Computers - totally moronic question

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Can I put a placemat (not mouse pad) on top of my PC box? Or would that make it over-heat?

yes. Computers run much too hot (because of their speed). Do not block the radiation of heat from the guts of your machine.

Also open it up and make sure no dust has accumulated around the fan and the vents.

ruveyn

Isn't my life at risk if I open it up? There are warnings everywhere. I'm sure there's lots of dust in there. Staples wants me to bring it in every 6 months for vacuuming, for an outlandish fee.

If you just remove the side panel and avoid any random finger poking you should be fine.

There is nothing wrong with putting a place mat on top of your PC from a heat point of view. Spilled liquids is another issue. Just makes sure the vents are clear. Most of the heat from the PC comes out there and not the top. Hell, put 2 place mats on it!
If you open your PC to clean it (nothing will kill you unless you go poking around inside the power supply which you cant do unless you know how to), make sure you are earthed. You can buy a little crocodile clip thing called an anti-static wrist strap for very little money. Just put it on your wrist and clip the other end to the pc case before you do anything in there. This earths your PC so no static can damage any of the circuits. Instead of hoovering, buy a can of compressed air and just blow all the dust away. You can turn it upside down to let it fall onto a towel or something. It's much easier than it sounds. Indeed, the hardest part is usually figuring out how to get the case open! (You can find this in the manual for your pc or online).
Good luck!

Also, make sure you keep the fans free of dust and debris.

Any time you open the PC case, unplug it first to be safe. Unless you know quite a bit about the insides of a computer, and know what you're looking for to troubleshoot one, you should always unplug it first. If you don't have an anti-static wrist band, be sure to place one hand on the case to ground yourself [release any static electricity from your body to the case if it's metal. Wont work if it's plastic for obvious reasons.]

Also, if you ever have to tinker inside with the parts, make sure you only use special computer tools and never EVER use tools that have magnetic properties.[like for picking up loose screws you can't reach, etc.]

And yeah, don't give anymore of your money to those fools for cleaning your PC insides. Buy some canned air from the computer store or elsewhere to spray the dust out. Good for cleaning dust out of your keyboard too.

P.S. Why do you want a placemat on top of your PC case? If it's for setting drinks or food on it, I'd think twice. It's not a matter of if, but when you'll eventually spill something that can leak into the vents and ruin stuff!

Big desktop machine or laptop?

So long as you don't cover any vents, you can put anything you want on top... but nothing that might tip over and get inside (like dirt & water from a plant, etc.)
A cloth placemat on top may hang over the edge and its corner get into the fan... avoid that.

If you're going to open it up, it's totally harmless to do so SO LONG as you simply shut down first so it's not running while you do so. (Doing it while on is still harmless except for the spinning fans in there that may bump your finger. With a soft attachment on your vacuum hose, you can then suck out any dust-bunnies building up inside and collecting on the fans. It'll be harder if you're a smoker because the fluffy dust bunnies are dark and sticky instead. I've been doing this stuff professionally, volunteer and personally for 20+ years. Don't worry - it's not rocket science - it's a LOT easier than changing a tire on your car!

Hope I didn't send this twice.

Thank you so much, you've been so helpful.

My PC is tabletop 12"sq. x 3.5"high. When you say 'open the side', I think I'll be lifting the top. It sits on the 12" and the monitor is on top of that. Should I separate them? The monitor is mounted on a round 9" plastic thingy and it obstructs nothing.

Many thanks for specific advice on dusting. I don't smoke, not for 6 years, halleluliah.

Okay, I'm going to tell you why I want to put a placemat on top of my computer. It's because I got this for Christmas:

http://acornonline.com/product.aspx?p=15777

and the computer is all black and all of a sudden everything looks yucky, so I thought I'd put this placemat

http://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/ ... ef=preview

Well, phooey! They don't have the placemat anymore. I'm getting the "mousemat" anyway. So it's only for decorating, you see - since the keyboard is so gorgeous. I wouldn't put anything else, except the monitor, unless you say not to.

You've already got a monitor sitting on top of it - why would anything else cause harm unless it's blocking a vent? so you'll have your mini desktop computer with a placemat on it then the monitor sitting on that? To each their own.

The only critical element is to not cover any vents - smaller machines need air. Those business desktops are often designed to suck air in the front and blow out the back, monitor on top, so it might not have any vents on the "top" portion anyway. No vents? Go right ahead!

And yeah, maybe 1-2x per year, shut it down, take off the monitor, pop the lid and suck out the dust bunnies. Harmless fun.

Congrats on kicking the habit - that's tough!

+1

The critical thing is air flow.

Don't block vents or the ability of air to be drawn in or pumped out.

Be sure the inner-workings are tidy (everything hanging about blocks air flow).

Be sure to clean every now and then to get rid of dust build up.

If you want to open it up; Be sure to unplug it first!

And know that static electricity from your hands WILL destroy memory chips... Be sure to touch some earth-bound metal somewhere to discharge before you touch anything in the computer. Or use rubber gloves.

Earth-bound metal (usually) include the water pipes of your sink.