Servicing my PC

[MadGamer]

Ok, the time has come for me to service my PC. My dad doesn't want to take it into PC World because of what they might do to the HDD. So what steps are involed in servicing a PC? If i do this sucessfully i will be a genious.

*Gets his coat*

[Acathla]

This is going to be the most unusefull reply ever but...

Servicing your pc with a smilie? *ahem*
Dad does not want pc world to see the HD? *ahem*

hehe

What kind of servicing does the thing need?
Defrag and delete temporary files, uninstall old programs and do a complete virus scan. Thats about all I do.

[SMHarman]

If it's in a really dusty environment you might want to take the side off and see whether any fans are caked in dust. The PSU fan can be hoovered, but the rest need a slightly more gentle dust blower. Keep the hover motor away from the HDDs though.

[keithwalton]

software or hardware ? if the latter a hoover and paint brush usually does the trick for dust bunnies. As for not trusting pc world is fairly just, they dont exactly treat computers with the upmost care

[SOSAGES]

be brave backup and reinstall the OS format the drives and start again

[paulyoung666]

get a can of compressed air , you will be surprised how much dust is in there

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

get a can of compressed air , you will be surprised how much dust is in there

better than a hoover, imo, hoovers can generate a fair bit of static around the nozzle.

My power supply failed spectacularly because it was full of dust (taking the mobo & hard disk with it ), so it's a good idea to blow it out, occasionally.

[altis]

I 'service' each PC in a network every month. This involves: backing up everything to DVD-RAM; verify hard disk; defrag hard disk; anti-virus check; clean everything (a 2" paintbrush is very useful for moving dust) and anything else that might crop up occasionally. Norton System Utilities is also useful.

[Gareth]

Yeah, dude, don't ever trust PC World to "service" your 'puter. Even if you're not Garry Glitter, it's still not a good idea.

I can also recommend the can of compressed air. You can get 'em for £1 at the pound-stretcher type shops. Get the one with a little straw so you can completely reach inside all the nooks and crannies. I use a soft brush as well.... it actually came from a camcorder care kit.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by GDW1975

Yeah, dude, don't ever trust PC World to "service" your 'puter. Even if you're not Garry Glitter, it's still not a good idea.

I can also recommend the can of compressed air. You can get 'em for £1 at the pound-stretcher type shops. Get the one with a little straw so you can completely reach inside all the nooks and crannies. I use a soft brush as well.... it actually came from a camcorder care kit.

an artists supply shop would be a good place to get a soft brush , you dont want to be using some pound shop special that will be as rough as a badgers @rse , mind you the compressed air from a pound shop is a good idea

[Jon M]

PCWorld Gold (£100) System Service:

• Full system inspection (pull side off and look at the complicated cabling)
• Data integrity check (Do a search for *.avi *.divx *.mov *.mpg and save any pr0n to USB hard disk)
• Browser optimisation (check favourites and history for pr0n)
• Full virus scan (install 5 year old version of McAfee, without updates, sweep and uninstall again)
• Component health check (hit harddisk with hammer until head crash... leave in system for next weeks visit )

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by s1lv3r

PCWorld Gold (£100) System Service:

• Full system inspection (pull side off and look at the complicated cabling)
• Data integrity check (Do a search for *.avi *.divx *.mov *.mpg and save any pr0n to USB hard disk)
• Browser optimisation (check favourites and history for pr0n)
• Full virus scan (install 5 year old version of McAfee, without updates, sweep and uninstall again)
• Component health check (hit harddisk with hammer until head crash... leave in system for next weeks visit )

that would cover it i reckon

[SOSAGES]

someone said "Norton System Utilities " avoid it - never known anyone to be happy with it and ive seen a lot of people install it then ask eek whys my computer screwed

Originally Posted by WNA

Ok, the time has come for me to service my PC. My dad doesn't want to take it into PC World because of what they might do to the HDD. So what steps are involed in servicing a PC? If i do this sucessfully i will be a genious.

*Gets his coat*

I have had that PC world thing and its crap, all they do is take the dust off and then run scan disk and deframent it

If you want to service a recommend doing this:

1. Run a anti-virus
2. Run a spy ware checker
3. Using Norton Ultilties (great program)
4. uninstall unwanted programs
5. Run Scandisk
6. Run defragmenter

And thats a lot better than anything pc world will do!

[roger_smith]

Originally Posted by s1lv3r

PCWorld Gold (£100) System Service:

• Full system inspection (pull side off and look at the complicated cabling)
• Data integrity check (Do a search for *.avi *.divx *.mov *.mpg and save any pr0n to USB hard disk)
• Browser optimisation (check favourites and history for pr0n)
• Full virus scan (install 5 year old version of McAfee, without updates, sweep and uninstall again)
• Component health check (hit harddisk with hammer until head crash... leave in system for next weeks visit )

lol, funnist thing ive read all week

What drighting is that that is all they probably do