Have you had a look inside your Mac lately? [With Pics]

[Makosuke]

LOL . No my eMac sits on a desk so I haven't a clue where all the dust is coming from Yeah it is probs better to use compressed air but, I didn't want dust getting everywhere.

No kidding about the getting everywhere. I blew dust out of a couple of towers at work and made the mistake of not using any breathing protection. I was blowing grey junk out of my nose for the rest of the day. Eww. Last time I make that mistake.

Oh, and incidentally, I think the reason that Apple's newest computers seem to be less dust-prone is due at least in part to the fact that they now use big, slow, variable speed fans. The wider area of effect and slow airflow rates make the dust less likely to stick on its way through.

 

[Eidorian]

Macs I have effectively torn apart...

Power Mac G3
Power Mac G4 Sawtooth
Power Mac G4 Digital Audio
Power Mac G4 Quicksilver 2001/2002
Power Mac G4 Mirrored Drive Door
Power Mac G5 Dual 2.7 GHz

iMac G4
iMac G5 Rev. A/B

Mac Mini G4
Mac Mini Core Duo

PowerBook G3 Pismo
PowerBook G4 Titanium
PowerBook G4 1.25/1.5 GHz

I always have my duster ready. I just opened a Dell Precision Workstation that was in much worse shape then the OP's eMac. It was clogged with 5 years of human and chalk dust.

 

[Nick12945]

Today, I thought I would have a clean the inside of my eMac after around 18 months of use. I have never dared to open it up before, but looking at the fan area, it looked like it was getting a bit dusty in there...

After removing the case (following apples official guidelines), I discovered nearly the entire inside was covered in thick dust (see Pics below). The fan seemed to be one of the most built up areas of dust, and I only have one of them! It took me around an hour to remove all the dust and clean the insides, so now it looks relatively clean inside, however, I cannot get inside the vent at the back.

What does you Mac look like inside. (Don't go taking off the back of your Macs for this post - Just if you have done it before!)

I think i read somewhere that like 98%? or something of dust is dead skin, so just imagine how much skin is in there!

 

[theheyes]

This is precisely the reason why I wish they would make it easier to get the cases off some of the Macs.

 

[AlanTheBrit]

Dust? No hazard! Unless inhaled copiously!

I was a TV engineer/repairman between 1977 and 1996.
The dust within a domestic (cathode ray tube-based - i.e., hard to lift!) TV, after, say, 2 years use, is much deeper than in most computers after 5 - though CRT "all-in-ones" gather only about 70% of the dust of a similar sized CRT TV.
The extra dust (compared to Non-CRT "all-in-ones") is to do with the extra heat generated by the CRT's driver circuitry and high frequency field and line output transformer.
Why not a physical dust screen between ventilation holes/slots and internal components?
In domestic CRT TVs = extra cost; i.e. fans and "dust-shield".
Essentially the dust is harmless - though unattractive.
Hope this helps to end the thread

 

[benjydababy]

No kidding about the getting everywhere. I blew dust out of a couple of towers at work and made the mistake of not using any breathing protection. I was blowing grey junk out of my nose for the rest of the day. Eww. Last time I make that mistake.

Oh, and incidentally, I think the reason that Apple's newest computers seem to be less dust-prone is due at least in part to the fact that they now use big, slow, variable speed fans. The wider area of effect and slow airflow rates make the dust less likely to stick on its way through.

Yeah, that was what I was worried about so I took the risk of using the Hoover Ahh, so that would explain why the new Macs don’t get nearly so dusty. I suppose it could also be because there isn't much room to spare inside the case.

I always have my duster ready. I just opened a Dell Precision Workstation that was in much worse shape then the OP's eMac. It was clogged with 5 years of human and chalk dust.

Why chalk dust?! Was it in a school? Was the Dell even working anymore and how long did it take to get rid of all the dust?

This is precisely the reason why I wish they would make it easier to get the cases off some of the Macs.

I thought it would be really hard to get the case off and I had read some horrible cases of how people had rounded off the screws on the outside of the case. I didn't have a problem however, and I was also using official Apple documentation. All I had to do was unscrew the outer screw, disconnect the power button and I was away.

Essentially the dust is harmless - though unattractive.
Hope this helps to end the thread

I thought the dust might be harmless, and it probably was, however, the computer seemed to be getting quite hot and I was worried about the airflow.