things are expensive and if your an enthuasiast even worse. Thats no different than having a shower and not using it, Well except for the SMELL! LOL!  I would,nt allow mine to get like that that does nothing but build up heat and shorten the life of your RIG! If I want to do that I,ll OC it then I,ll at least have some bragging rights!

my case is never closed long enough to collect dust..

Riks:

my case is never closed long enough to collect dust..

 Thats true  just cant stay out of there! You would think I kept my Beer in there!LOL