PC Overheating

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Torgo

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I'm going to be the fool who asks the obvious question -- what's everyone's recommended way to get the built-up dust gone for good?

With a desktop PC, you can do it yourself if you're careful, comfortable with opening up the case, and know what you're doing. If it's a laptop, or if you're not OK with doing it yourself, take it to be serviced. When I last owned a laptop I'd take it in for a £50 service about once every 18 months and it lasted about 7 years.
 

kuwisdelu

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I'm going to be the fool who asks the obvious question -- what's everyone's recommended way to get the built-up dust gone for good?

Well, I think Lisa was talking about compressed air when you haven't actually opened up the computer.

To really do any good, you need to open it up.
 

EMaree

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Thanks for the clarification Torgo and Kuwi. I regularly open up my desktop for a good clean with compressed air, but I was worried I was missing out of a more thorough cleaning technique. :)
 
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Reziac

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Then you've got a laptop that is not fit for purpose out of the box. I'd rather just return the thing and get one that doesn't melt than mess around with cooling pads.

So would I, but ofttimes people don't notice the problem soon enough, or don't realise what's causing the machine's occasional instability, and by the time they figure it out, it's long since too late to return it. Or they just think it's normal and live with it.

Sure, though I have found that my last couple of laptops were prone to getting gummed up. The last one in particular went on a few painting and decorating jobs and filled up with fine dust. When my brother cracked it open to clean it (he's the practical one in the family) it looked like it was fur-lined.

Then you need something designed for such conditions, such as a Panasonic Toughbook.
 

Reziac

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My experience with ordinary Panasonic products is that they're too dumb to know when they're dead... they just keep plugging on and on and ON long after they're obsolete. (I've had some last over 30 years in everyday use.) So they're my first choice in consumer electronics, and if I were gonna invest in a high-end laptop... yeah, it'd be a Toughbook.
 

Roden Addison

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External cooling pads that blow air up into the vents of the laptop are excellent. I have one that is one big fan so that the series of tiny fans don't have to match the vent configuration on the bottom of the laptop.

If you want to be sure, take it a tech to have it cleaned but I'd still suggest the after market cooling pad. It even allows you to write in bed or with a blanket over you if you're so inclined.

It's not necessarily a matter of bad design that makes these beasties hot. They tend to get hotter as they get older (just like me) and need the extra help. If it's on a pad, you know it's not having it's vents blocked. The acer I write on is seven years old. (Yeah, I know, I'm almost due.) I've been writing on it so long some of the keys have grooves worn in them from my fingernails.
 

EMaree

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The Toughbooks are impressive beasties.

Re: laptops that seem designed to overheat, I find laptops advertised as 'desktop replacements' tend to have this problem. Desktop replacement seems to be code for 'needs to be kept on a desk or it'll melt everything it touches'.

There's a big market for these laptops. It was even bigger before ultrabooks arrived and managed to find a balance of power and form, but it's still a significant market over here.

(Examples of the term in use: CNET page, John Lewis section, a few PC articles.)
 

Paperback Writer

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I thought it was pretty funny when I read on my Certification question exam dump that using a vacuum to clean a computer was ok to do. It reminded me of this thread.

Also police officers use Toughbooks where I live, I spoke with one and he complained as to how slow it was. They are still using Windows XP lol
 

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I figure if I need a cooling pad, I should've just gotten a desktop.
Some people don't know what they're buying. I never used a cooling pad before until I met an acquaintance using one because her laptop kept overheating. She did say it worked thus my recommendation. Funny thing is that both her laptop and netbook have so many software glitches from her use, she can't access the internet on one and the other does not power the LCD.
 

EMaree

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Also police officers use Toughbooks where I live, I spoke with one and he complained as to how slow it was. They are still using Windows XP lol

I've worked with plumbers and engineers who use them.

I think the reason they're still running XP is because a lot of software in engineering, technical roles and police roles still needs to be used on Windows XP and isn't supported on Win7. It's definitely a key consideration for the groups I've worked with.

(A lot of the clients I support are still running Windows 2000, ffs, because the software they need hasn't been updated.)
 

EMaree

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Ah, but that costs money. The codeword for all management to hiss and retreat into dark corners. Keeping everyone on Win2k costs nothing at all... until the inevitable security failure from keeping an unsupported OS networked.
 

kuwisdelu

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Ah, but that costs money. The codeword for all management to hiss and retreat into dark corners. Keeping everyone on Win2k costs nothing at all... until the inevitable security failure from keeping an unsupported OS networked.

To spout a bit of advice I've taken to heart from the Ars Technica OpenForum, I think everyone should aspire to work in an environment where spending a few thousand dollars to increase productivity by just a few minutes each day should be a no-brainer.

Getting off obsolete technology should be a no-brainer, however much it costs. The longer you postpone, the more painful and expensive the transition will be.
 

cbenoi1

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Getting off obsolete technology should be a no-brainer, however much it costs. The longer you postpone, the more painful and expensive the transition will be.
It's much easier to shove the problem forward to the next administration. Besides, "If it works, don't f*** with it."

That said, technology product life cycles are much shorter than any other sort of immobilization and it's not getting any longer. For example, Apple launched 5 iPhones in 5 years. In that sort of market environment, staying current is getting costlier every year. Exponentially costlier. So companies are sending messages to tech providers by not upgrading as fast as their latest offerings: slow down some.

-cb
 

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I think the reason they're still running XP is because a lot of software in engineering, technical roles and police roles still needs to be used on Windows XP and isn't supported on Win7. It's definitely a key consideration for the groups I've worked with.
Yup. I work on airplanes for a living (not on the shop floor, but in the engineering department), and we still use Windows XP. The OS isn’t the only thing that doesn’t get updated either. The company got a rollout a few weeks ago for Office 2010, but our department is still stuck on 2003 because the software we use with the office suite doesn’t work on the newer versions yet.

Not breaking things is a big deal, so they roll out updates to us very slowly.
 

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Yup. I work on airplanes for a living (not on the shop floor, but in the engineering department), and we still use Windows XP. The OS isn’t the only thing that doesn’t get updated either. The company got a rollout a few weeks ago for Office 2010, but our department is still stuck on 2003 because the software we use with the office suite doesn’t work on the newer versions yet.

Not breaking things is a big deal, so they roll out updates to us very slowly.
Hmm, I do remember touring the labs of one of the biggest chemical companies and seeing XP screensavers, and XP software running the company. This answers that question. Also I do remember seeing a lesser company using the touch screen version of Windows 2000. Those computers took 15-20 minutes to restart.
 

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I've worked with plumbers and engineers who use them.

I think the reason they're still running XP is because a lot of software in engineering, technical roles and police roles still needs to be used on Windows XP and isn't supported on Win7. It's definitely a key consideration for the groups I've worked with.

(A lot of the clients I support are still running Windows 2000, ffs, because the software they need hasn't been updated.)
What kind of degree or certifications do you have? I'm wondering what is needed to take on a support role like this.
 

EMaree

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What kind of degree or certifications do you have? I'm wondering what is needed to take on a support role like this.

I got into my role straight out of high school, working taking calls on the IT Service Desk side for a year (think call centre work, but for tech support rather than selling products) and moving up to a desktop PC support role.

I'm lucky in that my company doesn't require qualifications, just some decent customer-facing skills, enthusiasm for tech work, and a good pass mark on their technical tests. Experience is a huge plus point too, often more than qualifications, but a lot of companies out there require a qualification.

For most corporate IT roles you want a Windows Certified qualification in a relevant field -- the qualification hierarchy they use is confusing, so excuse any mistakes below.

For desktop PC support, the standard qualification is the MCSA in Windows 7 with the focus on the Enterprise Desktop Support Technician exam (previously an MCITP or an MCDST).

For server support roles, it's the MCSE in Administering Windows Server for whatever version suits the job market you're interested in -- newest is Server 2012 (They briefly renamed this qualification to an MCITP last year.).

The requirements vary a lot depending on the company -- my company still advertises for Server NT Administrators because a lot of their servers still run that...
 

Paperback Writer

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I got into my role straight out of high school, working taking calls on the IT Service Desk side for a year (think call centre work, but for tech support rather than selling products) and moving up to a desktop PC support role.

I'm lucky in that my company doesn't require qualifications, just some decent customer-facing skills, enthusiasm for tech work, and a good pass mark on their technical tests. Experience is a huge plus point too, often more than qualifications, but a lot of companies out there require a qualification.

For most corporate IT roles you want a Windows Certified qualification in a relevant field -- the qualification hierarchy they use is confusing, so excuse any mistakes below.

For desktop PC support, the standard qualification is the MCSA in Windows 7 with the focus on the Enterprise Desktop Support Technician exam (previously an MCITP or an MCDST).

For server support roles, it's the MCSE in Administering Windows Server for whatever version suits the job market you're interested in -- newest is Server 2012 (They briefly renamed this qualification to an MCITP last year.).

The requirements vary a lot depending on the company -- my company still advertises for Server NT Administrators because a lot of their servers still run that...
Thanks for the help, I think I'm going to study on my own for something like this. I'm just going to buy the books and take the exams when I have the money for them. I was trying to do this through a school, but found they were just in it for the money.

I've installed a couple of business type networks from scratch (installing the OS), I've done Linux and BSD learning on my own and I have configured my own Apache Server in the past using the config files and command line. I think switching to Windows should be a lot easier than this. I also managed to install gentoo once, which used to be hard a while back. I didn't keep the install because I had a crappy net connection. I also was able to rescue my files from a bad OS installation, and did some white hat penetration for a place I was working at. I think I could definitely do this on my own.
 

kuwisdelu

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That said, technology product life cycles are much shorter than any other sort of immobilization and it's not getting any longer. For example, Apple launched 5 iPhones in 5 years. In that sort of market environment, staying current is getting costlier every year. Exponentially costlier. So companies are sending messages to tech providers by not upgrading as fast as their latest offerings: slow down some.

I'm not talking about consumer upgrade cycles. I'm talking about shitty, obsolete technology. Lots of this stuff once worked well, but is now a pain in the ass to work with, and the source is a spaghetti code mess that no one wants to touch.
 

Reziac

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Yup. I work on airplanes for a living (not on the shop floor, but in the engineering department), and we still use Windows XP. The OS isn’t the only thing that doesn’t get updated either.

I don't know if it's still the case, but not too many years back NASA was hoarding 486 CPUs for space missions, because they are an absolutely known quantity: ALL the bugs are known, so they won't surprise you with some new glitch a few million miles out, not exactly convenient for repairs or updates.
 

EMaree

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I had a long discussion with a colleague who's been around in IT for decades longer than I have, and he said that most of the engineering industry is still using Windows 2000, Windows NT and other obsolete tech, along with some of the more manual industries (we could both cite from experience trade plumbing/sewage industries and steelworkers).

These machines are just sitting on shop floors, running their specialised software, and no one has any problems with them. They'll chug along for years until they finally break, and that's when the problems start because there's nothing in place to fix those old systems.

He had a wonderful example of a steelwork 'shop floor' PC running a business piece of software. In an audit, they found out this PC was a BBC Micro. They asked the man in charge of the Micro what he'd do if it ever broke down, and he opened up a cupboard full of more BBC Micros. :)

(This whole discussion was sparked because the on-site hardware team got asked to do software installs on Windows 2000 PCs and refused, and my remote team can't work on Windows 2000 because of our contracted support and access levels. It makes sense to refuse to install software on a machine that no longer has any official Microsoft support, but on the other hand we have thousands of actively used Windows 2000 machines.

Glad I'm not involved in sorting that problem out.)
 
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