Yesterday, one of the two fans (I couldn’t tell which) in my high-end PC started making very unpleasant sounds. It’s like with cars… hard to describe, but you know trouble when you hear it.
I got on all fours, shoved the computer out of the under-desk cabinet, and investigated. Hmm… both fans were still seemingly rotating at full speed. I could feel the warm air still being pushed through. Opened up the case to see if the plastic that attaches the chip fan had gotten loose. Nope. Checked for generally dangling cables. Nope, everything still attached just fine.
I was momentarily baffled and frustrated… until I finally stumbled upon a deliciously useful idea.
I thought to myself… self… what well-regarded substance is lubricating and tasty?
HEY, this is a family blog, get your mind out of the gutter!
The answer, of course, is olive oil! So I went to the kitchen, got out my Mr. Misto oil mister, and walked back to my room where my computer lay open, vulnerable, and—embarrassingly—not recently backed up. Oh dear.
But I bravely sprayed anyway. A little bit here, a little bit there. I got a craving for focaccia, but that’s not important right now.
The end result? My computer is now lubricated and happy. Maybe not quite as lubricated and happy as this computer, but still… he’s seemingly content and once again pretty quiet. Whew!
(and yes, I’ll be backing up soon, not only to avoid some potential nasty data loss, but to avoid being a total hypocrite after writing this blog entry about backup tips!)
What do you think?