With the new year approaching, I thought it might be a good time to start a series of posts about something that I know most of you aren’t doing right now; cleaning your computer.

I don’t mean just taking that wonderful little Swiffer duster and hitting the outside of your tower with a lick and a promise once or twice a month, I mean really cleaning things up. And not just the physical computer, but all that data on your hard drive that you either:

• Don’t use anymore
• Can archive onto disk
• Don’t know where in the heck it came from in the first place!

I’ll give you some important tips to remember when you clean your computer to make sure that in the process you don’t screw anything up. Believe me, if your computer is more than 6 months old, you’ll be amazed at the amount of dust that has built up inside the tower.

But why in the world do you need to clean your computer? What harm can a little dust do anyway?

The answer to that second question is this: plenty. Your computer contains a microprocessor and tons of other little electronic thingamabobs that, while making your life easier by keeping track of your calendar, making movies and music and adding a little spice to your life, produce something else: heat.

If you haven’t noticed, there are several vents and/or grilles located on various areas of your PC case. These vents, in conjunction with the fans inside said case, help transfer the heat created by your computer out into the open. Without a proper ventilation system, your PC can start acting really screwy. Your PC can shut down due to overheating and internal components can even be damaged if the temperature gets too high. All that dust inside your system acts like an insulating blanket, keeping the heat from being dispersed. Bad things can happen with too much dust, real bad things.

Here’s a quick list of some supplies you’ll need before you get started cleaning your computer.

• A can of compressed air
• A microfiber cleaning cloth (for your monitor) - available at most computer retailers
• Rubbing alcohol (90%, not that 70% stuff, too much water in the mix)
• A dust mask (trust me, if you’ve never cleaned your computer before, you’ll need it)

I’ll be mentioning some other products as we go, but this is enough to get you started. Get all these items together and then check back for your training on busting the gunk out of your PC.

Other computer cleaning links:

• Clean up your grungy PC - CNET
• Computer Cleaning Information - Computer Hope