dust

They say that cleanliness is next to Godliness, but holy hell, even if you've never set foot in a church, do yourself a huge favor and strut into your local electronics store and pick up a can of compressed air.

While you're at it, kick that smoking habit. Believe it or not, we've seen dirtier PCs than this, and they usually belong to smokers. If Marlboro makes your PC look this bad, can you imagine what cigarettes are doing to your lungs?

But we digress. Whether you choose to smoke or have the same irrational fear of vaccuum cleaners as our feline companions do, get in the habit of dusting out your PC every once in awhile. A series of short bursts on your PC's vents once a week will do wonders, just be extra careful to hold the can upright or you'll end up spraying liquid all over your system. And it's a good idea to pop open your case once a month and clean out the inside (shut down and unplug first).

This tip is especially for those who keep their computers on a carpet, have pets, and don't clean the house as often as they should (you know who you are). And actually, everyone should be checking out the interior of their computer every few months, even if you think you are Mr. Clean himself. Some people have wiped their computer clean of spyware and yet still have a slow running computer. Well, today we are going to take a look at the other way to clean your PC.

The floor of a carpeted room is the worst place to keep your tower. Cookie crumbs, ashes (from those who smoke), pet hair and dander, and dust all wind up on your carpet - and then inside your computer. You ask "How can all that get inside?" It's the laws of physics. You have at least one fan in the back of the tower pulling warm air out of the computer - which creates a suction effect and pulls cooler room air into the front, displacing the warm air. With this suction effect, anything light enough to be drawn in likely will find its way into the innards of the computer. Once the fans are blocked with debris and the temperature rises enough inside, the tower will slow the processor down to protect itself. Continued overheating of the system will cause component failure. The older the computer, the worse it seems to be.

"So what can I do to prevent this?"

There are a few things you can do: READ MORE