• To become aware of some of the causes of computer failures.
• To learn ways to prevent these computer failures.
• To learn cleaning tips and techniques that keep computers running properly.

The best way to cut down on computer repair is by good preventive maintenance. There are several factors that can drastically shorten a computer's life. Some of these factors are common sense things, such as, not to spill drinks into the keyboard. Other factors are not so obvious:

• Excessive Heat can destroy the chips inside the computer. To avoid this, install an adequate fan in the power supply or add an auxiliary fan. CPU, chips, drive motors, etc. create heat. Most computers are built to work in a temperature range of 60-85 degrees F.

  Because a computer is warmer inside than outside, changes in room temperature can become multiplied inside the computer. This leads to thermal shock, exposing components to rapid and large temperature changes. It will disable your computer due to expansion/contraction damage.

  Another heat effect is caused by sunbeams. Avoid placing a computer in direct sunlight.

• Dust: Dust is everywhere and is responsible for several evils in a computer. First, it sticks to the internal components like the circuit boards, causing thermal insulation. The second dust evil is that it clogs spaces such as the air intake area to the power supply or hard disk, and the space between the floppy disk drive head and the disk. Every six months to a year remove the dust from the inside of the computer by blowing the dust off with a can of compressed air. When you blow the dust off make sure you are not just blowing it back into the computer. Another effective method of cleaning is to use a dust-free cloth wetted with water and ammonia (just a few drops). Don't use this cloth on circuit boards.

  Compressed Air: Compressed air is actually compressed gas. It contains freon or some other chlorinated fluorocarbon (CFC), which enlarges the hole in the ozone layer. There are a number of ozone-friendly alternatives. One is marketed by Chemtronics.

• Magnetism: Magnets can cause permanent loss of data on hard or floppy disks. Electric motors or electromagnets produce magnetism. There are magnets in phones that ring instead of beep, speakers, monitors, magnetic screwdrivers, magnetic clip and paper holders, and magnets themselves. It is best to keep anything magnetic away from computers and floppy disks too.

• Stray Electromagnetism: Radiated electromagnetic interference and static electricity can cause stray electromagnetism. Wires that are physically too close to each other can cause radiated electromagnetic interference. This closeness of the wires causes the transmitted signals on these wires to become faint and jumbled. High radio frequency can also cause interference. Sources of this are high-speed digital circuits, radio sources, cordless telephones or keyboards, power-line intercoms and motors.

• Power surges, incorrect line voltage, and power outages: Power problems can be caused by overvoltage and undervoltage, a power blackout, spikes and surges. Overvoltage can damage a chip because too much voltage destroys the circuits. Undervoltage is undesirable because the power supply will draw too much current. This heats up and destroys components. Spikes are brief overvoltages under a millisecond in length, and surges are overvoltages from a millisecond to seconds. To prevent some of these conditions use surge protectors, surge suppressors and spike isolators. Also make sure computers have a proper ground. Power conditioners are available to boost up undervoltage so that your computer can continue to work through brownouts. Backup power supplies, called Standby Power Supplies (SPS) and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) are available. These provide computers with added power after a blackout has occurred.

• Water and corrosive agents: Liquids can be very hazardous to the computer's health. These are caused by operator spills, leaks and flooding. Certainly operators spills can be controlled by not having liquids near the computer. However, leaks and flooding are not always preventable. Corrosion of computer components can be caused by sweat in skin oils. Carbonated liquids contain carbonic acids and coffee or tea contains tannic acids, which both lead to corrosion. Cleaning fluids also contain ingredients that can cause corrosion. It is best to be cautious when using any sprays or liquids around computers.

There are also software applications that can be used a preventive maintenance for software corruption.

• Anti-Virus Applications: This program when run will detect a computer virus which is willfully destructive computer program. One classification of virus programs is based on the action that the virus takes. The three most common types are worms (a program that replicates itself), a trojan horse (a program hidden inside another that may erase valuable information, and a bomb ( a program that embeds code in your operating system and based a specific time, causes your computer to not function at all).

  Another classification is based on where the virus resides. Those are the parasitic viruses (begins in an executable file) and the boot sector viruses (resides in the hard drive).

  Suggestions to keep viruses away:

  • Be cautious of pirated, shareware, freeware, and downloaded software, expecially games.
  • Use a virus checker regularly. Some virus checkers are set to constantly run behind all applications.
  • Put a right-protect tag on floppy disks or media you want to save.

  Further Information:

  • Computer Viruses FAQ's. MCAFFEE. F-PROT.

• Defragmentation Software: As files get written to the hard disk, they may become fragmented or broken, which slows down computer speed. This software unites these fragmented files and readjusts the information addresses into a continuous block. In the PC, run DEFRAG. With Macintosh, refer to your system disks for a repair program.

• Testing Utility Programs: These include a variety of software programs to scan and detect hardware and software components for information and faults. PC's come with their own built-in check and scan systems. CHKDSK and SCANDISK report allocations of disk space. One of the most popular PC and Mac programs is Norton's Disk Doctor.

In addition to the above tips, further attention should also be given to specific computer components, such as, the keyboard, mouse, monitor, case, floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, and memory. The sites listed below give detailed, step-by-step procedures to follow for cleaning and maintaining these and additional computer components.

• How to Clean a Computer
• Basic Computer Maintenance