Components: Installing New Memory Modules

Before installing new memory modules in your computer, what precautions should you take prior to removing the new modules from the bag and installing them? (Select TWO.)
1. Shut down and unplug the monitor.
2. >>Shutdown the PC and unplug the power cord.
3. Clean the motherboard with an approved cleaner.
4. Wash your hands.
5. >>Put on an antistatic wrist strap and clip it to a chassis ground connection.

Explanation : Before installing the new memory modules, the system should be turned off and unplugged so it does not accidentally start when you are installing the modules. Unplugging the system also cuts off the small amount of current that flows even when the system is turned off.
You should also use an antistatic strap to discharge any static prior to touching the modules. ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) must be prevented because it can cause the failure of the new modules.
Washing your hands, shutting down and unplugging the monitor, and cleaning the motherboard are unnecessary steps and would have no effect on the outcome of the job.
Objective: Personal Computer Components

Safety & Environment: ESD protection

Which components should be kept in an antistatic bag when they are not inside the computer? (Select TWO.)
1. Power supply
2. >>RAM
3. Backup tapes
4. Fiber optic cables
5. >>Video adapter card
Explanation : You should store any component that includes chips or circuitry in an antistatic bag to protect it from static electricity when the component is not inside the computer. This includes RAM, expansion cards like video adapter cards, processors, motherboards, and hard drives.

There is no need to store a power supply in an antistatic bag. A power supply does not include components that are sensitive to static electricity.

There is no need to store fiber optic cables in an antistatic bag. A fiber optic cable works on light impulses, so it is not sensitive to static electricity.

There is no need to store backup tapes in an antistatic bag. Backup tapes are magnetic media and are not susceptible to static electricity.
Objective: Safety and Environmental Issues

Components: ESD precautions

You are removing the expansion cards from a motherboard to provide better access for cleaning.
What should you do with the expansion cards while you are cleaning the motherboard? (Select TWO.)
1. Set the cards on the metal case.
2. >>Insert each card in a separate antistatic bag.
3. >>Set the cards on a grounded antistatic mat.
4. Set the cards on top of separate antistatic bags.
5. Set the cards, component side down, on a table or desk.

Explanation : You should either set the cards on a grounded antistatic mat or place each in a separate antistatic bag. Your primary concern is that static discharge could damage electronic components on the cards. Placing them on a grounded antistatic mat or inside of an antistatic bad protects them from discharge.

You should not set the cards on the metal case, on top of an antistatic bag, or on a table or desk (whether the components are up or down). These do not provide protection against static discharge. Placing the cards on the outside of an antistatic bag is especially hazardous because the bags are designed to collect static charges on the outside of the bag.
Objective: Personal Computer Components

Static Electricity: How to zap a mobo

Typically one object is made of an insulating material or a conductive material insulated from the ground. Charge imbalance creates an electric fiel that causes objects to attract of repel.

With PCs. the most dangerous aspect is what happens when statically charged objects are brought near each other. A high voltage/low amperage current - a static discharge. They aren't dangerous to humans, but can be very hard on electronics.

• 1000 V - will damage a chip
• 3000 V - a human will feel it
• 8000 V - visible spark
• 35000 V - typical carpet spark

So most of the time you won't even see or feel the discharge that damages your equipment.

Preventing static buildup:

• Don't shuffle your feet
• Keep the room humid
• Keep yourself grounded; you and the components you service can remain grd so the charges don't build up.
  
• Wear cotton clothing instead of more sythetic materials.
  
• Remove carpeting from service rooms.
  
• Use air ionization system to build up a neutralizing charge in the air

Preventing static discharge:

• Unplug the PC and touch the metal case before touching components
• Use an anti-static mat or an anti-static wrist strap or static safe bags.
  

Static discharge is not normally a problem when the case is closed.