114636 SayPro Lesson 1.6 CAUSES OF COMPUTER HARDWARE MAINTENANCE

Email: info@saypro.online Call/WhatsApp: + 27 84 313 7407

SayPro is a Global Solutions Provider working with Individuals, Governments, Corporate Businesses, Municipalities, International Institutions. SayPro works across various Industries, Sectors providing wide range of solutions.

The following are the reasons why computer hardware components must be maintained regularly.

  1. Dust

 

Dust is a major killer of speed if you haven’t cleaned it up in over a year. This can block filters, and prevent air from flowing through the computer. It causes the machine to overheat. It also affects disk drives and can even block USB ports and interfaces. Dust also acts as an insulator which can add to the heat build-up. More importantly, dust can also cause a short in circuit boards and integrated circuits causing computers to crash and, in some cases, even catch fire!

Overheating

Overheating is your computer’s biggest enemy; too much heat can fry its delicate circuitry and chips and send you shopping for a brand new system. Its fast spinning hard drives and quick microprocessors packed inside cramped quarters can lead to dangerous overheating and potential equipment damage. In fact, some high-performance hard disks can produce an astonishing amount of heat. If this heat is not safely dissipated, it can cause serious performance problems or even damage the hard disk. Because today’s high-performance computers generate a great deal of heat – as much as 175 watts for the typical full-sized desktop.

  1. Major Causes of Overheating 

Among the primary causes of computer overheating are the PC’s components themselves, poorly ventilated environment, direct sunlight and dust. Dust build-up can insulate components, compromise their ability to cool off, and cause them to burn up. Unfortunately, in addition to cooling your PC, your computer’s internal cooling fans also manage to suck a fair amount of the dusk that has settled into the immediate environment. A big pile of dust of can also attract moisture, causing a deadly combination of liquid and filth that can corrode the metal parts inside your computer.

Electrical disturbances

A disturbance may be caused by a problem that occurs on Eskom’s transmission or distribution lines, such as a lightning strike. A disturbance may also be caused by circumstances within your home or office building. For example, starting a motor will cause the voltage to drop briefly (a sag) because the motor pulls a large amount of energy. Turning the motor off may cause a brief, sudden rise in voltage (a surge) because the energy needed to run the motor is no longer required.

Disturbances like these, along with noise, spikes, and momentary interruptions of power, may affect your computer equipment without your realizing it. An electrical disturbance is described by the way it changes the shape of the voltage waveform. The five basic disturbances that can occur on an electrical system are illustrated and explained below. A normal waveform of the 60 hertz (Hz) alternating current provided by the utility is also illustrated.

Normal 60 Hz waveform

Voltage Sag

Description: Drop in voltage greater than 13 percent within 2½ seconds
Causes: Power line switching, motor starts, overloaded service panel, office equipment
Effects: Data loss, erroneous subroutine operation, keyboard lockout.

Voltage Surge

Description: Increase in voltage greater than 6 percent within 2½ seconds
Causes: Capacitor bank switching, motors turning off, office equipment
Effects: Disk write errors, logic board failure, damaged power supply

Noise

Description: Sharp increase in voltage which may exceed normal by 5 to 10 times
Causes: Lightning, power tools, elevators, office equipment
Effects: Disk write errors, logic board failure, damaged power supply

Momentary Interruption

Description: Breaks in applied voltage lasting half a second to several seconds
Causes: Utility recloser operation, faulty circuit breakers, bad wiring connections
Effects: Lost data, destruction of files, damaged hard disk

Why is your computer equipment affected by electrical disturbances?

Eskom supplies your home or office building with alternating current (AC) at 60 Hz and at certain voltages, such as 120 or 240 volts (V). This AC power is what your computer receives when it is plugged into an outlet. However, there is a power supply unit built into your computer equipment which receives the AC power and converts it to direct current (DC) power at a lower voltage.

Electrical disturbances can occur anywhere on the AC electrical system and can be transmitted into the microprocessor’s power supply unit. The power supply unit is affected by electrical disturbances because it is not designed to withstand significant changes in AC power, such as spikes, surges, or sags. Electrical disturbances can damage your computer equipment’s power supply unit, circuit boards, microchips, and even individual logic gates.

 

  1. Thermal creep or chip creep

Chip creep is a PC problem that is caused by thermal expansion. This takes place when a system expands and contracts as it heats up and cools down. This will have adverse effects on various components and sections inside the PC.

  • Neftaly Malatjie | CEO | SayPro
  • Email: info@saypro.online
  • Call: + 27 84 313 7407
  • Website: www.saypro.online

SayPro ShopApp Jobs Courses Classified AgriSchool Health EventsCorporate CharityNPOStaffSports

Comments

Leave a Reply