Five Things to Avoid When Performing Computer Maintenance on Your Own
Without a doubt, being able to fix and maintain your own computer is a fantastic ability. In addition to the financial savings, it is incredibly satisfying to feel like you have total control over your gadget, particularly if you made it from the ground up.
Some tasks, however, should never be done by yourself since they may cause permanent damage to parts or even endanger your safety.
While some of these tasks call for specialized equipment, others call for in-depth technical understanding or a great deal of real-world experience. To prevent major harm, it is advisable to reevaluate your choice or at the very least, seek professional assistance if you are considering attempting any of the following!
The process of removing the IHS metal shield that covers the CPU chip and replacing it with a more effective thermal material between it and the chip itself is known as CPU delidding.
Even though this procedure is challenging, it is essentially no longer required in contemporary processors, whether they are AMD (like the Ryzen 7000 processors) or Intel (like the 2nd and 13th generation processors). Because of their sophisticated designs, these processors render the process of removing the shield utterly inefficient.
Simply put, you should not even consider this because it calls for specialized equipment, and because the materials used to make the processor are so delicate, even a small error could render it completely unusable.
Remember that the majority of the time, the temperature difference is not worth the risk, especially with the advancement of cooling technologies, and that you might lose the official warranty if the processor is brand-new.
With hundreds or even thousands of tiny metal pins conducting power and signals between the processor and the motherboard, the motherboard's processor socket is one of the most delicate parts. The computer may not start or may experience unforeseen system errors if any of these pins become bent or broken.
You should be aware that any bent pin must be fixed with extreme precision; even the smallest error could shatter it and destroy the motherboard as a whole. It is best to try replacing the motherboard if you purchase one and discover a socket issue because, even if you are able to straighten a pin or two, the damage might not be apparent and could still affect performance. Only in the event that there is no chance of recovery should the socket be addressed.
We all know that the computer's power supply is one of the most dangerous components, if not the most dangerous, as it supplies the entire board with power, and it also contains giant capacitors that can retain a strong electrical charge even after the device is disconnected from the electrical current.
If you have to handle the power supply and touch one of the capacitors, you could get a serious electric shock. In addition, any incorrect connection could burn out the internal components or, even worse, cause a fire! If the power supply unit must be handled, it should be handled by a professional, and in most cases, the best option is to replace it, especially since the cost is much less than the risks that could occur.
Mechanical storage drives (HDDs) contain very sensitive parts such as read and write heads, etc. When a drive experiences a problem, such as making abnormal noises or losing data, most of us would simply pull it out of the SATA cable and check it out, but that’s a very bad idea! Although it may seem easy, dealing with these drives requires a completely dust-free environment, as well as specialized tools that you probably don’t have, and even if you do, it’s always best to go to a company that specializes in data recovery or hard drive repair in general.
No one denies the importance of cleaning the computer regularly; in fact, we are the first to advise that, but not with liquids, especially regular liquids such as water or household cleaners as some do! There are liquids specifically designed to clean the computer: water, diluted alcohol, and cleaners, and these things are not suitable at all because some of them may leave harmful residues on the electrical circuits and cause undesirable consequences.
In general, it is preferable to use compressed air to blow dust out of fans and heatsinks; you can clean the motherboard and other components with a soft, dry brush, and when removing thermal paste in particular, use 99% isopropyl alcohol with a dry cotton swab. If, God forbid, a liquid leak occurs inside the computer, the best and only solution is to disassemble the components and dry them completely using the aforementioned alcohol, but even this does not guarantee repairing the device, so avoid liquids in general from the beginning.
Finally, do not joke with the internal components of the computer or hardware in general if you do not know what you are doing because the consequences may be dire.