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Finally got a client to stop using canned air on their dusty office fans
I keep seeing this at small offices around town. They buy a can of air, blast the dust off the CPU fan and case fans while the computer is still on, and call it good. I had a call yesterday for a machine that kept shutting off. Opened it up and found the power supply full of the same dust they just blew off the fans. The guy said, 'But I clean it every month.' You have to pull the whole unit out, open it, and clean each part with the power off. I showed him the thick layer inside the PSU, told him it can overheat and even start a small fire. He looked shocked. How do you guys explain this to people without sounding like you're just trying to get a service call?
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aaron8457mo ago
Oh man, that's the worst. Actually, the dust getting blown into the PSU is bad, but the real instant killer is forcing the fans to spin way too fast with the air blast. It can fry the fan motor or even generate a current back into the motherboard. Seen it happen.
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the_ruby7mo ago
That part about the dust just getting blown into the power supply is so real. I've had to explain that the dust has to go somewhere, and now it's clogging the one part that gets dangerously hot. It's a total fire risk they never think about.
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