Hardware Cleaning Tips - 1

Case cleaning

Case cleaning keeps the appearance of the computer looking new. During cleaning, if ventilation locations are found, these can be cleaned helping the case keep a steady airflow to the computer, keeping components cool and in good working condition.

The plastic case that houses the PC components can be cleaned with a lint-free cloth that has been slightly dampened with water. For stubborn stains, add a little household detergent to the cloth. It is recommended that you never use a solvent cleaner on plastics.

Make sure all vents and air holes are hair and lint free by rubbing a cloth over the holes and vents. It is also helpful to take a vacuum around each of the hole, vents, and crevices on the computer. It is safe to use a standard vacuum when cleaning the outside vents of a computer; however, if you need to clean the inside of the computer, use a portable battery powered vacuum to prevent static electricity.

If you are looking for steps on cleaning the inside of the computer, see the motherboard cleaning section.

CD-ROM, DVD, and other disc drive cleaning

A dirty CD-ROM drive or other disc drives can cause read errors when reading discs. These read errors could cause software installation issues or issues while running the program.

To clean the CD-ROM drive we recommend purchasing a CD-ROM cleaner from your local retailer such as a local Radio Shack. Using a CD-ROM cleaner should sufficiently clean the CD-ROM laser from dust, dirt, and hair.

In addition to cleaning the drive with a special disc designed to clean drives users can also use a cloth dampened with water to clean the tray that ejects from the drive. Make sure however that after the tray has been cleaned that it completely dry before putting the tray back into the drive.

See the CD cleaning recommendation for further steps on cleaning each of your CDs.

CD and DVD disc cleaning

Dirty CDs can cause read errors or cause CDs to not work at all.

Cleaning CDs and DVDs should be done with a cleaning kit but can also be done with a normal clean cotton cloth or shirt. When doing this with a clean cotton cloth or shirt, wipe against the tracks, starting from the middle of the CD or DVD and wiping towards the outer side as shown in the below picture. Never wipe with the tracks; doing so may put more scratches on the disc.

It is recommended when cleaning a CD that water is used. However, if the substance on a CD cannot be removed using water, pure alcohol can also be used.

Hard drive cleaning

While hard drives cannot be cleaned physically, they can be cleaned with various utilities on the computer to help it run fast and more efficiently. Utilizing these utilities will prevent the hard drive from slowing down.

Refer to our basic troubleshooting section for your operating system for steps that can be done to help improve the performance of your computer.