removing bad smell

[orange]

I've got a couple of A2000s that were stored god-knows-where, and that smell badly, especially when fan starts.
What would be the best way to get rid of that smell?

[mikeymike]

What sort of smell?

If it is dust burning, then either vacuum clean it where possible, or let the dust burn itself out.

[Holley]

maybe pop the top off, and find out the cause?  Maybe there's a family of mice living in there ;-)

[orange]

Its hard to tell what sort of smell it is. Its strong, maybe like something burning, or rottening, I relly don't know. But its there when A2000 is turned off for indefinite time.
Reminds me a bit of cellar.
I'll clean the dust with vacuum cleaner, and the rest with magic wand slightly dampen in water (is that OK?).

We really need some reliable way of cleaning (the whole) PCB or motherboard, cause Amigas are getting very old..

[Argo]

Disassemble the whole thing into its component parts and clean. If you use water, use distilled water and let the part completely dry. Get some of those compressed air cans, q-tips, isopropal achohol, etc.
My dad got a used computer of of eBay alittle over a year ago. The nearest we can figure was the guy was a smokaholic. Everything was yellowish brown and smelled stronly of smoke, then we turned it on. It just go stronger. It was a fun cleaning job.

oh, if you can take the PSU apart and clean it real well. Especially the fan. Otherwise you'll still get wafts of odor. Same with the CPU fan or any other fans in the system.

[KennyR]

If you mean a musty smell, it's probably caused by some mild form of fungus or mould. Sometimes my shampoo smells like that if kept under the sink too long )

Anyway, two pointers. When you hoover your PSU, be careful to IMMOBILISE THE FAN BLADE. If you don't, it'll spin hard and generate a current like a generator and could damage the PSU. Second, water is ok if not used on electronics, like the plastic fan blade. IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is better, but water is ok.

These kind of smells tend to dissapear with time, but if it really annoys you, you could open up the whole PSU and give it a clean, preferably with IPA.

[Hyperspeed]

Phoo!

I know the smell you mean... and I think it's electrolyte!

It smells of fishy or rotting flies, not sure why. Electrolyte may be an organic compound or it may just contain a lot of sulphur.

Don't know whether it's a leaked capacitor or battery, but it goes after a while, maybe a few months.

I did hear of one guy who kept his Amiga tower open for a while and one day he opened it after a bad smell and found a cooked mouse inside.

Mmmmm...

[JaXanim]

@Hyperspeed

Goo..! Rotting flies! I know exactly what you mean.

Pull too hard on the zip, the whole thing comes away in your hand and you get a gaping hole letting in all the draught. Avoid rotting flies at all costs!

Cheers,

JaX

[Holley]

IIRC it's acetone in batteries (chemical reaction with the acidic elements), or something like that.

A guide to cleaning circuitboards can be found here (previously posted on A.org).  The circuitboard pictured is of similar construction to the A2000 one, though more use of the canned air may be in order!

[Hyperspeed]

Oh yeah, could be the batteries - hadn't thought about that.

The pungeant odour always used to waft into MY nostrills whenever
Windows would load though...

;-)

[Holley]

If you get a strong smell of burning while loading Windows it could be a sign that the Windows loading screen is inducing an epileptic fit, to be on the safe side just steer clear of PCs from now on.

;-)

[Ni72ous]

Well cleansing computer odours just came up on slashdot check it here

[Holley]

lol, I used to work as a butcher, he has my sympathies!

The smell from a rendering plant is worse than just blood, too ... easier to get rid of though.

[TjLaZer]

I would strip the whole thing down and clean the MB with a damp soft cloth.  Then I would use simple green and water and a soft scrub on the case and other parts.  Dry it and let it dry over night.  All should be good!  I have cleaned may a smoked out and dirty vintage computers this way.

[Hyperspeed]

@Holley

During your time working as a butcher how many horses did you carve?

I can taste it right now... fillet of filly.

The French make a good corned beef from little wild Shetlands too,
bit too bony(/pony) for my liking.

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D