Tips for keeping your PC clean

By The Associated Press

Rule No. 1 for enjoyable computing is the computer always wins. Rule No. 2 is keep your computer clean and cool.

This isn't about avoiding X-rated Web sites, but about dust and heat, which will wreak havoc on your computer's circuits.

All electrical devices generate heat, which is why computers have fans inside or cases designed to boost air flow. Heat is an enemy because it causes things to expand or respond differently to electricity.

If the printed circuits on your computer's motherboard and peripheral cards are too warm, they might make or break electrical connections. The usual symptom is the computer working perfectly for a short time after start-up, then becoming cranky and eventually comatose.

But before you start thumbing the ads for a new machine, consider dust and the environment.

Dust is everywhere. When it filters into the vents of a computer, it settles on components, building up insulation until the components don't give up heat as fast as they were designed to do.

Keep your computer in a relatively dust-free area. Be diligent about dusting behind and beside the machine. Be sure to get rid of any pet fur, which is an even better insulator than dust.

After suitable reflection on the difference between "lightly moistened" and "dripping wet," it's OK to use a glass cleaner (no waxes!) to help pick up dust on your machine, which should be turned off, just to be safe. Never spray a cleaner onto or around the computer's keyboard, vents, fans or drives. Computers hate moisture more than the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz and will be twice as nasty in reaction.

If you are trying to revive a machine with obvious heat problems that you have rescued from your kid's college dorm, you'll eventually have to open the cover and shoo out the evil dust bunnies.

You will be able to see where dust has collected. Eliminate it using cotton swabs, a fine flat-bristle artist's paint brush and a drinking straw. Lift the dust bunnies that are tangled around components by slowly twirling the swab into the dust bunny and pulling the mess away. Use the brush to gently dislodge layers of dust on flat components. Gently blowing through the straw can help get rid of dust from places you can't reach with either the swab or the brush.

Don't use anything big or static-generating, which means no dust rags or feather dusters. Ignore the compressed-air cans and most vacuum cleaners — they can dislodge components. And make sure you have discharged the static electricity in your body by touching a steam pipe or something else grounded before beginning.

If your environment is dust-free and you're still having what seems to be heat problems, consider location. A computer hutch turns into an oven when it encases the monitor, the CPU and a load of books. Shoot for at least a foot of space above and around every side of your machine.

And there's a reason early computer rooms were windowless. A long day running in the sunshine will not help your machine stay cool. Putting your machine near the radiator or furnace vent may keep your tootsies warm, but it won't help the machine at all.

One other note: The replacement-keyboard industry is built upon those who work at the keyboard with a drink at hand. We all do it. Keep drinks on a separate surface below the keyboard.