Lifting the lid

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Lifting the lid

Before you start

Power supply unit

These articles are not designed to turn you into a technician. Information provided is very much on a ‘need to know’ basis. It should give you the confidence to renovate an old computer.

You need one tool - A small ‘Philips’ style screwdriver. A pair of tweezers or small pliers is very useful if you lack slim, agile fingers.

You need an environment that is neither too humid nor too dry. High humidity can cause problems if moisture penetrates the connectors, leading to low-level corrosion which can be a problem given the low voltages. Conversely, a very dry atmosphere is conducive to the build-up of electrostatic charges. These can destroy a chip, which is why they are stored in special plastic packets which allow charges to escape.

You will also need somewhere with good light and a tray on which you can put the little bits you remove. A small brush will be useful to remove the build-up of dust inside the computer.

Connect up the computer and see if it works. This is a very good starting-point. If it does work, and has the facilities you need, you could go straight to installing new software.

	Lifting the lid
	Inside the box
	Cleaning your computer
	Making it quieter
	Going faster

“If it ain’t broke, don’t’ fix it”

Why look inside

	You might have to find and fix a fault - Many components can be changed.
	You might have to fit some extra bits. - But don’t try to add modern peripherals and memory to an old computer.
	If you can do a jigsaw, you should be able to mix and match the internal components from other old machines to produce a working computer.
	The machine would probably benefit from a good clean. - Air is pulled through the computer to keep it cool where all the wires act to filter the dust and dirt. Be ready for a shock. The inside can very dusty. If the machine has lived in a dusty environment it might be worth fixing the upholstery brush to the vacuum cleaner! A computer has at least 2 fans: One keeps the power supply cool. It draws air through the computer and blows it out of the rear. You can often inspect the fan but remember the dust will have been filtered by the components inside. Don’t leave the CD drawer open as this provides an easy path for dust, which might clog the disk, and means that the airflow is not passing over the intended components. The second fan sits on top of the processor chip. These can be very noisy. People have been known to discard their machine, expecting it to crash at any minute, because of the noise made, especially at start-up. The early fans are serious dust traps. As dust accumulates, they get noisier and less effective. If they do not do their job of cooling the processor it will age and fail. So it is worth cleaning this fan. There are limits to what you can do to upgrade an older computer. The technology has moved on leaving insuperable compatibility issues. Think about repair and renovation rather than upgrading. This means you will probably have to find used components if you have to replace anything. And if you start moving components about, you will need some special software called drivers but these can be found on the Internet. Our aim is to renovate with a good clean-up and by identifying and replacing only broken or damaged components before loading new software.