At 2:18 AM -0500 9/2/02, der Mouse wrote:
>>> First thing I would do is get out a vacuum and vacuum out all the
>>> dust grilles.
>
>> Recommend compressed air or a blower.
>
>> Q:  What's the difference between a belt-driven vacuum cleaner and a
>>     Van der Graaf static generator?
>> A:  Not much.  Don't use one to clean out your computer.
>
>I've never quite understood that.  The static referred to will be
>generated in the vacuum cleaner, which is downstream of the computer.
>The only way I can see a problem is if you're trying to use something
>like an upright (! - do they still exist these days?), or if you're
>holding the vacuum while touching the machine, or some such.  But a
>tank purring along six feet away pulling air through a hose, I have
>trouble seeing as a problem.
>
>Am I just exposing my ignorance of static generators? :-)  I've never
>lost a machine in a way I could attribute to this effect, but my
>vacuuming has always been with tank-and-hose vacuums, either central
>vac systems or a shop-vac.
[...]

When used properly, the vacuum cleaner would never even touch the computer
being cleaned. So, the only effect your system will see is 'swiftly moving
air' - and if your hardware can't handle that, then you should probably get
better hardware.

My personal favorite method for cleaning computers is using a small
paintbrush to loosen the dirt, then sucking it up midair with a vacuum. My
alternate method is to drag the machine outside and blast it with air from
a compressor.

Some people seem to have gotten the idea that using air from a compressor
is bad because of the possibility of getting the system damp from natural
water buildup in the compressor tank. What people don't realize, though, is
that you can take pretty much any computer on the market and run it through
the dishwasher (no soap please, and take out the batteries), and so long as
it's completely dry before you power it up again it'll likely suffer no
harm whatsoever.

Of course, for every rule there are exceptions. For example, some SGIs have
a 'cpop' connector type in them which is extremely fragile when
disassembled due to it's high pin density
<http://www.sgiaddict.net/octane/images/octaneproc3.jpg>. It wouldn't
surprise me if similarly fragile connectors could be found in other exotic
hardware, though I haven't heard of any in Sun systems.


Fear me, for I am a programmer with a soldering iron. :D


Cheers - Tony 'Nicoya' Mantler :)


--
Tony "Nicoya" Mantler - Renaissance Nerd Extraordinaire - nicoya@apia.dhs.org
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada           --           http://nicoya.feline.pp.se/