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Thread ID: 102682	2009-08-28 03:19:00	My warning to NZ: When your stuff stops working / intermittent this summer	Chilling_Silence (9)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
804938	2009-08-28 03:19:00	OK so it's that time of year again - Summer! What an awesome time it is, sun, taning, the beach, scantily dressed people, icecreams, and best of all: overheating electrics! Yes, thats right, I believe todays the second "nice" day we've had in a while here in Auckland, and already I've had 3 devices fail on customers of mine due to overheating. So, a word of warning: 1) Move your routers out of the sun -- They don't like it there. Yes a window may be best for WiFi signal outside, but when you're cursing and muttering under your breath about why it won't work at all the next fine sunny day, I promise you thats why. Less signal may mean slower wifi, but I promise slow wifi is better than no wifi! 2) Watch the air vents -- Especially on laptops / routers! If your room gets even slightly warm, and you leave your laptop powered on under / next to a cushion on the sofa, there's a darn good chance its going to get *very* hot, *very* quickly... So just be careful! 3) Blow out that dust from those fans / heatsinks -- If your PC's been on the carpet all winter, under your desk, there's a good chance the CPU fan is probably (at least slightly) clogged with dust. Blow it out, a can of compressed air won't set you back much, $30 from DSE. Don't be so cheap that you use the Vacuum cleaner, at least once a summer I have somebody come to me who knocked their motherboard with the end of their vacuum cleaner and broke of something. It's too big and clumsy, so just do the right thing and get a can of compressed air. Other than that, enjoy the summer, and don't be surprised when your budget D-Link router gives way entirely from overheating, it happens... Get yourself something nice like the NetComm NB6Plus4Wn instead :) So, with that out of the way, has anybody else got similar stories already for the spring / summer of '10? :D Chill.	Chilling_Silence (9)
804939	2009-08-28 03:27:00	I believe todays the second "nice" day we've had in a while here in Auckland, and already I've had 3 devices fail on customers of mine due to overheating. I remember "nice" summer days up there. I don't miss them.	pctek (84)
804940	2009-08-28 03:36:00	Aucklands " nice warm Days" are what we have here most of the time in Wellington-:p All joking aside - yeah over heating is one of the main killers of PC gear. often you get a few hot days, and systems crash all over the place, internet goes down and so on. People stick PC's under desks, surrounded with Junk, paper, the dog / Cat and god knows what else with absolutly no Idea about air flow needed, then wonder why the PC stops working. Give it a Blow job ( keep it clean ;) - Family show here) with compressed air and dust and crap flies every where - and they run so much better.	wainuitech (129)
804941	2009-08-28 03:43:00	I turned up one of my fans by 3 notches and the rest are ready to go when it heats up :) As for cleaning, well I cover all my vents with fibremesh so nothing gets in anyway but clean it once a month regardless. Good post Chill, lot of that stuff gets forgotten.	DeSade (984)
804942	2009-08-28 03:52:00	A+ info and advice there! :D As for giving PCs blowjobs, great idea, be careful though the internals are a wee bit delicate. No good banging around in there with a industrial grade air compressor or vacuum cleaner. We always see a few devices with overheating problems, very commonly notebooks and wireless routers. Had someone pop in the other day, their 'almost new' laptop was overheating. Turns out he had been using it on the floor in front of the open fire :horrified all winter, now when the sun comes out it was overheating. Heatsink and and fan were clogged 100% with dust and cat hair, cleaned it out, lappy was again running at 45 degrees instead of 80. :D	wratterus (105)
804943	2009-08-28 05:06:00	A+ info and advice there! :D As for giving PCs blowjobs, great idea, be careful though the internals are a wee bit delicate. No good banging around in there with a industrial grade air compressor or vacuum cleaner. I was always told that you should use a bit of masking tape (or your finger!) to hold the heat sink fan in place when using a compressor, as the air can spin the fan faster than it should go, and seize the bearing?	nofam (9009)
804944	2009-08-28 05:10:00	I was always told that you should use a bit of masking tape (or your finger!) to hold the heat sink fan in place when using a compressor, as the air can spin the fan faster than it should go, and seize the bearing? Very true. Newer fans seem to be a bit more resilient to that kind of treatment though, it's not odd that they spin up to 3500rpm anyway, I'm just careful not to let it spin up too much. If the heatsink is really dusty I just sit one of my fingers in the middle of the fan to stop it rotating while the dust is being cleaned out. :thumbs:	wratterus (105)
804945	2009-08-28 05:11:00	Had someone pop in the other day, their 'almost new' laptop was overheating. Turns out he had been using it on the floor in front of the open fire You think thats bad? I had a guy with (what I found was an overheating laptop) who I discovered was using it on his bed on fluffy blankets. OR was that in his bed? Considering the content on the laptop and the unmentionable condition of the screen. Eeeooooo........(takes shower after repair)	pctek (84)
804946	2009-08-28 05:13:00	Feel sorry for you pc! That is never nice... :( I always get out the cleaning solution and a massive cloth and go nuts before touching machines like that, just gross to work on. :waughh:	wratterus (105)
804947	2009-08-28 05:16:00	Feel sorry for you pc! That is never nice . . . :( I always get out the cleaning solution and a massive cloth and go nuts before touching machines like that, just gross to work on . :waughh: Yes - found animal porn on a laptop last weekend . I try not to be judgmental about these things, but Jeez . . . . . :eek:	nofam (9009)
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