AnimeSuki Forums

Candy72 · 2006-01-22, 18:27

My cousin wanted me to look at his computer. One of the things I noticed is that when I turned the computer off, I couldn't turn it back on without first completely cutting the power supply(unplugging from the wall). Another thing I noticed is that the time was 30 minutes late. A fixed the time for him before a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if it's him messing around with it or a possible hardware issue.

Please let me know if you have any advice on what might be causing this. The windows files are pretty dmg so i'm going to do a format to fix that. The inside is dust filled.. possible the worse I've seen.. though I haven't seen many I admit. I'm going to try cleaning that out tomorrow to see if that helps anything. Should I use a can of air.. or is there something better I could use for bigger problems?

TheFluff · 2006-01-22, 21:58

Seems like the clock battery is flaking out, which means you need to replace it.
For dust, a normal vacuum cleaner should do (but BE CAREFUL so you don't break stuff).

Kimura-sensei · 2006-01-23, 10:16

NOOOO... NEVER use vacuum to remove dust. Vacuum cleaners emit a huge amount of static electricity that will damage your motherboard and other components. If there's tons of dust, bring the PC outside, and use compressed air to blow the dust out.

As for the problem... either the dust or the CMOS battery is the issue. A large collection of dust retains static electricity that can interfere with a computer from powering up. I've "fixed" 3 computers by blowing the dust out.

Komataguri · 2006-01-23, 11:00

Or you could just take a deep breath of air and blow the crap off the Mobo yourself.

Not that hard to do as long as the dust isn't caked on with 10 years of smoking tar and grease.

Ledgem · 2006-01-23, 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Komataguri

Or you could just take a deep breath of air and blow the crap off the Mobo yourself.

Not recommended for people who have poor control over their saliva.

I'm being serious.

BTW, booo Komataguri, you changed your avatar from something sexy to something not sexy.

Candy72 · 2006-01-24, 03:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimura-sensei

If there's tons of dust, bring the PC outside, and use compressed air to blow the dust out.

I figured it could be the dust causing it. And I wasn't going to use the vaccum clearner no matter how logcial that sounds. Something about vaccum cleaning a computer just doesn't seem right.

However, I ran into a problem. I can't seem to get the freakin case open. I've tried, my friends have tried. Directions are written on the back of the case but try as we may the case does not/ will not open or show any signs of trying to do so. I really hate cases like that.

Someone upgraded the computer before selling it to him from what it looks like. The only thing they seem to have left was the 13.9 gig hard drive. I can't even imagine the amount of evilness behind a mind that sells someone a 13.9 gig hard drive computer with a dvd burner. Apparently they knew the DVD burner would sell and he'd have no clue on how much space he was getting on his hard drive.

It's a compaq 5bw120. And it looks like the side of the case should just slide back.

RaistlinMajere · 2006-01-24, 14:21

Dust doesn't hurt computers unless it stops mechanical parts (IE fans) from moving. Kimura-sensei is right about static, but if you want, you can blow the dust with air and use a vacuum right outside the case to catch it. Just don't put the vacuum INSIDE the case.

Anyone who upgrades a computer and leaves a HD that old shouldn't be building computers. It would have been better to upgrade the HD in the old computer before upgrading the rest. Hard drives are the biggest bottleneck in a computer.

2006-01-22, 18:27	Link #1
Candy72 Member Join Date: Jan 2006	Bad Mobo? My cousin wanted me to look at his computer. One of the things I noticed is that when I turned the computer off, I couldn't turn it back on without first completely cutting the power supply(unplugging from the wall). Another thing I noticed is that the time was 30 minutes late. A fixed the time for him before a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if it's him messing around with it or a possible hardware issue. Please let me know if you have any advice on what might be causing this. The windows files are pretty dmg so i'm going to do a format to fix that. The inside is dust filled.. possible the worse I've seen.. though I haven't seen many I admit. I'm going to try cleaning that out tomorrow to see if that helps anything. Should I use a can of air.. or is there something better I could use for bigger problems?

2006-01-22, 21:58	Link #2
TheFluff Excessively jovial fellow Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: ISDB-T Age: 37	Seems like the clock battery is flaking out, which means you need to replace it. For dust, a normal vacuum cleaner should do (but BE CAREFUL so you don't break stuff). __________________ \| ffmpegsource 17:43:13 <~deculture> Also, TheFluff, you are so fucking slowpoke.jpg that people think we dropped the DVD's. 17:43:16 <~deculture> nice job, fag! 01:04:41 < Plorkyeran> it was annoying to typeset so it should be annoying to read

2006-01-23, 10:16	Link #3
Kimura-sensei Retired AOne Staff Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: NYC	NOOOO... NEVER use vacuum to remove dust. Vacuum cleaners emit a huge amount of static electricity that will damage your motherboard and other components. If there's tons of dust, bring the PC outside, and use compressed air to blow the dust out. As for the problem... either the dust or the CMOS battery is the issue. A large collection of dust retains static electricity that can interfere with a computer from powering up. I've "fixed" 3 computers by blowing the dust out.

2006-01-23, 11:00	Link #4
Komataguri Reverend K-Rist Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: America's Wang. Age: 40	Or you could just take a deep breath of air and blow the crap off the Mobo yourself. Not that hard to do as long as the dust isn't caked on with 10 years of smoking tar and grease.

2006-01-24, 14:21	Link #7
RaistlinMajere Now in MHD! Fansubber Join Date: Dec 2003	Dust doesn't hurt computers unless it stops mechanical parts (IE fans) from moving. Kimura-sensei is right about static, but if you want, you can blow the dust with air and use a vacuum right outside the case to catch it. Just don't put the vacuum INSIDE the case. Anyone who upgrades a computer and leaves a HD that old shouldn't be building computers. It would have been better to upgrade the HD in the old computer before upgrading the rest. Hard drives are the biggest bottleneck in a computer.