Monday, May 25, 2009

Stay Grounded Working on Your PC


Computer Care: Stay grounded while working inside your PC

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com
POSTED July 26, 2008 5 a.m.

Remember how much fun it used to be to drag your stocking feet across a rug and then touch your little brother, shocking him until he screamed for your mother? Or how about being surprised by that same shock when you reached for the light switch?

That amount of electricity, or even less, would be enough to ruin the circuitry in your computer.

There are many things you can accomplish by gaining access to the inside of your PC, but you must tread gently. Upgrading your system's memory would be the most common reason to venture inside the box. Cleaning the dust that accumulates there would be another. You may also want to add or replace a hard drive. For whatever reason you decide to go inside of your computer, you need to be aware of electrostatic discharge.

ESD is the generally unwanted transfer of an electric charge from one object to another. These objects are at what is termed different potentials: one having more of a positive charge than the other. The difference in electrical potential between two points is known as voltage. This momentary transfer of volts, even in miniscule amounts, can render a video card, a RAM module or even an entire motherboard in a computer useless in a split second.

You will notice that when you purchase most electronics, it will come in a special anti-static bag with all kinds of warnings on it. Take RAM for example. It comes bagged with a sticker telling you to take precautions prior to opening the bag. You could ruin that piece of memory by simply dragging it out of the bag (picking up more electrons along the way) and haphazardly inserting it inside your computer. You may not even feel a shock, but you can kill it just the same.

As soon as you touch something positively charged, the electrons jump from you to it, causing an electrostatic shock. Keep in mind that once the damage is done, it's done. That strip of memory or expansion card you touched is toast once you've shocked it. There is no going back, no fixing it.

But all is not bad. This can be easily prevented. All you need to do is ground yourself prior to handling any electronics. By that I don't mean you have to strap yourself to a lightning rod, but that will work, too.
All it takes with a computer is to touch the metal frame or power supply box, releasing that built up charge within you. You may or may not feel a little shock, but after you do that you can continue on with your task. That is of course until you walk around and build up another electrostatic charge within yourself.

Many professionals use a wrist strap that has a grounding wire attached to it, but I find it cumbersome and it gets in the way. What I like to use is a cord that connects between my computer's power cord, which is plugged in the wall, and my computer. The trick is, it only has the ground connected; there is no power going through it. This way I am grounded via the wall socket, yet don't have to worry about getting zapped.

The same folks that argue whether you should leave your PC on 24/7 or not also argue whether you should keep your computer plugged in while you work on it. By keeping it plugged in, you remain grounded through that third ground wire in the plug. But you are also still connected to the power, so you need to be careful with what you touch.

Without it, you can still be grounded, but not as well. That's where my little cord comes in. It allows me the best of both worlds. It is available to all, not just to professionals. I found mine online for less than $10 at www.cyberguys.com. They have a cornucopia of electronic and computer tools and gadgetry.

The simplest way to prevent total loss to your circuitry is to touch something metal, then open the bag with your electronics in it and be still while you install it. Touching the aluminum box of the computer's power supply should do the trick. If you have to get up for a flashlight, just ground yourself again.

As far as your little brother is concerned, you can ground yourself by touching him as well.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly.

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