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Why can't/won't they...

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Kitrax, Aug 7, 2006.

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  1. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Remove all ads!
    Harbourboy, take half an hour and unscrew and remove the casing of your PC (after you've unplugged the power cable!) and take a look. Inside you'll see a motherboard, which is the basis of a PC; the CPU, RAM and all the cards and drives are connected or inserted into it. The other major element inside is a small metal box with a lot of cables sticking out of it. That's the power supply unit.

    This is what a motherboard looks like: http://images.google.com/images?q=motherboard

    And a stick of RAM: http://images.google.com/images?q=RAM+stick

    Have a vacuum cleaner ready, because if you never open your box, you've probably got a mountain of dust inside by now. Vacuuming it at least every once in a while is essential. If you have any openings anywhere on the case, you've probably got a graveyard of dead insects in there by now, not to mention a pile of dust. Even if your case appears to have no place for the dust to come in, you'll find plenty of it everywhere - stuck to the fans, on top of the cards, drives, at the bottom of the case, etc.

    The more dust, the worse performance you can expect from your computer. This is a proven fact. The more dust there is inside on everything, the more it heats up, and all computer components run best when cool, or at least not heated beyond their design specifications. Once past that point, all kinds of random failures are to be expected on a regular basis.

    You should at least vacuum everything you can reach, though it's quite important to physically remove each of the cards once in a while too, so that you can blow the dust off of them (and no, don't go near anything inside with a damp cloth, preferrably not even a dry one).
     
    Taluntain, Aug 23, 2006
    #41
  2. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Thanks, Tal. I bet if I started fiddling around inside my computer, I would never be able to get it working again, but vaccuuming cleaning definitely sounds within my technical capabilities so I might give that a try!
     
    Harbourboy, Aug 24, 2006
    #42
  3. Barmy Army

    Barmy Army Simple mind, simple pleasures... Adored Veteran

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    It'll be proper minging inside your computer if you've never cleaned it before. Get ready
     
    Barmy Army, Aug 24, 2006
    #43
  4. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Can anybody translate what Barmy Army just said? That was even more incomprehensible than teh technical specifications of the latest computers.
     
    Harbourboy, Aug 25, 2006
    #44
  5. The Magpie

    The Magpie Balance, in all things Veteran

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    Proper minging = really disgusting. I think the rest should make sense in that context. :)
     
    The Magpie, Aug 25, 2006
    #45

  6. khaavern Gems: 14/31
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    Now don't be too enthusiastic with the vacuum cleaner, keep it some distance away from the components. Also, there is not much space inside a computer box, so you might not be able to reach in properly and get out all the dust. A better option might be to buy some compressed air cans, these usually come with a thin straw which you can attach to the nozzle, and allow you to blow the dust away.

    Talking about annoying things with electronics: has anybody tried to change the fan on a Dell Inspiron laptop ? ;)
     
    khaavern, Aug 25, 2006
    #46
  7. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    Heh...I'm actually in the process of writing a guide on keeping you computer clean, inside and out, as well as keeping the HD clean...without using any soap or water! :thumb: :p

    In addition to *that* guide, I'm also writing a guide on upgrading your computer that's specially written for Harby and my dad...who is in his late 60's. :bad:

    With my current work/school schedule however, the two guides are coming along slowly. :bad: :rolling:
     
    Kitrax, Aug 27, 2006
    #47
  8. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

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    Here is an idea (which I got from Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security).
    Nowadays the virusscanner is just running behind the facts, the scanner is only updated when they find a virus and identify it. This way, every moron can create a virus based on an exploit, release it, and then your virusscanner is immediatly outdated! Congrats on paying for a virusscanner that only helps protecting you against the mean scriptkiddy when that virus has already infiltrated (and demolished) your system.

    So what can be done against that? Create a virusscanner that blocks everything that is not allowed: "default deny", this instantly destroys every attempt to exploit a hole in the Operating System. "Do you want to accept W32.Biteme.COM as a known executable so that it can be run.", uhm, NO?
     
    Morgoth, Aug 27, 2006
    #48
  9. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    LOL! :lol: That's great. Virus scanners do their best at using techniques to try and identify/block/remove newly created viruses and the like, but it's true that no virus protection program is perfect.

    The best they can do is quickly find a new virus floating around the net, create a new definition file, and send it out for people to download. :bad:

    People who make the viruses, trojans, and malware in general should be caught and given a public hanging to set an example. :nono: :rolling:
     
    Kitrax, Aug 28, 2006
    #49

  10. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    I wouldn't say public hanging...just chop their hands off. :D It will be a lot more frustrating for the ***** in the long term... ;)
     
    Faraaz, Aug 30, 2006
    #50
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