re: #162 MandyManners

Dumb questions about computers here.

My CPU is starting to make noises. What does that mean?

Also, I sometimes get the message at the top of my screen that my ISP “is not responding”. I also get “Word is not responding” when working on a document. What does that mean?

Should I just shoot the bastard now to put me out of my misery or, is there something else I could do?

My guess is the the CPU fan/heatsink is probably crudded up with dust and crap, hence the fan noise and random lockups…if you’ve never taken the side panel off your computer to clean the dust out, I’d highly recommend it ASAP. On most machines, unplug all cables, place the machine on a good work surface, open/remove the left side case panel (looking at the computer from the front) and blow the interior and heat sinks out with canned air (available from almost anywhere). When as much crud has been blown out as you possibly can, close up the case, plug stuff back up, and you should be square…