Congo Jr. Basic Maintenance
Explanation
Like most computers, consoles can get dust inside of them. This dust can act like a blanket, trapping heat inside the console. Heat can damage computer components. Additionally, dust can settle into sockets, causing components to fail to make contact and be read- the most common of these being RAM memory.
How often should I perform basic maintenance?
We recommend cleaning your console every 6 to 12 months, or in the event of issues such as the console failing to boot.
Procedure
The video below shows how to perform this basic maintenance. The goal is to gently open the console, remove and dust, reseat connections to knock dust out, and clean contacts.
What if my hard drive doesn't look like that?
See also: What version of Windows is my Ion running?
The video above shows a Windows XP Ion. If you have a Windows 7 Ion, you will have a solid-state drive instead of the spinning hard disk depicted above. The SSD is much smaller and mounts directly to the motherboard; see the image below. The rest of the instructions in the video can be followed much the same way with a Windows 7 console.
