Computer "innards" temps

Looks pretty normal....most PC's will run between 100 and 130 degrees F. Just make sure your cooling fans are running, and its a good idea to shut the system down, open the covers, and vacuum the dirt out. I do mine about 3 times a year.
 
Yikes! I've had my computer going on 6 years and never had the cover off. I don't know how to do it.

In 6 years, a lot of household dust and dirt can build up inside...especially on the cooling fan blades. Most PC's have 2 or 3 small screws holding the side covers on, remove them, then slide the covers back a little, and pull the backside of the cover out. Some of the "commercial" brands...HP, etc., can be a bit difficult to fit back on tightly, so look carefully as you remove a cover, and note how it fits. If you are unsure of doing this, you might call a local computer store, and check on how much they would charge to clean it out. A few dollars spent that way can extend the life of the PC for several more years.
 
I just bit the bullet on my five year old computer. I decided to give the innards a clean - never been done before.

I looked up a lot of info on the internet and decided to go with the leaf blower clean.

Took the computer out onto the verandah, took off the sides, made sure I had all the visible fans stabilised so that they couldn't spin and stood back a bit a let loose with the leaf blower.

You should have seen the dust and junk that came out!

Gave the case a bit of a wipe over, put it all together and brought it back inside.

Waited for a little while, then started it up.

It started up beautifully and is now so quiet that I have to lean in to make sure that the fans are actually working.

It was struggling at very high temperatures, it's now running about 10C cooler.

Not a remedy that everyone would recommend, but I thought it was worth a try for me, and it seems to have worked quite well.
 
I am going to try cleaning mine also. I didn't know anything about the temperature being a problem. When we go to bed I put a piece of cardboard under the desk because every little light bothers me. After reading this I noticed when I took the cardboard away for the day it was pretty warm under there. I guess I'll have to figure something else out.
 
We've opened and vacuumed our computer in the past, then cleaned with canned air....but it's been a long time. Where do you look up the temps?
 
We've opened and vacuumed our computer in the past, then cleaned with canned air....but it's been a long time. Where do you look up the temps?

Canned air is a real necessity when cleaning the dust/dirt out of a PC. Just knock it loose with the canned air, then vacuum up the dirt. It may be necessary to clean the fan blades with a small brush, but canned air gets 98% of the stuff that attaches to the motherboard, etc.

I have run a free program called SpeedFan for several years, and I check it every few days. If I notice any increase in the temperatures, I know its Cleaning Time.

http://download.cnet.com/SpeedFan/3000-2094_4-10067444.html
 

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