The Metropolitan Online - May/June 2005 - Technology Bytes - Spring cleaning: give your PC some TLC

Spring, at my house, is a frantically happy time. It includes traditional activities like the annual household cleaning project, the ceremonial storage of winter apparel, and the resumption of landscaping activities. In addition to usual spring cleaning, one thing I’ve grown accustomed to doing is devoting an entire evening to a thorough cleaning of my computers.

The hermetically sealed environment inside Minnesota homes all winter causes dust and all sorts of nastiness to accumulate in places you never dreamed of. And, while dust rhinos are piling up on your computer in the real world, your hard drive can be a veritable landfill of old files, outdated cookies, and temporary internet files that are anything but “temporary.”

A physical cleaning of your computer can be quick, easy and inexpensive. The only real cleaning supplies you need are glass cleaner, paper towels, cloth wipes and a can of compressed air.

Monitor.
With tube or CRT monitors, a few spritzes of streak-free glass cleaner and a good, soft cloth should do the trick. Avoid using paper towels on the screen, as they can scratch the glass and dull the display. For LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors, many electronics or computer specialty stores offer special wipes impregnated with cleaning solution. Avoid using glass cleaner on an LCD monitor, as it tends to streak, and can cause pixel and display damage.

Keyboard.
Even if you don’t eat Chee-tos while cranking out your research paper, your keyboard accumulates dust, dirt, and other unmentionable nastiness. The simplest way to clean it is to tip it upside down and gently shake it (gently, I said!). A few blasts from a can of compressed air should remove any remaining fuzzies.

Mouse.
If you’re still using the old ball-style mouse, you should be able to turn it over, unscrew the ball cover, and inspect the sensor rollers inside. Dirt and grit deposits are easily cleaned with a Q-tip dipped in glass cleaner. If your mouse hasn’t been cleaned since 2001, you may need to gently scrape accumulated ickiness from the rollers; wood toothpicks work well for this job. Infrared or laser mice can be cleaned just as easily—a small bit of window cleaner on a Q-tip works well to clean the sensor.

Cooling Fan.
Usually located on the back of your PC, the cooling fan picks up more dirt and gunk than you’d imagine. If your fan picks up too much junk, it can burn out or run slower and damage your PC. The best way to clean your fan is to unplug your computer, and hold it so the fan is parallel with the floor, facing down. Then, liberally “blast” the dirt from the fan, housing, fan grate and spindle with compressed air. Repeat

Media Drives.
Floppy and CD drives can get dirty, which can cause data loss or even ruin disks. The best way to clean them is with specialized disk cleaners, generally available for under $10 at most stores. A clean CD lens and floppy drive means better data transfer, and a reduced chance that the disk that contains your class presentation will turn into an unreadable coaster.

Cleaning the hard drive is almost as quick, and just as painless. Delete your Temporary Internet Files. Yes, all of them—even your cookies. Delete any unnecessary files, folders or programs. A good rule of thumb is: if you haven’t used it in 6 months, trash it or burn it. Since most computers have CD writers, you can always write your files to CD and archive them. You’ll see an increase in your disk storage for things that really matter, like your MP3 collection. Run a disk cleanup utility. Windows XP has a built-in disk-cleanup program (under Start->Accessories->System Tools) that scans your drive for unused files and deletes them. On older versions of Windows like ME or Windows 98, run Norton Clean Sweep, a great utility available for under $10 in the bargain software rack at many stores.

Spring cleaning your PC is a small investment of time and money that will be repaid in better performance and hardware stability. There’s no better time than now to give your PC a little TLC. After all, summer is just a few weeks away, and who actually spends time on their computer during a marvelous Minnesota summer? Besides me, that is...

The first basic rule is that kids will be kids: inquisitive, curious, eager to explore—whether it’s the real world or the Internet. The second rule is that you have to be the parent, and treat your child’s Internet experience the same way you would any other interactive activity.

Got a tech issue or question? Need a l33t sp34k translation? Contact Craig at metropolitan_webguy@comcast.net. He'll do his best to help j00.

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