Dust Bunnies and removal of unused card-Noise level drops!

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:52 pm

Took a few minutes yesterday to both vacuum and blow out my MDD G4.

Not too bad inside, however on my "someday to do list", the removal of an old PCI Adaptec card which used to control my primary Seagate audio drive and my old external CD burner was listed. Haven't used either for about 3 years.

Since the computer was open, I decided to finally remove the card and then disconnected the cable from the card to my old internal Seagate.

Been working about 4 hours today, and the noise level of the G4 is about half what it normally is after that length of working. (Ambient room temp is the same as it's been all summer)

Just thought I'd share!...don't know if it was the removal of a slight accumulation of dust, or less drain on the CPU, or both.

Buzz

blue · Post by **blue** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:52 pm

I'm always amazed at how far the noise level drops when I dust the inside of my computers. Over time the noise creeps up without you really noticing, then all of the sudden it's like, What the heck? Why do my machines sound like their preparing for takeoff? That dust just traps the heat and makes the fans work harder.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:12 pm

Indeed, dust is not a friend of a computer--

And the more recent "cheese grater" towers have to be watched even more carefully for dust accumulation.

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:40 pm

Frodo wrote:Indeed, dust is not a friend of a computer--

And the more recent "cheese grater" towers have to be watched even more carefully for dust accumulation.

Now, I've got 2 open PCI slots without the covers...where did I put those 3 years ago?

blue wrote:I'm always amazed at how far the noise level drops when I dust the inside of my computers. Over time the noise creeps up without you really noticing, then all of the sudden it's like, What the heck? Why do my machines sound like their preparing for takeoff? That dust just traps the heat and makes the fans work harder.

I know...simple physics, isn't it!

But where does the dust come from!!...I run a "clean house"...very little carpet, couple of cats. I've been told that with contemporary central air conditioning, one needs an outside "fresh air return" to eliminate the "negative pressure" which pulls dust right from the walls, underneath doors, whatever and redistributes it throughout one's house.

Guess I'll look into this, as well.

Buzz

blue · Post by **blue** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:56 pm

buzzsmith wrote:But where does the dust come from!!

I don't know. I'm always wondering the same thing. I've got all wood floors and no pets. I don't have AC, though, so the open windows probably are partly to blame. But still, there is so much freakin dust!

With 6 odd fans in the G5, however, it's no wonder so much dust is getting pulled into the chassis through the cheese grater.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:28 pm

blue wrote:
buzzsmith wrote:But where does the dust come from!!
I don't know. I'm always wondering the same thing. I've got all wood floors and no pets. I don't have AC, though, so the open windows probably are partly to blame. But still, there is so much freakin dust!

With 6 odd fans in the G5, however, it's no wonder so much dust is getting pulled into the chassis through the cheese grater.

Dude-- you live in LA. It's all a dust bowl out here. Furniture in these parts have to be wiped down almost every day. Electronics are notorious for attracting dust.

I recently had in-home service for an HD CRT TV set-- 200 pounds, that thing. I was horrified when they opened the back of it-- could have sworn I saw mushrooms growing in there.

I've been meaning to get a few of these ionic air cleaners. Some have argued that they don't do all the anti-allergen work they claim to do, but if they attract dust away from electronics (and do so QUIETLY) they may be worth having.

In the meantime, I keep a handheld Swiffer in the studio, and in a fit of writers block I've made a habit of swiffing off a surface here or there throughout the day.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:23 pm

buzzsmith wrote:But where does the dust come from!!.....

Mostly dead skin. Really! Have you cleaned out the skeletons in your closeets lately?

Frodo wrote:Indeed, dust is not a friend of a computer...

Wasn't it Stanislavsky that said sloppiness was the enemy of art? Of was that generality? Or maybe something else...? Up for grabs, but it says SOMETHING on top of the Moscow Art Theater.

Well, for us, dust is the enemy of art. Not only bad for your computer, but your speaker cones as well. Good idea to GENTLY blow them off with canned air every so often. Watch out for the tweeters!

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:31 pm

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Good idea to GENTLY blow them off with canned air every so often. Watch out for the tweeters!

Hmm-- so *that's* what is meant when people say they just blew a speaker...

And all this time I thought it was a bad thing.

j/k

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:37 pm

Frodo wrote:
MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Good idea to GENTLY blow them off with canned air every so often. Watch out for the tweeters!
Hmm-- so *that's* what is meant when people say they just blew a speaker...

And all this time I thought it was a bad thing.

j/k

Actually, that means something entirely different, but we're not supposed to talk current politics here

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:41 pm

oh yeah

ahem...

Right!

Sorry 'bout that!

blue · Post by **blue** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:07 am

Frodo wrote:Dude-- you live in LA. It's all a dust bowl out here.

I know. Even with all the excessive watering of non-indiginous flora out here, we're still only an average LA commute away from the desert.

I used to live near a fairly major road not too long ago and you've never seen dust like that! Black tire dust that would leave stains when you tried to clean it. Nasty, nasty stuff.

Frodo wrote:In the meantime, I keep a handheld Swiffer in the studio, and in a fit of writers block I've made a habit of swiffing off a surface here or there throughout the day.

Man, if I did that my house would be spotless.

Wait a minute, if you're cleaning between spurts of inspiration, when do you find the time to rack up over 6k posts at Unicornation?

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:14 am

blue wrote:Wait a minute, if you're cleaning between spurts of inspiration, when do you find the time to rack up over 6k posts at Unicornation?

When I'm not dusting?

Phil O · Post by **Phil O** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 9:08 am

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Mostly dead skin. Really!

Yep, that's what the dust mites live on. Yuk, my computer is a dead skin magnet!

Phil

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:58 am

buzzsmith wrote: Now, I've got 2 open PCI slots without the covers...where did I put those 3 years ago?

That's why Zeus created duct tape.

Seriously, I have a box in the closet that all that stuff goes in. Those covers, and the rubber feet that come with external drives, and the bezel from the computer when I install a DVD burner, or the zillion USB cables I rarely use.

And then I have another box for ADB cables, 96K modems, SCSI cables and terminators, Base-100 routers, Yamaha ROM cartridges, tape-splicing block, and other arcane junk I keep on hand in case somebody wants to make a 90's period film and needs props.

.

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:53 pm

Jim wrote:That's why Zeus created duct tape.

Seriously, I have a box in the closet that all that stuff goes in. Those covers, and the rubber feet that come with external drives, and the bezel from the computer when I install a DVD burner, or the zillion USB cables I rarely use.

I have a bunch of boxes, too, and I can picture these little guys sitting in one, just gotta find out which one!

Buzz