RogerN wrote:
"Rich Grise" wrote in message

I have a desktop (actually, a "tower", that's on the floor) that's
getting flakier and flakier - i.e., it'll run for anywhere from five
minutes to an hour or two and suddenly lock up or reboot itself. I don't

I have seen problems that fit this description caused by a CPU fan that
quit working or is plugged up with dust.

Well, that was the first thing I thought of, and so I've been periodically
blowing out the dust from the CPU fan and heatsink. With shop air, not just
blowing like you'd blow on your soup.

There are also at least three other computers in the same building, subject
to the same factory dust, and they're still solid as a rock, even though
they _haven't_ been blowing out the dust. Not to mention the CNCs and the
readouts on the mills and lathes, and the mongo welders.

Then again, there's a possibility that I let the dust build up and didn't
start blowing the dust until after the first time, but by that time, the
damage was probably already done. )-;

And I got this computer off ebay in the first place, so there's no telling
what kind of conditions it was subjected to before I got it.

Thanks,
Rich