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  • How to Coddle Your Music Computer

    By Anderton |

    Keep your silicon sweetie happy

     

    by Craig Anderton

     

    As musicians, we depend more and more on computers (and lots of hardware instruments have computers inside, too). If mine is down for a few hours, I’m in trouble—and if it’s down for even a few seconds on stage, I’m hosed! So while it’s important to learn about fixing computers, it’s even more important to keep them from getting sick in the first place...and these tips will help you do just that.

     

    Ventilate. Heat is the primary enemy of electronic devices because it can shorten the lifetime of components, which may eventually cause a string of failures. It’s imperative that all vents are always unblocked; and leave plenty of room for air to circulate around the computer. Similarly, keep computer gear out of direct sunlight.

     

    Fan and filter. If the cooling fan has a filter, check it periodically and clean or replace if necessary—a clogged filter can increases the machine’s internal temperature. Also, the fan itself is often a dust magnet because it’s pulling lots of air over those blades. Wipe the blades periodically with a damp cloth to keep dust from getting into the machine.

     

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    Furman's F1000-UPS maintains power to your computer during brief power interruptions.

     

    Use an uninterruptible power supply. These provide a smooth, regulated, spike-free voltage source that lets you power down elegantly in the event of power problems. Think of a UPS as providing your computer with a diet of gourmet-quality electricity. The first time someone kicks out the plug or a falling tree takes out a power line, you’ll really appreciate what a UPS is all about; this modest investment could end up saving you thousands of dollars.

     

    Dust and debris. Dust has two nasty qualities: It interferes with proper contact between moving parts, and forms a layer of insulation on parts, which prevents heat from dissipating. When it’s time for computer “spring cleaning,” take the cover off, go outside, and carefully blow out the dust with a can of compressed air. And if you’re still using a CRT-based monitor, remember that dust and cobwebs can wreak havoc with high-voltage circuits.

     

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    Unplugging then re-plugging connectors can help clean them, but be very gentle.

     

    Connector connections. While the cover’s off, gently unplug then plug in any easily accessible connectors. This helps prevent oxidation from building up on the contacts, and sometimes can even solve pesky intermittent problems. If any internal peripheral boards are installed, lift them up slightly from the motherboard, then re-seat them to clean the contacts.

     

    Support your cables. Video cables can weigh quite a bit, and pull downward on delicate connectors. Support your cables so that as little weight as possible pulls on these connectors. Also, dress your cables to make sure nothing can catch on them (or roll over them) accidentally.

     

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    Don't plug or unplug from ports, particularly FireWire ports, without powering-down first.

     

    Don’t hot-swap peripherals. In theory, you should be able to hot-swap (i.e., plug and unplug without turning off power) Firewire and USB peripherals. However, there have been isolated reports of damage to motherboards and peripherals from this practice—better safe than sorry.

     

    For laptops, use a USB cable extender for dongles and USB memory sticks. Having a long object poking out of your computer is asking for trouble. A cable extender still sticks out, but nowhere near as far.

     

    Add a surge suppressor to your phone/cable modem/T1/DSL line. Even if you use an uninterruptible power supply and turn off the computer when there’s a thunderstorm in the area, any line going from the outside world into your computer can provide a “back door” to electricity from nearby lightning strikes.

     

    Quickie keyboard maintenance. Disconnect the keyboard, take it outside, hold it upside down, and shake gently. Then blow into the spaces between the keys and shake gently again. This will get rid of at least some of the dust.

     

    Power down before transport. If you put your laptop inside a computer bag, power it down first—standby isn’t good enough. If the computer gets turned on by accident, it will be sitting in a space with no ventilation that’s likely to get jiggled or bumped.

     

    No smoking. Smoke does not make computers happy.

     

    Make a special AC cord if you’re going to work on your computer. Use this even if you’re just doing something simple, like changing a card. You don’t want to leave your computer plugged in if you take the cover off, but you do want to keep the case grounded. To do this, buy an IEC-type AC cord and cut off the two AC prongs flush with the plug (file them if necessary to make sure they don’t stick out)—but leave the ground plug.

     

    Wear a grounding strap if you open up your computer. A grounding strap discharges any static electricity from your body. If you don’t have a grounding strap, at least touch something metal before doing anything inside your computer.

     

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    Motherboard batteries (which are typically small and round) last a long time, but if they don't last forever--so check the status periodically, especially with older computers.

     

    Battery problems. Most computers use batteries to back up functions such as date and time settings. Although today’s batteries are pretty leak-proof, leakage can still happen—which lets corrosive chemicals loose inside your computer. Check the battery periodically for leakage, and replace it when it starts to reach the end of its useful life.

     

    Never touch cable pins. Always handle a cable by the casing. Some pins might connect to sensitive parts of a device that could be damaged by static electricity charges (such as what you accumulate by walking across a rug on a low-humidity day). Also, it’s generally good practice to turn off power before connecting cables.

     

    Avoid powering a computer off and on in quick succession. Turn-on transients put a strain on components. If you’re going to take an hour break, leave the computer on and turn the monitor brightness down. Some people insist you’re better off just leaving the machine on all the time, but the jury’s still out as to whether that’s better in the long run.

     

    Don’t move a hard drive while it’s spinning. Hard drives like to sit in one place; moving them around while spinning places excessive stress on the drive.

     

    Follow these tips, and your computer will thank you for it. May your machine never go down in the middle of a crucial session!

     

     

     

    CraigGuitarVertical.jpgCraig Anderton is Editor Emeritus of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.

     

     




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