Step 5 – Dusting the Wrong Way
There are right ways to dust, and wrong ways to dust.  More wrongs ways than right and so I think you should know the difference.  There are many more wrong ways than I will list, but you should get the point.

First, using a cloth.  This may clean well, but you can easily break something.  You can accidentally bump a capacitor and break it or break a memory card clip.  Also, static is an issue.  If you are EXTREMELY careful, you can use a cloth to clean, but I highly recommend not doing so.

Second, blowing really hard.  Okay, this is just stupid, for a few reasons.  One, when you exhale, you expel moisture into the air and getting your motherboard wet is not good.  Two, it doesn’t clean too well, if anything it makes cleaning worse.  The moisture can makes dust and dirt stick, just making your job more difficult.

Third, using your finger.  Your fingers have oils on them that can cause problems and make dust stick which puts right back where you started.  You can also, as when using the cloth, knock something loose or break something.  Stick to something safer.

Now for the right way.  As you learned in the last section, canned air is best.  It cleans well and will not break anything.  That is the best way to dust your delicate computer parts, like the motherboard and processor.  If you use canned air, you should have no problems cleaning your computer.

Step 6 – What’s One Less Capacitor?
When handling your motherboard, processor, graphics card, etc. you must be extremely careful.  If you are not, you may damage something and cost yourself some money.  This next step is very important to the “survival” of your computer.

Handling Motherboards, graphics cards, memory, etc.
When handling these sorts of things, you need to never touch the connectors (as on graphics cards and memory).  Doing so may cause you to damage the connector therefore making the device useless.  I suggest holding the device by its edges or underside.  With motherboards, graphics cards and the like, placing your hand underneath the board can be painful, with all the connectors poking through, but it is very safe (to the board anyway).  You can also place your hands on the edges were there are no connectors, touching VGA ports and things like that is okay.  With memory holding the edge opposite the connecting edge is the best way.

We mainly want to not hold the item by any part that if damaged would cause the device not to work.  For example, if you are holding your motherboard with your hands the on the backside (with all the ports) and the opposite side, and you bend the VGA port a little, you are not doomed.  However, if you are carelessly carrying the board with one hand and hit the board on a chair can knock the capacitor loose, you will have major problems.  So my point is, just be careful when handling the motherboard and do not swing it all around, just hold it firmly, but not too tightly, in front of you until you reach your destination.

Handling Processors
Processors are even more delicate than motherboards.  When carrying a processor, hold it only by its edges.  Be sure not to touch any of the pins, as bending or breaking them will ruin the processor.  Always be careful when installing the processor and always set it down gently.

Following those guidelines, you should have no problems carrying your computer parts.  Again, just use common sense and think of your computer parts as a very expensive egg…you break it, it’s gone and you’re out of some more money.

Step 7 – It Doesn’t Work!
Gee, I wonder why!  I you have done any of these things in the steps above, you most likely have a non-functional computer.  If so, this next step will help you find out if any thing truly is wrong, and if so how to pin-point the exact problem.

First symptoms your computer may exhibit are a blank screen and no beeps at startup.  If you have hooked you computer back together, pressed the power button, watched the fans start, and then started at a blank monitor…you need to disassemble your computer and place the motherboard on a non-conductive surface (like the motherboard box.).  In order to figure out exactly what the problem is, we must only use the bare-bones of the computer.

After everything is disassembled, put the processor in (if you took it out), the memory in, and plug in the power supply and monitor (if you have a graphics card, attach that too).  Turn the power supply and monitor on.  Then, where you would normally attach the power button from your case (the two pins on the motherboard), use a screwdriver to jump the circuit.  Place the screwdriver in between the two pins to make them touch.  Everything will power up. 

If the computer boots normally, that means the motherboard was grounding out the case.  Usually this happens when the motherboard is touching the case.  To keep that from happening, plastic offsets can be bought to be placed in empty screw holes to hold the motherboard off the case.  If you still have a blank screen, however, remove the memory stick and try another working one.  If the computer boots normally, your memory is busted.

If the computer still does not boot, try another working power supply.  If that does fix it, the power supply was bad.  If not, try another graphics card (if you used one).  If that does not fix it, there is one more thing we must try.

If you did not remove the processor do so and check the processor over.  If there are any cracks or discoloration, your processor is ruined.  Don’t feel too bad, I learned this from experience, so you’re not the only one who makes mistakes.  If you processor is ruined, and you have access to another compatible processor, try that to make sure the motherboard is still good.  If it does not work, you will need to replace the motherboard as well.

Any of the mistakes in steps 1-6 could cause this to happen.  If you follow my advice, you should not have any problems with your computer not working.

Conclusion – Your Computer Is Now Destroyed
Well, hopefully you learned what not to do when working on your computer, and what are good alternatives.  I learned most of this from personal experience.  Yes, I vacuumed, cloth-dusted, finger dusted, used no thermal compound, and hit the motherboard with a screwdriver all in one day.  I know you can feel really stupid when you find out what you did wrong, but hopefully you will now know how to clean and handle your computer correctly, so these mistakes will cease to happen.  Just use common sense, follow my advice, check things twice, and make sure everything is fastened securely, and you will be fine.

Author’s Note:  Thanks to HAL9000 for the troubleshooting guide in Step 7.  It helped me very much and I am sure it will help many others.