Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ESD
Read the section on Electrostatic Discharge and always take ESD
precautions. Remember, if you can feel a static shock its probably close
to 3000 volts. Some ICs can be affected by as little as 30 volts.
Before Beginning
You want to make sure you have what you need. Your wrist strap is
attached to the computer, you don't want to have to run to the other side
of the room or to another room to get something. Forget about the strap
and your computer may follow you.
continued...
Before Beginning
You want to make sure you have what you need. Your wrist strap is attached to the
computer, you don't want to have to run to the other side of the room or to another
room to get something. Forget about the strap and your computer may follow you.
Have a pen and paper ready. Documentation is real important. After you've
changed a few jumpers or removed or replaced a few cables and cards, you
probably will have to put some back the way they were. If you have
documentation, putting things back together can be a simple reverse process.
This is true of software troubleshooting as well.
Make sure you have the tools you need and they're all close by and handy.
Be sure to have a container to keep the screws in so you have them when
you want to put things back together.
Make sure you have the resource material, drivers or software that you may
need.
If possible, enter the CMOS setup and record the information available. At
least record the floppy and hard drive configuration and any settings that
may be different from the default. You want to be careful not to remove the
battery and lose these settings, but stuff happens.
Disassembly is major surgery, do a full backup of the system. Programs that
you have the original disks for can always be replaced, but any upgrades for
those programs and any programs that have been downloaded from the
Internet may or may not still be available. Bookmarks, e-mail addresses,
phone and fax numbers, dial-up connections, DNS settings and networking
protocols can be a real pain to replace. Even the best technicians cannot
guarantee your data, so back it up. Also, in Windows9x, all the IRQ, I/O
addresses, and DMA settings can be found (and printed) from the Device
Manager in Control Panel. In Windows98 check out
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information.
Close all programs, shut down Windows, and turn off your computer. Then
remove the cables from the back of the case.
One other thing: you have to use a little common sense. Don't necessarily
follow this information to the letter, it's only meant to be a guide. If you
think it would be easier to remove some expansion cards before removing
the drive bay, then do it. If you can better access the data cables after the
drive is out, then do it that way. If it would be easier to disconnect the power
cables and remove the power supply before accessing DIMMs or SIMMs