On Friday 18 March 2005 5:03 am, Kevanf1 wrote:
I will admit that I used to take PC's apart all the time without a static band. But they weren't mine, they belonged to the Uni I worked at. Now, I always put one on when I'm working on my own or friends PC's. I also leave the PC plugged in. Switched off of course :-) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Kevan Farmer
NEVER leave the system plugged in to power. Too many newer systems have Wake-On-LAN or Wake-On-Ring functions with current flowing through the system mainboard and add-in cards. You stand a real chance of damaging the system from AC power this way. AC ground is not the same as grounding yourself to dissipate static electricity. Don't confuse the two, please. Unplug it from the power source and ground yourself and parts to the machine. Its equalizing the static potential that is key. Dissipating static through proper static mats/stations would be even better but that is still equalizing the static charge to all surfaces and components, static bags, etc. Also, compressed air or vacuum cleaners can generate tremendous amounts of static electricity depending on the materials they are made of. Standard plastic vacuum parts are VERY bad for electronic components whether blowing or sucking dust and debris out of a system because they tend to generate static electricity and it IS going to dissipate somewhere. With my luck I don't even THINK about doing this... Sorry if you know this but many people do not so I'd rather warn about hazards than have people let the magic smoke out... Stan