Opening up a computer for the first time: how do I not damage anything?!

StevenA · 08-15-2003, 11:45 AM

I just received my new Dell 4600 which has one 80 gig hard drive, and I'm about to install a second 80 gig drive which was shipped separately (Dell Home/Home Office won't ship the 4600 with a second hard drive already installed, unlike Dell Small Business).

Anyway, I have never opened up a computer in my life, and after reading the Dell manual along with various articles at the PCWorld site, I am now terrified that I am going to zap something with static electricity and damage my system.

What precautions do I need to take in order to perform this simple installation of one hard drive, or should I forget about doing it myself?

Thanks in advance!

John_Berger · 08-15-2003, 11:52 AM

KEEP THE COMPUTER PLUGGED IN! Unless you have a grounded wrist-strap that connects to the grounding plug in your outlet, you must keep the computer plugged in! I get so unbelievably angry at these morons who write manuals that tell you to unplug your hardware. The second that you unplug your computer, you lose grounding.

Keep the computer plugged in (and turned off, obviously), take the side off, and touch any part of the exposed metal to discharge any static electricity.

Alternatively, you can wrap a thin wire to, say, your pinkie finger with the other side connected to your outlet's grounding screw or to the exposed metal of the plugged-in case. That will keep you free of static.

A good dose of Static Guard on the carpet will be a big plus as well.

Installing a hard drive is a piece of cake. It's one of the easiest things to do, besides adding memory.

Mike LS · 08-15-2003, 12:21 PM

Dells are about the easiest machines to work on anyway. Instead of having a side panel that slides off or a cover, the side pivots open on hinges and all components are in right there.....much more accessible than a "normal" case. And usually there are tabs that you press or pull to release drives other than screws.

Not a whole lot to screw up. Just dive in and get familiar with the guts of your new computer.

StephenL · 08-15-2003, 01:33 PM

Unfortunately, the Dell Dimension 4600 case has a cover on the side that slides off instead of the clamshell design, and the drives are mounted directly to the bay with screws instead of rail tabs.

Lee L · 08-15-2003, 03:21 PM

So they figured, hey, the 4500/4550 has to be the best case we ever designed and the easiest to work on, so we must stop using that design right away? LOL

**HTF Ads**

Jonathan_E · 08-15-2003, 03:43 PM

No offense John, but you seem to be way too over cautious. I have been throwing computers together for my friends for the last 6 years, and I have never zapped a single component. First of all, I would not recommend working with a computer plugged in (sure, you lose your grounding, but the other consequences could be much worse if you accidently hit your power button). Just be smart, if the environment is very dry (which I doubt seeing that it's still summer in the U.S.) then you may want to go out and get one of those wrist grounding straps. Personally, I have never used one of the wrist straps and I have never damaged anything from static electricity. Heck, I have even changed components while the computer was on without ever causing any damage (I still wouldn't recommend it even though nothing has ever happened to me).

Main point: Be carefull and pay attention to what you are doing. If you do those two things and are as smart, or smarter than a 6th grader, then you can install a hard drive.

Tekara · 08-15-2003, 03:57 PM

I also don't leve the computer plugged in, it's too easy to forget to flip the switch on the back of the PSU, provided it has one, and bump the power switch turning the comp back on. it's even worse in my case as I use the power on from keystroke feature on my computers. so just tapping the keyboard will turn the comp on.

grounding isn't too tough to do, just touch the case and discharge yourself before working on the inside. in addition try not to work on carpet etc. just taking your time will save you from a lot of problems.

here's a tip with that hardrive, make sure you set one to master and the other to slave. even the most experienced of us tend to forget about this and problems ensue.

John_Berger · 08-15-2003, 05:05 PM

Quote:

No offense John, but you seem to be way too over cautious. I have been throwing computers together for my friends for the last 6 years, and I have never zapped a single component.

I've been building PCs for almost 12 years and I have never zapped a component either. But that doesn't justify the removal of an important step in the discharging of static electricity which can damage sensitive electronics, regardless of whether or not you and I have actually had it happen.

Quote:

grounding isn't too tough to do, just touch the case and discharge yourself before working on the inside.

You can't perform proper grounding if there is no place for the static electricity to go. That's why you don't unplug the case. If you unplug the system, there is no grounding for the excess static electricity to go to and is therefore not discharged.

Francois Caron · 08-15-2003, 05:09 PM

To avoid static discharges, I open up the computer, touch a metal part of the chassis preferably near the power supply (never touch any of the electrical components), THEN I unplug the computer. Afterwards, as long as I keep touching part of the chassis while switching components, everything is safe.

Steven, you might want to double-check the jumper setting on the drive that might already be connected to the ribbon cable you plan to use (it doesn't matter if it's a hard disk or a CD/DVD drive). If the original drive is set to "Master", make sure your new drive is set to "Slave". If the existing drive is set to "Cable Select", you could either set the new drive to "Cable Select" or reset the original drive's jumper to "Master" and your new drive to "Slave" just to play it safe (I have no idea if "Cable Select" actually works -- never used it).

The jumpers will be located near the PCI connector on the drive. The possible jumper settings should be printed on one of the labels.

JamesHl · 08-15-2003, 05:59 PM

I don't know if I'm lucky, but back in the olden days I didn't know any better and I just unplugged the computer, opened the case, and touched a metal bit and proceeded to work. I've yet to damage/destroy anything, as far as I can tell. I leave the computer plugged in but switched off at the ps now.