computer instability issues

[moosturdsoed25]

Hi all, have't posted here in almost a year now, but now is a good time.

I just stored the desktop I built two years with a friend over the summer. It has an open side, and was most likely not handled too well during those months. When he returned the computer to me in the fall, the computer would randomly freeze. I tried reseating the RAM, but also suspected dust could be an issue, due to the open case. Should I try putting the ram in different slots or just spraying out the motherboard area for dust? Thank you.

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

Clean it out good before u power that up. Take out all agp & pci cards & blow out the slots.

take heatsink off cpu & clean bottom of hs with 92% or better ISOPRYL alcohol on a Q-tip.

Do the same with Qtip ( dosed with isopryl alcohol) on cpu itself. Wait for everything to dry (maybe 20-30 minutes).

put everything back & power it up.

 

[defakto]

What he said above, but don't forget to reapply thermal grease too.

 

[takimbe]

definitely clean everything out. may i recommend also closing the side panel and keeping the case off of the floor after you finish cleaning it. ive seen many clogged HSFs and VGA cards causing problems...