My Computer and I: Spring Cleaning

I have bought a new(er) Dell Studio XPS 8100 and since retired my Dimension 8400. Despite a fresh system, sooner or later, problems will arise, often ones that are difficult to troubleshoot. That goes with any computer system, anyway.

I have no formal training in information technology, yet I try to troubleshoot computer problems myself. With that arises a somewhat crude scientific investigation, testing one component at a time until the problem disappears. So, what is the problem this time?

The problem:
Apparently randomly, the display's screen would go blank. Unlike last time, the problem would correct (temporarily) by pulling the plug and rebooting.

Background information:

• The failure of any one component can cause the entire system to stop working.
• A component can shut off as a safety measure when it overheats.
• A computer fan will run as fast as it needs to to cool the system (or the component it guards) down.

The circumstances:

• The computer would often give up while I was playing World of Warcraft.
• I had conducted regular computer cleaning (dusting inside the chassis with a vacuum cleaner), but only the regions which were in easy reach.
• The computer's fans were running rather loud, much louder than when I first received it.

The experience:

• I advanced my cleaning schedule and vacuumed the dust from inside the chassis.
• I tested the RAM modules for defects. None were found.

I then looked at temperatures inside the tower. Fortunately, the system came with many sensors, which could be read using HWiNFO. I found the temperature for the GPU to be disconcertingly high despite the little fan's running full blast (for a fan of its size).

My system came shipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 video card. Note the somewhat elaborate cooling system.

I looked at the video card (an NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240) more carefully. The fan gathered quite some gunk, and the aluminium cover was secured by seven screws, so I figured I should take a look inside the heatsink.

My somewhat clean video card, with cover above and accumulated dust to the top left.

To my horror, I found a 1cm layer of dust blocking the metal channels at the fan end. I picked out the dust from there (with a wooden toothpick), and while I was at it, I also swabbed some gunk off the fan blades and fan case. Replacing the video card (with cover on, no less) and retesting the system, I found that the video card was running much cooler!

Implications:

• The video card's cooling system gathered too much dust and was overheating!
• Dusting the easy-to-reach places of the chassis may not be enough. Depending on the video card's cooling system, you may need to clean that out too.
• The screen would go blank because the video card would shut off as a response to overheating.
• Methylated spirits sure is handy for wiping fan blades clean with. I am not quite sure what it would do to a printed circuitboard, though.
• Running intensive applications (including computer games) causes the computer to generate more heat.