Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

This wikiHow teaches you how to protect delicate components inside your computer against electrostatic discharge. While the odds of your computer being damaged by electrostatic discharge are quite low, you can at least make sure you don't accidentally damage something important.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Surface preparation

1. 

   Work on hard surfaces. You need to disassemble / install the computer on a hard and clean surface (table top, counter or wood panel) to minimize the potential for electrical storage.
   • Never place the computer on a flat surface such as a carpet, blanket, or towel when performing any operation that requires you to ground yourself.

2. 

   
   
   Stand with bare feet on a hard background. Carpets and socks can store electricity. So stand barefoot on wood, ceramic tile, or some kind of hard floor.
   • If you have no choice but to stand on the mat, you need to actively ground the ground every few minutes.
   • You can wear rubber sandals to completely prevent your body from coming into contact with the floor, but this is less feasible as you don't always have rubber sandals.
   • If you don't have rubber sandals, you can also wear shoes with rubber soles.

3. 

   
   
   Do not wear clothes that easily accumulate static electricity. Wool and some synthetic fibers easily accumulate electrostatic charge, so change to cotton if possible.
   • You can wash and dry your clothes with clothes dryer paper to minimize the potential for electrostatic charge before working with a computer.

4. 

   
   
   Moisten dry air. Static electricity is the greatest risk in dry environments. If you have a humidifier then use it, but if you don't, don't buy one. You can take another just as effective prevention.
   • You can also moisturize yourself by hanging a wet towel in front of the radiator fan.

5. 

   Place all components in an antistatic bag. All new computer components should be stored in the antistatic bag that comes with them from purchase until ready to be installed. advertisement

Part 2 of 2: Self-grounding

1. 

   You need to understand the use of grounding. To prevent build-up static electricity from passing from you to sensitive computer components, you need to discharge static electricity onto something that is more durable. In most cases, you can touch a metal object that is in contact with the floor or a series of objects that are grounded.

2. 

   Use a computer case for grounding. Computer builders often use this technique: before you touch or install something that is likely to be damaged by static electricity (such as a computer's motherboard), place your hand on the needle pad. Unpainted type on the computer case.
   • You can even assemble it while touching the metal part of the chassis with your non-dominant hand if you want to be sure that static electricity won't affect the components.

3. 

   Touch metal objects on the ground every few minutes. This item should be an unpainted metal piece with a separate ground wire such as a metal radiator or an isolation box on the computer case. This is the fastest and easiest option to make when building a computer without any extra precautions.
   • However, just with this method alone is still risky (albeit very small). You should only rely on this approach if the job is fast and the components aren't too expensive.

4. 

   Ground yourself with an anti-static bracelet. These are affordable items, sold online and in electronics stores. Put the pressure ring firmly on your wrist, then clamp the ground connector to an unpainted metal object like a screw.
   • Do not use cordless anti-static rings as they will not work.
   • If your strap has a hook (instead of a clip), you can easily attach it to the middle screw in the wall outlet. The screw is grounded (at least in the US), but you may need to check it with a power meter to be sure.

5. 

   Use a power cord to connect yourself to an object with a metal cover. This self-grounding technique is very commonly used, tie a wire (like copper) around your toes or wrists, then tie the other end around some unpainted metal object lying on your face. land. This method is ideal if you have conductive material on hand and cannot work on hard surfaces.

6. 

   Work on anti-static rubber (ESD) mats. ESD mats are used to "discharge" or "discharge" electricity, place parts of the computer on the carpet and occasionally touch the carpet during work. Some models also have room for an anti-static bracelet.
   • If you only need to repair your computer, buy a vinyl anti-static mat; Rubber mats are much more expensive and are not strictly necessary.
   • An antistatic mat is the best option for most home projects. You will have complete peace of mind.
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Advice

• You should only hold on the side of the CPU. Do not touch any contact pins, printed circuit boards or metal heads unless absolutely necessary.
• Today, the problem of computer damage caused by static electricity is not as worrying as it was ten years ago. While we cannot deny the importance of preparatory steps to prevent accidents caused by electrostatic discharges, most modern computer components have many common layers of protection against common agents. is electrostatic.

Warning

• Even if the amperage of the transmitted current is so small that you cannot recognize electrostatic discharge during assembly, this could potentially damage or impair the life of the component. If the power is strong then in the worst case scenario, the motherboard could be permanently damaged.