Preventive Maintenance of your computer
Developing a preventive maintenance plan for your PC will reduce incidents of repairing or replacing parts.
- Preventive maintenance saves money.
- Preventive maintenance saves time.
- Preventive maintenance helps safeguard your data.
- Preventive maintenance improves performance.
Cleaning
Mouse
Why: A mouse is especially vulnerable to dust and debris which are carried from the mouse pad into the mouse ball and rollers. When enough dust has accumulated, the mouse cursor hesitates or refuses to move completely.
How:
- Remove the mouse ball: remove retaining ring cover (on bottom of mouse) that holds the mouse ball in place
- Clean the mouse ball: wash mouse ball in warm, soapy water; then dry it thoroughly with a clean lint-free towel
- Blow out the dust: use can of compressed air to blow out any dust or debris that has accumulated inside mouse
- Clean the rollers: (3 rollers) use a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol to clean off any layers of "gunk" that might have accumulated on rollers
- Reassemble and Test: allow everything to dry completely; replace the ball and retaining ring. Test to see if mouse is performing properly
There are three basic types of mice:
- Mechanical: Has a rubber or metal ball on its underside that can roll in all directions. Mechanical sensors within the mouse detect the direction the ball is rolling and move the screen pointer accordingly.
- Optomechanical: Same as a mechanical mouse, but uses optical sensors to detect motion of the ball.
- Optical: Uses a laser to detect the mouse's movement. You must move the mouse along a special mat with a grid so that the optical mechanism has a frame of reference. Optical mice have no mechanical moving parts. They respond more quickly and precisely than mechanical and optomechanical mice, but they are also more expensive.
Note: There is no need to clean an optical/laser mouse because there are no moving parts to collect debris. You may want to wipe the feet of the mouse with a cloth to remove any dirt. Unless you are using a quality mouse pad, it is better to use a laser mouse without a mouse pad.
Caution: Do not use harsh solvents, wood alcohol or chemicals inside the mouse or on the ball. Chemicals can easily melt the plastic and result in permanent damage to the mouse.
Keyboard
Why: Keyboards are open to the environment so dust and debris readily settle between the keys. Over time, these accumulations can jam keys or cause repeated keystrokes.
How:
- Attach the long, thin nozzle to a can of compressed air and use the air to blow through the horizontal gaps between key rows.
- Use a clean cloth dampened with ammonia solution to remove dirt or stains from the keys and keyboard housing
- If keys seem unresponsive or sticky, remove the corresponding keycap and spray electronic contact cleaner into the key assembly; then gently replace the keycap.
Caution: Do not remove the "Enter" key or "Space" bar. These keys are held in place by metal brackets that are extremely difficult to re-attach once the key is removed.
Monitor
Why: Monitors rely on vent openings for proper cooling. Vent openings can be blocked by paper or other objects. This will restrict ventilation and force the monitor to run hot.
How:
- Use a vacuum cleaner and carefully remove any accumulations of dust and debris from the vents underneath the case as well as those on top of the case.
- Use a clean cloth, lightly dampened with ammonia solution or a cleaning solution designed for computers to clean the monitor's plastic case.
Caution: Do not spray cleaner directly onto the monitor housing because active circuitry is directly under the top vents.)
- Use clean water with mild soap to clean the CRT face.
Note: Do not use ammonia or any chemicals to clean flat screen monitors. They are often treated with anti-glare and other coatings and even mild chemicals can react with some coatings.
Click here to learn how to clean flat screen monitors:
Floppy Drive
Why: Read/write heads of the floppy drive touch the floppy disk. This contact transfers some of the magnetic oxides from the floppy disk to the drive's heads. Eventually enough oxides can accumulate on the heads to cause reading or writing problems with the floppy drive. The floppy drive should periodically be cleaned to remove any excess oxides.
How:
Floppy drives can be cleaned either by using a pre-packaged cleaning kit or by using a swab with isopropyl alcohol to clean the read/write heads.
- Using a cleaning kit, dampen a mildly abrasive cleaning diskette with cleaning solution. Run the cleaning diskette in the drive for 15-30 seconds. You can often get 10-20 cleanings from a cleaning diskette before discarding it.
OR
- Use a thin fabric swab dampened in isopropyl alcohol and gently scrub between the read/write heads. Repeat the scrubbing with several fresh swabs; then use a dry swab to gently dry the heads. Allow several minutes for any residual alcohol to dry before turning the PC back on.
Caution: Turn off and unplug PC before attempting a manual cleaning.
CD-ROM Drive
Why: When ejecting and closing the tray, the motion should be smooth without any hesitation or grinding. Accumulations of dust, pet hair, or other debris in the tray may interfere with a CD.
How:
While the tray is open, check for any accumulation of debris. Clean the tray with a cloth lightly dampened with water only. Be sure that the tray is completely dry before closing it again.
Caution: Do not use ammonia or ammonia-based cleaners around the CD-ROM. Prolonged exposure to ammonia vapors can damage a CD.
Preventive Maintenance Schedule
Some types of preventive maintenance need to be performed more often than others. The frequency of preventative maintenance depends on the nature of the activity.
In order for preventive maintenance to be useful, you have to remember to do it. Something that can help is to create a preventive maintenance schedule. Some preventive maintenance activities can be automated. By using system tools that automatically run programs at a specific time, you will not have to remember to do them yourself.
