It's odd that this subject should come up at this point in time.
I was going to address a potential hazard to the list from a
actual incident that happened with me.

I'm not sure how long the problem existed but here it is.

I noticed that my computer case was getting very hot and I
attributed it the the fact that is was summer and the heat from
outside was also affecting the computer which was creating it's
own heat. I removed the cover to allow more cooling and that
seemed to relieve the heating problem.

There were times that the system acted very strange, I use
Norton Utilities to clean up the drives and there were times that
my back up drive seemed to take forever. Even when I was going
for a file. ( I use my D drive as a backup and holding bin for
files and programs not used on a regular basis)

I'm sure there are some of you who have experienced the same
problem so I will cut to the chase.

When I built my computer, I mounted the second drive above the
power supply. Yes I know........Not a very wise choice. I realize
that now.

The other day my system was acting rather strangely. Slow boot
up,
slow accessing and the back up drive took forever whenever I had
to access it.

I felt the drive and it was very warm. Didn't think to much about
it because I put my clip board right above it and concluded that
I was stopping the air flow until some other things began to
happen and that's when I became suspicious and started to
investigate. The other drive was warm but not hot..........In
fact it was rather cool to the touch. Much cooler that the other
one.

As I found out, the power supply fan quit. It did create much
more heat than expected. In fact, it was rather hot.

Well as you can imagine, A sick feeling came over me. I was
concerned about my hard drive being ruined, the power supply
putting an extra strain on things and the list goes on.

In one respect I am fortunate, on the other I've learned another
check feature. Make sure the fan is working.......Like some cpu
fans that quite......Good by cpu.

The point? It is possible to have a fire start in a computer.
Most people don't think about preventative maintenance and they
figure all is well until something happens. Lint.....A computer
killer as well as heat. A cloths dryer is another hazard area.
The duct gets clogged, the inner framing gets lint and the same
potential fire hazard is there.

Yes I pulled a rookie by putting the drive above the power
supply. At the time, it seemed like the best place to put it.
<smile> I know better now.

As for the lint on the inside of the computer, I remove my case
on a regular basis to clean it there by preventing a possible
disaster. As for the cooling fan, I feel the back of the case to
make sure there is air flow.

t would be nice to have a system that would show an indicator
light on the front of the case like a drive light. In this case,
it would alert a person to the fact the cpu and or power supply
fan had quit.

Until that time comes, I will continue to do what I can to keep
my family safe. I do turn my system off after every usage......To
me, that's safe.

Sincerely
Frank Suszka
[log in to unmask]
http://www.handtech.com/com_asp/public/catalog/tcweb.asp?c_web_id=netTek

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