Passive maintenance It involves attention to the system externally: basically, providing the best possible environment – both physical and electrical – for the operation of the system.
Physical aspects relate to conditions such as ambient temperature, thermal stress from power cycles, dust and smoke contamination, and disturbances such as shock and vibration. Electrical aspects relate to ESD, power line noise, and radio frequency interference.
What is it?
Passive maintenance consists of the large care of the system in its external environment, basically includes the physical operating conditions of the system and electrical prevention, such as temperature, thermal stress, dust, humidity, smoke, shocks, etc.
Measures to protect hardware
The essence of passive maintenance is to protect the Hardware, That is, the hard, external and manageable part of the equipment; for this, some measures are taken:
- Buy dust protectors.
- Do not place a computer near a heating or cooling source.
- Do not place a computer exposed to sunlight.
- It is not advisable to place a computer near a window.
- The temperature must be controlled.
- Be careful when repositioning the computer.
- Make sure that the ventilation spaces on the computer are free and sufficient.
- Use a current regulator.
- Our computer must be powered through the correct line.
- The lower output of the contact must correspond to the positive pole.
- The largest output of the contact must correspond to the neutral pole.
- The circular exit must correspond to the ground.
- Preferably it should be connected to a current regulator, which is capable of withstanding changes in voltage.
- To prolong the life of your PC, you should limit the on/off cycles as this alters the constant temperature of the equipment. Extreme temperature variations during a Boot Cold can be controlled in two simple ways: leave the system off or turn it on all the time. There. It is generally good to leave the computer on sometimes to increase its reliability.
Examples of Passive Maintenance
Below we bring you some examples and tips on passive maintenance applied to computers.
Examination of the operating environment
Before purchasing a system, prepare a suitable location for it, free from airborne contaminants such as smoke and gases. Do not place your system in front of a window: it should not be exposed to direct sunlight or temperature variations.
The ambient temperature should be kept as constant as possible. Power should be supplied from grounded outlets. Keep the PC away from radio transmitters or other sources of radio frequency energy.
heating and cooling
Thermal expansion and contraction due to temperature changes puts a strain on a computer system. Temperature variations can lead to serious problems.
For example, you may encounter excessive chip slippage. If extreme variations occur over a short period of time, signal-conducting tracks on the boards may break and separate, solder joints may break, and corrosion of system contacts may accelerate. Solid-state components such as chips may also be damaged, leading to a variety of other problems.
Power cycles (on/off)
To prolong the life of your PC, you should limit temperature variations in the environment. Extreme temperature variations during a cold start can be controlled in two simple ways: leaving the system off or on all the time. Generally, it is good to leave the computer on sometimes to increase its reliability.
There are many variables to consider, such as the cost of electricity, the potential risk of a fire if the equipment is operating without attention, and other aspects. Of course, this recommendation is only valid if your PC is located in a place where the environment is controlled by air conditioning. As a general rule, you should not turn your PC on and off several times a day.
If you must leave the system on for long periods of time, make sure the screen is blank or displays a random image if the system is not in use. The kinescope phosphor may burn out if an image is left on the screen continuously.
Modern monitors have power-saving features that automatically put the monitor into sleep mode. It is recommended to enable this feature as it helps reduce energy costs as well as preserve the monitor.
Static electricity
An easy way to avoid static problems is to have a good ground on the power line, which is extremely important. If the charge is not directed to ground, it can permanently damage a component with an electrical discharge.
Noise on the power supply line.
To operate properly, a computer system requires a constant supply of noise-free power. During the site preparation phase of system installation, you should be aware of the following factors to ensure a constant supply of clean power.
Materials for maintenance
After the previous preliminaries, the equipment is disassembled with the appropriate care, in order to be able to clean it properly.
For any maintenance work it is necessary to have the necessary tools, some of them are:
Before you start, you need to take some precautionary measures, such as checking the tests of all installed peripherals to determine what is wrong and what is right. You need to be careful which screwdriver to use for each screw and also keep track of where each screw goes, since not all screws are the same. A set of screwdrivers, an antistatic bracelet, a small brush, cotton swabs, a vacuum cleaner.
- A set of screwdrivers.
- A Torx screwdriver.
- Precision Tweezers.
- Eyebrow Tweezers.
- A 2 Inch Paint Brush.
- A magnifying glass.
- Cotton buds.
- A flannel.
- A pillbox.
- Antistatic bracelet.
- Cable Unlimited USB 2.0 TO SATA/IDE ADAPTER.
«Chemical Material for Maintenance».
- Isopropyl Alcohol.
- Dissipating Grease.
- Cleaning Foam.
- Compressed Air/Air Gun.
My name is Javier Chirinos and I am passionate about technology. Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in computers and video games, and that passion has turned into a job.
I have been publishing about technology and gadgets on the Internet for over 15 years, especially in mundobytes.com
I am also an expert in online marketing and communication and have knowledge in WordPress development.