No matter how well you keep house, there's bound to be dust floating in the air inside your home or office. Although you can easily clean this dust off furniture and other surfaces, once it gets inside a computer it can cause chip malfunctions, or, at the very least, cause your fan to operate loudly. Cleaning out your computer's fan is a necessary and common step in computer maintenance that any user can tackle without intimidation.
1). Power down your computer and disconnect all peripherals from the CPU, including the power cable.
2). Remove the computer from your workspace and take it to an open area, either outdoors or to a garage or other area that won't be harmed by dust clouds.
3). Unscrew the CPU's exterior case and remove it. Most cases are secured to the machine with a few screws around the edges of the back side.
4). Secure the fan by gently wedging the screwdriver through the vent in the back of the CPU and bracing it against a fan blade. This prevents the fan from spinning when you blow the dust off it and makes cleaning it faster and more effective.
5). Blow compressed air through the fan. Aim the air from the interior of the computer outward, so dislodged dust and other airborne particles don't settle on the circuits and connections inside the computer.
6). Replace the cover and secure it with the screws.
7). Connect your peripherals to the CPU.
