Dirty PC

was it at? sahara desert?.. I think i got asthma? from watching this video

ryan compressed air still has moisture so its not the correct choice either. you should use a special vac that is designed for electronics and leave the computer plugged it but the power switch off if it has one. this leaves the computers case grounded then you connect the vac to this then static is a non issue. also air compressors work very well to clean pc's

As a CompTIA A+ Certified technician, I believe compressed air is the correct choice. A lot of people use vacuums but these generate static electricity that can damage PC components. I don't use 30OHM Anti-static wrist straps like I should, but I drain the caps before working inside.

And from personal experience, do not used canned air on a running server long enough for it to spray liquid on the power supply.

Yeah, we've had worse than this and I'm afraid what would be in my PC now :P I use compressed air on it, but that's it.
We have 3 dogs and a cat that all shed like crazy too so yeah... I'm sure the inside of it isn't pretty.

That's a lot of FAP dust.

I would like to add to nihil's rules, that if you need to have a CD, DVD, Blu-Ray or floppy drive work after cleaning, remove it first. Clean it separately by first vacuuming then blowing.

I can certainly say I've seen just as bad if not worse while servicing PCs in a school system. The dirtiest ones I can say I've personally dealt with are ones that come from shop areas or the like. So, our ceramics teacher's computer, the wood/metal shop, some of the ones from the bus mechanics. Also, any personal computers I've worked on for friends who have pets and/or smoke.

Although I will say that while individually they are not that bad. The most horrible was the year we removed all the 10 year old computers from the whole system and had to lug them across town during the hottest summer in years. Hottest, dirtiest, grossest job I've ever done. I'd come home just covered in years of dust and who knows what that would get distributed into the air when we moved all those things.

As for vacuuming/cleaning your computers there are some Do's and Dont's:
1. Do: vac out the fans from the OUTSIDE of the case.
2. Do: use compressed air (can) to blow out anything from the inside
3. DO NOT: run the vac over the internal components in the inside of the case! (You risk creating static and static = potentially dead computer)

All I use is a laptop now. It's covered in cat hair and sneezes.

Mine is also a Dirty PC! My mom keeps yelling at me for it! :(:(