| Forum Home | ||||
| Press F1 | ||||
| Thread ID: 61989 | 2005-09-23 04:45:00 | cleaning dust from IBM thinkpad 600 | jacq (8946) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 390319 | 2005-09-23 04:45:00 | I and the affore mentioned ancient companion are currently living in a remote part of the world where the local computer shop is not an option. I have got the idea into my head that if i take the back off my laptop and try (somehow) to clean the dust out, all my problems will be solved. I have never ventured near it with a phillips screwdriver before. Is this a good idea? Will I be struck by lightning? jacq |
jacq (8946) | ||
| 390320 | 2005-09-23 04:51:00 | Dust is generally not a problem (except when a floppy drive is full, or unless it's dust soaked in coffee, water, or softdrink). However, dismantling a laptop often does cause problems. There are a lot of fragile cables, connectors, and static-sensitive parts in there. Just make sure the air vents aren't clogged. Welcome to PressF1. |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 390321 | 2005-09-23 05:19:00 | Ive put down the screw driver. How do i make sure air vents aren't clogged? -apart from looking at the exhaust outlet which seems fine. A friend (with a Del laptop) unscrewed something over his cooling fans and blew all the dust off them, then it was instantly transformed into a super fast mean machine. That's what got me thinking about dust and speed... thanks, jacq |
jacq (8946) | ||
| 390322 | 2005-09-23 06:52:00 | Trust me, you do NOT want to dismantle a laptop if you are new at it. Its a moderate to complex thing to do (and not to mention all those bloody screws) :waughh: | bob_doe_nz (92) | ||
| 390323 | 2005-09-23 09:52:00 | What problems are you trying to solve? Is the laptop just slow? Have you done the usual maintenance (clear out old files, temp files, disk defrag etc) and health checks (scanning for malware, viruses etc) on the machine? | Jen (38) | ||
| 390324 | 2005-09-23 14:58:00 | "just slow"? you have no idea. I (stupidly) installed a cd of updates from windows which it obviously didnt have the capacity for, and after that I couldn't fully open the computer, just a message saying it didnt have the resources. So then someone took EVERYTHING off and completely reset it. That was two weeks ago. Since then it has been even slower than usual, and hotter, and every now and then a countdown appears telling me I have x number of seconds to pack up and leave before shut down due to system error. I currently haven't got virus protection as a result of the reset, and not bringing my software, so I can't check for viruses. This is embarrassing; computer true confessions or something... |
jacq (8946) | ||
| 390325 | 2005-09-23 20:54:00 | From the shutdown message it appears you have a virus (or two ...). You don't mention what OS you are using? If your machine had its OS reinstalled and you haven't updated with security patches from MS and nor are you running any Antivirus (or Firewall?) then I suspect this is behind your current problems. To stop the shutdown count that appears, just go Start > Run and type in shutdown -a. Now go and download a free Antivirus program from either here (AVG) (free.grisoft.com) or here (Avast!) (www.avast.com). Make sure you update the definitions first and then run it. You must likely have other malware, so have a read of this FAQ (forums.pcworld.co.nz 16) for advice on how to check for those. Also, if you don't have a firewall then install one. Zone Alarm (free edition) or Agnitum Outpost (free edition) are both easy to use firewalls. At a minimum, if you are using XP then turn its native firewall on. Look at its help files for how to do this if you are unsure. If you are running a more modern OS such as XP on your old laptop, it will be slow regardless because of the specifications that it requires to run. If this is the OS you are using, there are ways of turning off some of the flashy features so that you can get the best performance with speed. Post back after you have checked for viruses and malware/spyware and let us know how you got on and if you still are having problems. :) |
Jen (38) | ||
| 390326 | 2005-09-24 04:01:00 | thanks jen. I'll attempt to follow your instructions and report back. Incidentally I was trying to reply just before and got the shutdown clock again so I did what you said, went to 'run' and typed in: shutdown - a. but it still shut down. I have windows 2000, but as I didn't have original software (bought laptop 2nd hand) and it's been reset 3 times during the past year in China, it's probably a pirated version now. Maybe I'm beyond help... bye for now |
jacq (8946) | ||
| 390327 | 2005-09-24 06:53:00 | Incidentally I was trying to reply just before and got the shutdown clock again so I did what you said, went to 'run' and typed in: shutdown - a. but it still shut down.There isn't supposed to be a space between the - and the a eg shutdown -a | Jen (38) | ||
| 390328 | 2005-09-24 17:57:00 | Ive tried that but it keeps shutting down, so things are progressing slowly. So far, using the links in your message, Ive downloaded an anti virus programme and got rid of trojan horse (no other viruses). Then I downloaded a disc cleaner from one of the links in the FAQ message - error doctor - which has apparently discovered a ****load of errors but now wants me to pay $30 US to have them removed. I'm mulling this over as I search for my credit card. |
jacq (8946) | ||
| 1 2 | |||||