PC Preventive Maintenance

Computer system preventive maintenance (PM) is a very critical aspect of any successful IT operation and we always stress how it is very importance.

No matter what efforts are taken, computers will still has their malfunctions, laptops will break down, servers will go offline, networks will become unavailable  & etc. at times you least expect. All of these problems can be turned away and kept to a very minimum by keeping up with regularly scheduled preventive maintenance activities. Oftentimes even basic maintenance such as backup of critical data, critical software updates and hardware components cleaning can become very time-consuming or difficult for an average computer user.

To keep computer hardware in good working order, especially the internal components, which usually you have to deal with dust – one of the main source of computer hardware failures. It is imperative to clean and properly lubricate all the moving components, such as fans, power supplies, the main board and the CPU. You must make sure that you have the right equipment.

Another important aspect of keeping up the effectiveness of hardware is make sure that the moisture and heat are kept away from the computer hardware, especially from CPU/processor and hard drives, as it dramatically affects their longevity.

Below is some of preventive maintenance activities and the outcomes/benefits of it’s:

Preventive Maintenance Activity	Benefits
Anti-virus software updates, regular virus scans - always keep the current updates of antivirus software.	Minimize the risks associated with receiving infected files. Valuable files aren't compromised/destroyed by virus infections.
Data Backups, protection and Disaster Recovery.	Increase system up-time and critical data availability in case of data loss. Backups are an essential part of data protection.
Spyware, Malware sweep, system scans and removal of malicious software.	Prevents intruders from unauthorized data access/manipulation, entering and controlling you system.
Regular Hard Disk Defragmentation: reorganization of data stored on hard drives.	Allows keeping your PC running at peak performance.
Operating System Security Updates and Patches installation.	Keeping Operating System up-to-date will provide fixes to security vulnerabilities and holes as well as resolutions to well known and identified software bugs.
Temporary and unnecessary files clean-up. Old, unused programs removal. The registry scans and Start-up environment cleanup.	Freeing up disk space. Overall system performance improvement. Faster system boot-ups.
Regular cooling system Inspections and cleanup: verify functionality of cooling fans, vents and heat sinks.	Increase longevity of CPU and other components by avoiding overheating.
Current hardware review/inventory and recommendations for upgrades if necessary for uninterrupted system functionality.	Proactively plan for hardware upgrades and replacements to prevent last minute, costly purchases.

Dissembling PC and it's Components

Firstly, the screws at the back of the computer were unscrew. On most computer cases, there will be large knobs that you can unscrew by hand or screw driver on the back-right side of the computer.

Once the screws were removed, the side panels were removed then. On most computers, they were just slide off. Started with the left side panel (the side that once had the knobs), slide it towards the back of the computer. Now you can remove the left panel. 

Just like the side panels, the top panel was slide off. The top one slides toward the back of the computer. The front panel clipped onto the metal frame with four tabs, so you must pushed them in and slide the whole panel forward.

Most computers have two fans: 1) the system fan, which blows air into the computer, and 2) the CPU fan, which blows air onto the CPU heat sink. I will start by removed the system fan. It is located at the back side of the computer, the side with all the component plugins. First, the fan was unscrewed from the outside. It should be labeled as "SYS_FAN1". Next, the fan from the motherboard must be unplugged. You can find the plug by followed the wires from the fan. Now, the fan should be able to lift out of the PC.

The CPU fan which is located at the right on top of the CPU heat sink, is a large piece of metal with fins on the top. The CPU fan plugs into the motherboard in an awkward place, that is hard to access. Just followed the wires and you can easily found it. It is labeled as "CPU FAN1". To remove the fan from the heat sink, the four screws were removed.

The CD/DVD Drive is the one of the components that was easy to remove. First, the ribbon was unplugged from the back of the drive. Once it completed, the tab which secured the drive in place was pulled, then pushed out from the inside.

The Floppy Drive is also one of the easiest components to remove. First, unplug the ribbon from the back of the drive. Once completed, pulled on the tab which secured the drive in place, then push it out from the inside.

First, de-attach the connector at the back of the slot and unplugged the other end from the motherboard. Then, the SATA cable was also unplugged from the motherboard and the hard drive. The portable hard drive slot was secured the same way as the CD/DVD drive, using a tab. The tab was pulled, then the slot was slide out.

To remove the hard drive from the side of the slot, the four screws which were secured in place were unscrewed. You must be very careful to not drop the hard drive, as it is very delicate.

The more RAM you have, the faster your computer runs. Most computers have 4 RAM slots and two RAM chips. My computer came stock with two, but yours might have more or less. To remove the RAM, pushed down both tabs while holding the RAM in place, which are located at both ends of the RAM. Please refer to the pictures.

PC Tools and it's function

PC TOOLS REQUIRED

The picture of tools that is required for Task 1

Below is the picture of the Tools, its name and the functions of it :-

1/4" Flat screwdriver, 1/8" Flat screwdriver, 3/16" Flat screwdriver.

Functions: It can be used to tighten or loosen a screw.

#0 Phillips screwdriver, #1 Phillips screwdriver, #2 Phillips screwdriver. 

Functions: It can be used to tighten or loosen a screw with a star-like hole in their head.

1/4" nut driver, 3/16" nut driver, Reversible T10 & T15 torque screwdriver.  

Functions: used to tighten or loosen a screw with a hexagon shape in their head.

Soldering iron.

Functions: it typically is used to bond two copper wires together.

Solder reel.

Functions:Used for soldering iron.

Spare parts tube.

Functions: To store extra screw.

Tweezers.

Functions: For picking up or manipulating small objects that are too small for human hands

Reverse action tweezers.

Functions: For holding small items to be glued into small places

 

Three prongs holder. 

Functions: To grab small or retrieve small objects

IC inserter (14-16 Pin Ics).

Functions: To insert chip into a circuit board

IC extractor.

Functions: For extracting chip from the motherboard

5" Long nose pliers. 

Functions: For cutting thin wires or to grip small object

6" Adjustable wrench. 

Functions: To loosen or tighten Hex nuts

8" Crimping tool. 

Functions: For cutting wire or to strip the wire from its insulator.
Black zipper case.
Functions: it typically is used to bond two copper wires together.
12 SETS/CTN/1.35'/14.5/15.5 KGS (G.W.)
Functions: it typically is used to bond two copper wires together.

Expression's

First of all, it’s more knowledge by doing a practical on the Hardware Technology Unit than learning it only by theories because we can see how the hardware looked like. By doing a practical on the CPU, we can learn more on how the location\where the motherboard was placed, the RAM, to where the power supply was connect to and etc.