I think I may have found why my server has been intermittently becoming non-responsive until a reboot. I had tested the RAM, questioned the hard drive’s integrity, and gotten pretty annoyed. The server went down two times today in rapid succession. The first warning sign was all the dust in the rear exhaust fan. This was finally enough to get me suspicious enough to open the case. I took off the side and gacked at the sheer amount of dust filling seemingly every route air could take. The filter I have over the CPU duct was clogged with dust, and that doesn’t even have a fan mounted! (It is above the CPU fan, though…) After cleaning the CPU duct filter, I wanted to see if I could get more filters, but Vertex said they didn’t have any. I guess Newegg is the next stop.
Hopefully this will improve server stablility. I will probably have to do this intermittantly. If we can get the house wired, I can move it into the basement where I think the cooler temperatures coupled with the more humid air (less airborne dust) will further aid stability.
EDIT: It went down again today. I didn’t clean dust out of the CPU heatsink, maybe that’s it? I sure hope that’s the only problem…
Good to find the likely cause. How sure are you that you can’t clean the existing filter(s)? Some kinds could be cleaned with water. I would think filters that wouldn’t take kindly to water (such as a paper filter) could be reasonably well cleaned by a vacuum (making sure to suck the dirt out from the same direction it entered the filter).
I did clean the existing filter. I guess I didn’t make that clear. Thanks for the vacuuming advice.