Question Odd behavior after cleaning the pc

[themadlieut]

so, i had to clean it because it was slighty dirty,, honestly less dirty than i was expecting, it was almost everything on the front fans and cpu fan, i only removed ram and cpu because i coudn't find the thermal paste to deep clean the cpu cooler so i cleaned the fan on the cpu and the front of the cooler as it is where the fan sit and then just sprayed some air on it, the issue came after reassembling tho:

i had trouble getting the ram detected, wich is not the first time but every time i solved in the same way, cleaning contacts on the ram and swapping slots until they get detected, all the slots eventually worked and both the ram too...it seem to be back as usual...but...now everything i turn the pc on (wich happened twice since i leave it on through the day) it takes several second on a complete black screen before loading the mobo logo, meanwhile the pc run as normal as i hear the fans starting (and shutting down as they are semi-active) like they always do, normally as soon as the fans would start spinning (with maybe 1 sec delay) i'd get the post image, now it only appear after 3-4 seconds...however...if i reboot after reaching windows it acts normally, i get the image around 1 sec it start up and everything seems fine

 

[igor_kavinski]

Disassemble and inspect everything closely, especially the mobo. You may have blown dust into some sensitive area. A 6th gen HP office desktop PC when I cleaned it with a 3M vacuum cleaner, never booted again. Just gets stuck on a blank screen with fans running and the boot up beep still happens but no display.

 

[BoomerD]

Disassemble and inspect everything closely, especially the mobo. You may have blown dust into some sensitive area. A 6th gen HP office desktop PC when I cleaned it with a 3M vacuum cleaner, never booted again. Just gets stuck on a blank screen with fans running and the boot up beep still happens but no display.

Sounds like a static discharge got it.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Sounds like a static discharge got it.

So gone for good? Which component could have been affected?

 

[BoomerD]

So gone for good? Which component could have been affected?

Any of them. NEVER vaccium the dust out of your PC. Blow it out.

 

[themadlieut]

Disassemble and inspect everything closely, especially the mobo. You may have blown dust into some sensitive area. A 6th gen HP office desktop PC when I cleaned it with a 3M vacuum cleaner, never booted again. Just gets stuck on a blank screen with fans running and the boot up beep still happens but no display.

i did checked before putting it back, but as i said i didn't remove the cpu cooler as i can't replace thermal paste right now so i can't tell if anything end up down there, mobo looks fine as far as i can see, it wasn't almost dusty at all in the first place

edit: just in case i downloaded hwinfo to check if it could be an overheating problem (unlikely since it was at the beginning) and everything looks ok

can an old mobo battery cause an issue like this?

 

[solidsnake1298]

can an old mobo battery cause an issue like this?

How old is the computer? I'm assuming you unplugged it while you were cleaning it. If the motherboard battery is dead then the CMOS would have cleared while it was unplugged for cleaning. It sounds like you had fast boot enabled before and now you don't. Which would be explained by a dead motherboard battery. And not having fast boot enabled could explain the long boot delay from a cold start.

 

[themadlieut]

How old is the computer? I'm assuming you unplugged it while you were cleaning it. If the motherboard battery is dead then the CMOS would have cleared while it was unplugged for cleaning. It sounds like you had fast boot enabled before and now you don't. Which would be explained by a dead motherboard battery. And not having fast boot enabled could explain the long boot delay from a cold start.

4 years or something like that

i unplugged, i clicked the power button to discharge, i turned the psu off and only after that i started cleaning with 99 ipa and air spray wearing nitrile gloves before touching any component

how do i check the fast boot? on bios i assume, but why it would changed on it's own?

tbh i cleaned the pc because i've been having issues with a mouse, i though it could be a mobo issue but nothing changed and i managed to try other usb peripherals that works, usb ports were dusty and needed a clean anyway, i'll get a new mouse to double check that's the problem, i wanted to change it anyway

 

[solidsnake1298]

Hmmmm. A motherboard battery should last way longer than 4 years. But, it is worth checking if fast boot is enabled anyway. Correct, you would need to go into your BIOS to check. Most motherboards will have a "Boot" section and it is usually under that section.

This is what it looks like on Asus motherboards, but it should be similar on just about all boards.

 

[BoomerD]

What did you clean with IPA? The ONLY thing I clean with alcohol is the CPU/cooler cold plate. I blow the dust out with air, (ole Electrolux vacuum with the hose in the exhaust port) then a brush tor fan blades and air cooler(if I have one) radiator fins.

 

[themadlieut]

What did you clean with IPA? The ONLY thing I clean with alcohol is the CPU/cooler cold plate. I blow the dust out with air, (ole Electrolux vacuum with the hose in the exhaust port) then a brush tor fan blades and air cooler(if I have one) radiator fins.

gpu plate (only external parts since ii coudn't repaste), ram connectors (wich eventually i cleaned again with a white rubber because theyy weren't detected), all the fans including the one on the cpu cooler, cpu cooler, on the motherboard where dust was a bit "greasy" and air wasn't enough, it was mostly plastic parts and around the backpanel, i used q tips and blew air in case there was any residual i wouldn't see

 

[ringtail]

BoomeD
"NEVER vaccium the dust out of your PC. Blow it out. "

Well that's something I never learned, after having built a lot of computers.

I wonder why flowing air moving OUTWARD (vac) is better than INWARD (blow it out)? Just intuitively, it seems like airflow is airflow, (parts is parts) regardless which direction. Also it seems like those cans might blast a more foreceful airflow than your typical home vacuum cleaner. To me that would mean that if it's about static charge in the airflow, the more foreceful, faster spray from a can would carry more than the lower velocity suction from a vaccum cleaner.

Again, this is something I never learned about, and if you have more comments I'll appreciate learning what you know. Thank you.

 

[solidsnake1298]

BoomeD
"NEVER vaccium the dust out of your PC. Blow it out. "

Well that's something I never learned, after having built a lot of computers.

I wonder why flowing air moving OUTWARD (vac) is better than INWARD (blow it out)? Just intuitively, it seems like airflow is airflow, (parts is parts) regardless which direction. Also it seems like those cans might blast a more foreceful airflow than your typical home vacuum cleaner. To me that would mean that if it's about static charge in the airflow, the more foreceful, faster spray from a can would carry more than the lower velocity suction from a vaccum cleaner.

Again, this is something I never learned about, and if you have more comments I'll appreciate learning what you know. Thank you.

It's not about the air. The particles of dirt and dust you are sucking up with a vacuum are colliding in and with the vacuum tube and a static charge builds up. Because you have to put the end of the vacuum tube close to what you are vacuuming the tube can discharge the static into a computer component. With a can of air or an electric blower you are using that at a larger distance from your computer.

I learned this lesson the hard way. My EVGA 8800GTX died when I was vacuuming my computer. I saw and heard the static discharge and knew it was kaput.

 

[BoomerD]

BoomeD
"NEVER vaccium the dust out of your PC. Blow it out. "

Well that's something I never learned, after having built a lot of computers.

I wonder why flowing air moving OUTWARD (vac) is better than INWARD (blow it out)? Just intuitively, it seems like airflow is airflow, (parts is parts) regardless which direction. Also it seems like those cans might blast a more foreceful airflow than your typical home vacuum cleaner. To me that would mean that if it's about static charge in the airflow, the more foreceful, faster spray from a can would carry more than the lower velocity suction from a vaccum cleaner.

Again, this is something I never learned about, and if you have more comments I'll appreciate learning what you know. Thank you.

Vaccuumingl IN can create a static charge if the nozzle happens to touch anything. Blowing the dust SHOULD keep the nozzle far enough away to prevent the static charge from getting to things. I use an old Electrolux canister vaccuum with the hose in the exhaust port. Creates a powerful blast of air with nearly zero chance of creating static.

It's not about the air. The particles of dirt and dust you are sucking up with a vacuum are colliding in and with the vacuum tube and a static charge builds up. Because you have to put the end of the vacuum tube close to what you are vacuuming the tube can discharge the static into a computer component. With a can of air or an electric blower you are using that at a larger distance from your computer.

I learned this lesson the hard way. My EVGA 8800GTX died when I was vacuuming my computer. I saw and heard the static discharge and knew it was kaput.

Been there, done that. I lost a GT6800 and motherboard that way.