[Closed] Proper IT bods what would be your reply?.

I'd reply:

Actually, hard disks are made in a dust free environment and are sealed. The most common reasons for failure are [insert wikipedia facts].

The hardrives themselves are sealed units, dust wont be a problem for them.

I'd say vibration/shock , temperature and volatage fluctuations are more likely to cause failures.

Harddrives are generally considered cheap (ish) and disposable anyway, hence why you should be using a RAID system (and offline/offsite backups) for anything important, you shouldnt be surprised to see some harddrives fail if you have enough of them.

"Yea, you are absolutely correct. Dust poses a significant risk, not just to information infrastructure but also to the information content. 93% of all microsoft word files stored on central hard drive are in fact dust. This is part of a know conspiracy between Microsoft and, initially IBM, but later all significant PC and PC component companies, requiring constant replacement of costly components and storage devices. We have overcome this problem within this company by "cleaning up" our servers on a regular basis, however, I urge all coleagues to remember to "clean up" their home computers as well to prevent costly failure. You can download expensive software form the internet to do this (insert personal webpage here with paypal feature here) or this can be done at home by carefully showering your computer (DO NOT USE SOAP/GEL) making sure that as much warm water as possible enters the grooves and gaps on the casing. Turn the computer on intermitantly to ensure the water gets through all the moving parts, if in doubt, get into a bath yourself and fully submerge your computer. This works with all electrical goods and can increase their service life indefinately.

I'd actually agree but with the proviso that it's not so much dust itself but that overheating is the most common cause of HDD failures. Dust blocking air intakes for cooling, & fans (& fan heatsinks) is a common significant factor, though not the only one.
A can of compressed air will fix many overheating issue IMHO

"Dust I believe is the eventual cause of most hard disk failures and we need to avoid this with replacement equipment."

or at the very least give the cleaner a set of small torx keys so she can open the covers of the drives and hoover them out on a regular basis.

That'll keep things right as rain.

EDIT: note I am an improper IT person these days.

A ruber panel beating hammer is the cause of most HDD failures round here... Leaves no marks.

"Fortunately, what you believe has no influence on the physical world. I believe that we're about to be attacked by zombies, we should avoid this by giving me a large pay rise to research an anti-zombie spray."

Do they work in IT? If so, reply with a P45.

Thanks for the replys 😉

Its actually from our OPs director!
Don't worry he has no influence in IT.

All this stems from a few of our Lab machines failing due to dust blocking the fans.

Next question can anyone point me in the direction of a dustproof enclosure that will house the PC base unit only.

Come on! Get in their!

PS: Shirely making sure the air conditioning/ventilation has dust filter & that they are changed/serviced regularly, is a better solution....

[s]Is there such a thing as a dustproof enclosure?[/s].. apparently there is http://www.dustproofcomputers.com/

This will only end up with you paying for an expensive enclosure, that requires the filters regularly replacing, a can of compressed air will do the same job on a regular pc box if used regularly.
TBH unless it's a really dusty environment, it take years for dust to accumulate enough to cause harm... where these newish or old test boxes that died?

Next question can anyone point me in the direction of a dustproof enclosure that will house the PC base unit only.

AS I've now become a cloud consultant where do I send my cheque? 😆

All this stems from a few of our Lab machines failing due to dust blocking the fans.

sounds like he is making the common error of equating 'hard drive' with 'big computer box my monitor and keyboard are plugged into' ?

you should reply and tell him that if you remove all the fans then less dust will be blown inside...

What you need to do is upgrade to Dust 2.0 (more commonly known by it's codename Angel). This should be disseminated throughout the building using the air conditioning.

Is this on a dustcloud computing platform?

Can't say too much, but its a Lab in a Flour Mill, the said PC is attached to a form of NIR testing equipment.
The PC runs the testing kit and prints & stores the results.
Air Con!! your making my sides ache, we just have to sweat when its hot 😉

I have looked at some of these enclosures on line but they all say "enquire for prices" usually means pricy?

As for the CLOUD I think most of our directors live in the clouds so no thanks.

I only wish I could use some of your replies in an email to him but I think the big P45 would loom.

sounds like he is making the common error of equating 'hard drive' with 'big computer box my monitor and keyboard are plugged into' ?

Exactly this.

On a serious note, if the pc doesnt need to be too powerful look into low power fanless computers (or with only one fan to minimize risk of failure). If you look at some of the quiet pc sites you should find alot of info. Something like www.silentpcreview.com. People seem to build some quite powerful home theatre pcs without fans.

Show him the prices and turnaround times for traditional proximate analysis.

If this doesn't make him dig around behind the sofa for regular servicing/maintenance nothing will.

Matt

BigButSlimmerBloke - Member

What you need to do is upgrade to Dust 2.0 (more commonly known by it's codename Angel). This should be disseminated throughout the building using the air conditioning.

Kwality 8)

On a more serious note, you might want to consider a 'toner' vacuum cleaner. These will allow regular cleaning of the PC's and being electrostatic safe might actually be useful elsewhere in the lab / business. Also consider high grade HEPA vacuums.

A decent (vacuum) cleaner should be cheaper than buying new PC's.

Mine seems okay.

[img] [/img]

Some lovely images here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/26/ventblockers_2/

The irony is that many of our plantside PC's get way more dust in them and I just clean them out once a year on planned shutdown.

I did say it would be easier for me to do that but NO what he says must be obeyed 😕

If anyone follows the Dilbert strip... Think Pointy haired boss & your pretty close

[url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/26/ventblockers_2/ ]Filthy PCs: The X-rated circus of horrors[/url]

[img] [/img]

🙂