When we tell customers that all their computer really needed in order to run better was a proper cleaning, most of them don't believe us. That's why we've started taking pictures of some of the worst offenders.
The old Dell shown to the left was a recent one that came in for a tune up. When the side covered was taken off, clumps of dirty gray dust the size of my fist fell out and landed on our counter. Knowing how Dell machines suck (pun intended), I went and got the camera to capture the unveiling of the crud that was behind the faceplate.
The scary thing is, this wasn't the worst we've seen - not by any stretch. We've had machines come in with almost 2 inches of this stuff sitting on the floor of the tower inside the case. I've had some come in that had so much stuff built up behind the front panel that it was sticking out the vent holes like unruly pubes in need of a trim - literally bursting at the seams.
The insides of a computer give off heat and that heat needs to be vented and replaced with fresh, preferably cooler, air. When the vent holes in the front of the case get clogged up with a wadding made up of humans skin, human hair, and animal hair and dander, the machine simply can't breathe any more. Eventually this will lead to overheating and components will start to suffer, perform poorly or fail entirely.
