Warning: Remember This Before Working on Your Computer!
Cleaning the hardware or checking the components of your computer require opening the case which may be dangerous to its health. The printed circuit boards inside your computer all contain small devices known as Integrated Circuits (ICs). There can be millions of individual circuits in one IC and they are all susceptible to damage from static electricity. Static electricity is a major contributing factor in the failure of computers. Eliminating damage from Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) leads to untold savings. Below are some things to remember as well as precautions to follow when working on your computer.
1. Unplug your computer when working on the inside or well known inside of central processing unit (CPU). You must unplug the power cord to ensure that there is no power to the motherboard.
2. Since there are capacitors in the computer which can store a charge for short periods of time, it is a good idea to wait a few minutes after unplugging the power cord before working on the computer.
3. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components such as the video card, memory, hard disk, and etc. if you do not have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal object, such as the power supply case to prevent a discharge from your body to the component.
4. Try not to touch the chips, wires, capacitors or circuitry by holding circuit boards by the edges to avoid static discharge damage.
5. If you are going to remove components from the system, connect up an anti-static mat or use the bag the component came in to place them on and prevent static discharge. Also be aware the hard drive is heavy and can easily slip out of your hand and if dropped may very well not work again.
6. Never, ever open items labeled as non-serviceable. Components labeled "No Serviceable Components Inside" are not a challenge because opening them up could lead to serious injury. Some parts of your computer just aren't meant to be repaired. The power supply is one such item and should be replaced if defective, don't attempt to repair it.
Keep in mind that failure to protect yourself can cause injuries and it can also damage your computer and the most common accident is erasing stored data (due to hard drive crash). These are simple things to remember to protect yourself, software, hardware, and most important to protect our precious stored data on our computer.
1. Unplug your computer when working on the inside or well known inside of central processing unit (CPU). You must unplug the power cord to ensure that there is no power to the motherboard.
2. Since there are capacitors in the computer which can store a charge for short periods of time, it is a good idea to wait a few minutes after unplugging the power cord before working on the computer.
3. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components such as the video card, memory, hard disk, and etc. if you do not have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal object, such as the power supply case to prevent a discharge from your body to the component.
4. Try not to touch the chips, wires, capacitors or circuitry by holding circuit boards by the edges to avoid static discharge damage.
5. If you are going to remove components from the system, connect up an anti-static mat or use the bag the component came in to place them on and prevent static discharge. Also be aware the hard drive is heavy and can easily slip out of your hand and if dropped may very well not work again.
6. Never, ever open items labeled as non-serviceable. Components labeled "No Serviceable Components Inside" are not a challenge because opening them up could lead to serious injury. Some parts of your computer just aren't meant to be repaired. The power supply is one such item and should be replaced if defective, don't attempt to repair it.
Keep in mind that failure to protect yourself can cause injuries and it can also damage your computer and the most common accident is erasing stored data (due to hard drive crash). These are simple things to remember to protect yourself, software, hardware, and most important to protect our precious stored data on our computer.
About the Author:
Before you buy or work on a computer make sure you check Kermil J. Fogarth's excellent free reports on No Need to be Afraid of Computers, or Should You Buy or Build Your Computer?
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