computer issues, argh

Chances are it just needs a good vacuuming inside. That "fixed" my old computer twice. While you're in there, clean off the blades of the fan(s) and make sure they spin freely. Also check that all the internal plug connections are tight. Also the external connections. I once "fixed" a broken monitor at work by plugging the monitor cable more firmly into it's socket on the back of the computer. ;-)

Dragonfly (Pam)

i'm still here so far. its hard for me to go offline, even to fix the puter, oh well. yup, i did all that cleaning each time i've done it. hadnt thot of a loose cable, good point. it was the noise it made that concerned me even more than the screen going blank on me. i'll check all that tho, thanks for the reminder. j.

"Dragonfly" wrote ... Chances are it just needs a good vacuuming inside. That "fixed" my old computer twice. While you're in there, clean off the blades of the fan(s) and make sure they spin freely. Also check that all the internal plug connections are tight. Also the external connections. I once "fixed" a broken monitor at work by plugging the monitor cable more firmly into it's socket on the back of the computer. ;-)

Drag> a quick post to say i'm experiencing some computer woes.

At work, we had a 'lowest bidder' computer tech guy. His idea of serious repair was to pick the computer up and drop it. You'd be surprised at how often that worked. Don't try this at home. Polly

You might need to replace a fan. That's usually what the noise means. They are usually around five dollars or so around here...probably similarly priced wherever you are.

Or, you could have a hard drive trying to die. Back up anything important that you have on your hard drive!

Dragonfly (Pam)

i just finished watching the idiots from council parks dept remove the big ugly pole. only to replace it with a big uglier pole. this one has a crossbar about half way down sticking out maybe a metre either side. i can only assume this would be to put up banners on it. oh goodie gumdrops. now how can i use that to my own advantage. the pole out back of me was supposed to be moved to a different spot over summer as it was not supposed to be needed after august. it is getting lighter and lighter and we change to daylight time the last weekend in sept this yr. so will be even lighter then. they dont need it now. why didnt it get moved out of my view completely? why is this new uglier pole there now? when will it be moved out of my view for summer? when will they get around to replacing it again at end of summer, betcha it is early tho. argh, i'm going to find someway to mess up their plans. i'm sick of the F'n pole there. i dont care if they take me to court. i dont care if they toss me in jail. i wont put up with it any longer. it will be gone or damaged somehow. i just dont care for any of their damn excuses anymore. i just dont care, i want it gone, now. j.

only important things as far as i'm concerned are all the pix of Tim. i have all those on a cd now. the rest can go to hell in a handcart for all i care. everything here costs more than it should. if it dies it dies, btdt, dont care anymore cuz.... the pole got bigger and uglier and i got madder today as a result. i need a big fat pile of salt to kill all the grass around it. maybe that will show them they f'd up badly on that one. j.

"Dragonfly" wrote ... You might need to replace a fan. That's usually what the noise means. They are usually around five dollars or so around here...probably similarly priced wherever you are.

Or, you could have a hard drive trying to die. Back up anything important that you have on your hard drive!

Drag> i'm still here so far.

I guess what I was saying was that a very inexpensive part going bad (fan) can make a big noise and cause the computer to overheat, which makes other things start to not work right. If the fan isn't totally dead, vacuuming out everything, cleaning the fan, maybe adding a TINY drop of oil on the fan's axle -- all of this should help you get another six or eight months out of the computer.

It's dusty here (desert, windy) so I have just started cleaning out my computer every half year or so. It's now six and a half years old and still plugging along!

Dragonfly (Pam)

only way i can get to the fan is by removing the unit from the tower. i'm not sure how exactly to do that without messing up the insides of the puter but i'll have a look at it and do it if i can work out how. oil? eeeeeeek. that worrys me. might give that a miss if it is spinning smoothly. thanks for all the ideas. j.

"Dragonfly" wrote ... I guess what I was saying was that a very inexpensive part going bad (fan) can make a big noise and cause the computer to overheat, which makes other things start to not work right. If the fan isn't totally dead, vacuuming out everything, cleaning the fan, maybe adding a TINY drop of oil on the fan's axle -- all of this should help you get another six or eight months out of the computer.

It's dusty here (desert, windy) so I have just started cleaning out my computer every half year or so. It's now six and a half years old and still plugging along!

Dragonfly (Pam)

You can usually reach it enough...maybe with cotton swabs...to give it a clean. Only use a TINY half-a-drop of oil if it isn't spinning.

Dragonfly (Pam)

Hi Fly,

The muffin fans in computers are usually sealed and self-lubricating, so I don't know if that would work. OTOH, spattering oil (if one were to use too much) could cause a short circuit on exposed electronics. I'm obviously no expert. J didn't really describe the noise, but the fan would be my first thought too. You can usually tell by the noise if that's the problem. Enough gunk built up on the blades can cause them to rub against the frame or wires. So can a loose (from the bundling) wire. Either is an easy DIY fix.

There are special vacuum attachments (very tiny ones) especially for vacuuming the guts of computers. DW found such a kit for $5 in... a LQS! (I guess they're good for vacuuming sewing machines too...)

Good luck to J.,

Doc

Hi, j.

Couldn't help but smile at your post. :) If you only knew how this "NOT- a- computer-guru" messed up her computer to try to fix it and make it work better, faster whatever. Took me a few days to get going and then I had this pop up thingie every 5 seconds and ARGH I finally figured that one out. My computer went blank on me a couple times and just said "nope, ain't going there" more then a few times. :) No mail, no newsgroups, no nuttin.

So, I undid all the I did's and it's working again and then what did I want to do???? I wanted to try something different. Thankfully, I decided against it. I have DSL and while I was truly happy with it after dial-up....even it is too slow now.

decided it was me who needed to slow down and not the computer.

Donna in WA