We’ve talked about a wide variety of computer maintenance and support software in the past, and today we’ll look at something more fundamental. All software is limited by the hardware it is running on, and in Indian conditions, issues of overheating and dust coagulation are of prime importance. The average person needs to clean his computer physically once or twice a year.

Now the techniques for cleaning the casing and other external parts of a computer are self-evident — use soft cloth and weak solvents, and never apply water directly to the machine.

It is the motherboard and internal components that most people are afraid to clean.

1) Turn off the power supply. Open up the CPU case using a standard ‘+’ screwdriver.
2) Your best tool is compressed air, those with strong lungs can try blowing on the computer, but a smarter way would be to use a can of compressed air, or a bicycle pump or a small hand-held vacuum cleaner (not a high power one)
3) To clean the fan, hold it in place first — if it rotates too much it could generate harmful back-voltage.
4) Be careful and use the devices directly on the circuitry, start at a distance and move in.
5) Don’t touch anything if you are under warranty.
If not cleaned, the RAM, motherboard and GPU will see a reduction in performance and eventually start malfunctioning.