Is my computer dying?

It is probably a fan. They are cheap and easy to replace. Or it is dirty and a toothbrush and a can of compressed air will fix it. (the fans)

But it would be a good time to back-up all of your important stuff. You never know if your computer will start the next time you try to turn it in.

edit :: I type stuff twice when I am drunk.

Yeah, it’s the fan. I stuck a personal fan in the side of mine, when I was dirt poor. if I didn’t it would overheat and turn off at random intervals, or just not start. There was a lot of duct tape. It was not good.

But buy the fan, it’ll fix it, easy. You can get an external hard drive in the meantime if you’re worried many of them come with an ‘auto backup’ feature. I swear by Western Digital, but honestly, just burn a few data cd’s if your hard drive isn’t that big.

Good advice, JP…now if I only knew how to back up my stuff. I’m a computer idiot.

Are you using a laptop? If so cleaning the fans isn’t something you should attempt.

No laptop. I have a tower on the floor. I have cleaned the fan/inside the case before with compressed air. It really does get filthy (old house = dust). I’ll take a look tomorrow.

Remove case, grab fan, add duct tape.

jk it’s actually really not good, get a new fan, they’re easy to install but if you’re worried im sure geeksquad can do it or someone from craigslist.

In all seriousness, how do I backup say, my Open Office files? I realize this is stupidity itself, but computers are not my forte…

Do you have a cd burner? Cause you could really just burn a data cd and it would probably hold all of them since they don’t take up much space. Same with pictures, video, etc. If your fan hasn’t caused any major problems yet, you want to get it fixed relatively soon but you have some time if it’s recent.

Also, what Operating System are you running? If it’s Vista or XP maybe those would help.

1) I do have a cd drive
2) Windows XP

Well a CD Drive does not necessarily write discs, it will only read them. When you look at the front of it on the tower, do you see a CD-R or CD-RW?

Sorry…it does burn disks. I’ve only ever used it for music, though. Thanks for the links above, I’m sure I’ll find my answer there. Thanks for all your help…I’m off to bed & will think about it tomorrow!

:) Not a problem, if you need more help PM me, I’ll help if I can. Lemme know what program you’re using to burn discs and I might be able to walk you through how to do data, otherwise, those links should steer you right. :) Good luck!

Make back ups of your files asap, while your computer is still running.

Blow the dust away form the fant. Look for the fan outlet . Usually it comes with an inlet vent also. Take a deep breath and blow into the inlet the dust will be removed . My friend did that for me . It works. I am amazed with the amount of dust in it.

An easy way for us computer idiots, augustlan, is a memory stick. They are really cheap now for huge storage. You can get them anywhere (Office Depot, WalMart, computer stores, etc.) They just plug into your USB port.

Good luck. I just lost my mother board a few weeks ago.

@everyone: Yes, blowing your fan, or using canned air can do wonders to keep it going, but she might still have to replace it if the dust has accumulated for so long that it’s damaged the fan.

@Marina: I don’t know why I’m so retarded, I didn’t even think of a memory stick, I buy my storage space hundreds of gigs at a time, just completely forgot, great answer. :)

This has to be the most awesome cans of compressed air ever. Sounds crazy that I’m getting excited about an aerosol can, but there you go.

If you’re feeling adventurous, here’s a guide for installing a new fan by yourself.