Troubleshooting Is My Business

System Basics

Cool down your CPU and pump up your power supply.

Overheated

Q. Every now and then, my monitor goes blue, my hard drive slows down, and my system locks up. Any suggestions?

A. How about splurging on an air conditioner? Other than a squirt gun filled with salt water, heat is your PC's worst enemy. Prolonged exposure to excessive heat can prematurely age or destroy your system. Blue screens and sluggish hard drives are classic warning signs of overheating and should be dealt with immediately.

Start by removing dust that's accumulated on your PC. Clogged ventilation openings can raise the interior's temperature. Check inside your system, too; a layer of dust can act as an insulator, heating up chips and circuits. Use compressed air in a can (and a Dust Buster, if it's a big job); never clean circuitry with water or detergent. If you must wipe the interior, use an antistatic wipe.

Finally, make sure all your cooling fans work properly. A dying power-supply fan will make lots of noise when it's foundering, but a small CPU fan may not complain audibly--and if your CPU fan expires, the subsequent overheating can ruin your CPU. The BIOS for most Pentium II PCs monitors each fan's RPM and issues an error message if it drops to a dangerous level. Confirm that this feature is turned on in your CMOS setup program.

For older systems that lack fan-monitoring features, consider installing a temperature monitor. PC Power and Cooling's 110 Alert costs only $17 and sounds an alarm when your PC's internal temperature rises above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. It will also alert you when your CPU fan falters.

SUMMARY

110 Alert $17 list PC Power and Cooling 800/722-6555 www.pcpowercooling.com

Underpowered

Q. I just added a second hard drive, a Zip drive, and a CD-RW drive to the Pentium II-233 system I put together. But now the box feels very hot to the touch. Have I overloaded my system?

A. See, you didn't even need me to tell you. When you present your PC's power supply with a bunch of demanding new components to run, you don't want it to warm to the task--because that's a sign that the power supply is working overtime. Most power supplies have a wattage of 145, which may not be enough. If you bought a cheap box, it probably contained a weak power supply. This can lead to nagging, intermittent problems and dangerous overheating. The solution: a new power supply. Look at the wattage listed on your current power supply. Now, figure an additional 25W for the extra hard drive and 10W more for each of the other new devices. Add that quantity to the wattage listed on your current power supply, then tack on another 20 percent. Now go shopping.