Maybe this was the cause of my PC problems

[leon]

Hi Guys,
I have just changed all my internal workings of the big desk top PC into a much smaller and lighter package, so to speak, and it looks great and is performing brilliantly.

I tell you this because you may remember i had some trouble earlier with the PC as it did not want to start properly, however it eventually did what it was supposed to do.

While this transformation was taking place it was discovered that two of the clips that hold the CPU and Fan arrangement had become loos and it was only holding by the other two, which in turn had dried out all the Thermal Grease.

I wonder if was the initial cause of the earlier problem regarding correct start up. do you think.

Anyway all is good, it looks good and works real good.

Leon

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Certainly wouldn't help, that is for sure. The CPU gets surprisingly hot quite quickly and I had an example recently of poor thermal contact doing weird things on a PC.
Fingers crossed Leon..

[leon]

Brent it really zips along now, and although this may be my imagination, it dose seem much better.
It starts up and is fully running in 40 seconds, anyway i am pleased with the result.

Leon

[pjphilli (Peter)]

Hi Leon

Nice to see that you have fixed your PC problem.
Some time ago my old PC failed (good excuse to get a new one!)
apparently because the CPU got cooked. I was surprised by the amount of dust that had accumulated on the CPU heat sink which is not surprising I suppose when you consider that the fan is continually blowing air across it.
So it pays from time to time to have a look at the CPU heat sink and clear
off any accumulated rubbish.

Cheers Peter

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Originally Posted by pjphilli

Hi Leon

Nice to see that you have fixed your PC problem.
Some time ago my old PC failed (good excuse to get a new one!)
apparently because the CPU got cooked. I was surprised by the amount of dust that had accumulated on the CPU heat sink which is not surprising I suppose when you consider that the fan is continually blowing air across it.
So it pays from time to time to have a look at the CPU heat sink and clear
off any accumulated rubbish.

Cheers Peter

My sons HP laptop (complete with much needed RS232 port) had the motherboard replaced 3 times under warranty. An engineer form HP came to the house to do it when the laptop lost function of some of it's ports and was acting up.
Since the 3 year warranty expired and I can not afford anther $1200 for a new laptop for him, we've discovered reapplying new thermal paste every 3-6 months and a good blow out with the compressor has done wonders to keep it running sans faults.
Having qualifications in electronics and IT is an added bonus I guess but I tell even the most non tech compliant people I know it's simple to remove a cover from a desktop system (not the Mac's or all in one systems though) and at least blow dust and hair (I have a beard and a cat) out of the workings with a can of compressed air.

If knowledge isn't your thing and you are afraid of doing harm, take it to a reputable shop.
Then again, I've known many bodgy shop owners in the industry who rip off those who know no better. That's why I end up doing it for all my friends and acquaintances, always free. I'll die poor!

[pjphilli (Peter)]

Very surprised that you had so much trouble with an HP laptop. I have always favoured HP products and I currently have an HP pc, laptop and screen.
However, even companies like HP farm out their manufacture to cheap
overseas sources so I think that trust in the good old brand names is now a bit naive.
Glad to see that you have also found a fix for your laptop problem.
I am an ex Coms Engineer and have some IT knowledge so I have always
been able to sort out my hardware/software problems (sometimes with help from IceInSpace experts).
I agree that some people who are meticulous in keeping their house, car etc in good order are so unaware that their electronic gear also needs some tlc.
I give simple advice and assistant to those seeking it but I am a bit wary of giving too much advice as if anything subsequently goes wrong with the thing you are sometimes blamed!
Incidentally, I watched a great TV program last week about the Suxtnet
virus which destroyed the Iranian fuel centrifuges. What a diabolical piece of software. Now I have just read an excellent SMH article about cyber
warfare (wars of the future!). So I have just checked the security on my PC. It seems well protected by paid AVG software and just yesterday it
detected a nasty Trojen. However, I have also implemeted an AVG Data Safe for storing my most valuable information. No doubt this can also be
overcome by persistant hacker!