Good morning everyone, how are you? In these difficult times we realize
how many of the simple things can be done by ourselves. Based on this
idea, I would like to take this moment to give you some tips on how to
proceed with cleaning the laptop by yourself.
I have an old Dell Vostro 3560. The problems of overheating have been
getting worse for a few months, especially due to not performing a
periodic cleaning. In fact, it is recommended to perform it annually, but
if you don't have the patience to do so, keep an eye on if your computer
doesn't have a high heat (there are several software for this), crashes or
something like that. It can be the Operating System, or a strong
indication that a cleaning will be necessary. In addition, cleaning
increases the overall equipment life.
Well, hands on, here are the necessary items for cleaning the
equipment:
- brushes: for dust removal;
- star spanner (I recommend having two different small sizes): screw handling;
- cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol: for cleaning electronic components;
- cloth or perfex: used in general cleaning too;
- thermal paste + small plastic spoon: replace the old thermal paste of the processor;
- eyebrow tweezers (don't tell you wife about this one): handle small things.
This model has gaps close to the keyboard. Use the wife's tweezers to
press. You can use a credit card, passing the edges, thus removing the
keyboard:
Carefully remove the cables using the connectors:
This is the view from the top. You now have access to the
screws:
This is the view from the top, with the plastic parts removed:
Then turn the notebook over. Remove the batteries, the DVD-CD drive, as
well as the bottom cover:
Attention to some hidden screws (like this, under a plastic finish):
Unscrew the hard drive. Then just undock (connector is very simple):
Again the clamp helps a lot. The components are very small, making it very
useful to use:
The memories have a very simple fit. Just pull that out automatically. To
put it back, just do the reverse process (put it in place and push it down
slightly, which fits easily):
Notice the amount of dust in the cooler:
Cooling component (cooler and copper plates). Dust everywhere (which causes
overheating):
Processors (CPU and Video), containing the old thermal paste, and a little
annoying to be removed:
Despair time. Everything disassembled:
At this point, don't worry. If you kept everything organized, try to stay
calm and start cleaning. Use the brush to remove dust from the gaps. Then,
moisten the cloth with isopropyl alcohol to wipe the larger electronic
parts. For the smaller ones, do the same thing using the swabs:
Clean all spaces in the cooler with the brush, then swab alcohol with swabs
in the spaces to remove small dust particles:
Use the alcohol to completely remove the thermal paste (already dried) from
the processors. If it is difficult to get out, help with the tweezers (only
on the copper parts, being very careful not to scratch any
components):
In the processor, use only alcohol and cotton swab to remove the thermal
paste, leaving as shown in the figure below:
At this point, place the paste on the processors, spreading it with the
spoon (in my case with the piece of cardboard):
Be careful to leave it on the contact part of the coolers. When it is
refitted, the product will leak a little. Don't worry about it, the goal is
not to get the product on the motherboard:
Dust cotton swab with components on the motherboard that are dusty (taking
care not to leave cotton residue on the way):
Reassemble everything again, hope you haven't forgotten anything along the
way, cross your fingers, turn on the machine again and voilá, machine
working. Detail, I left the machine in high performance, I played for an
hour, without a crash:
Tips:
- Be patient. Take the time to do the job. If you have an appointment in the next 3 hours, leave it to another day. Take off one morning to calmly do all the disassembly and cleaning. Try to do everything at once (leaving the computer and its parts disassembled to assemble the next day can cause some parts to be lost, or forget the order of assembly in the sequence);
- Try to organize everything, before and during the process: leave screws separated by size and location. They are of different sizes, internal, external, flat, short, long. Separate all of them, so as not to forget their respective location afterwards;
- Monitor and plastic parts can be cleaned with a damp cloth. Just be careful not to put anything containing water on the electronic components;
- Do not blow dust from electronic components. Our breath contains water vapor (as I said in the previous item, water is the enemy of the components);
- Remember to use isopropyl alcohol. It is suitable for cleaning components. Any other type of alcohol should not be used for cleaning;
- Be careful with the connectors. Most flat cables have a simple fit. It is only necessary to lift it to remove the cable, as in the example below:
- Complementing the previous item, use the following rule: if it is difficult to remove, it is because you are doing it the wrong way. So, be very careful when forcing the removal of something, because the parts (especially the plastic ones) are very sensitive, being able to break and compromise the whole reassembly;
- As you noticed, the clamp is your great ally. Use it to transport the screws. Just be very careful not to scratch the plates, either with it or with the screwdrivers;
- Static electricity causes a breakdown in the equipment, a grounded bracelet is the best way and when I'm going to move, put your hands on something metallic grounded and I use rubber gloves;
- On the thermal paste, a note. Their price can vary a lot. What changes is the composition of the product itself. Cheaper ones use silicone and zinc oxide in their composition. Although they are a better medium than air for conducting heat, it is still not very efficient. Thermal pastes that offer better thermal conductivity are those with ceramic or silver in their composition. These are noble materials that have the ability to conduct more heat.
Well that's it folks. I hope this post will come in handy for you. In
addition to saving, the feeling of arranging something with your own hands
is very rewarding.
Have a great week, everybody!
No comments:
Post a Comment