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Do you guys leave your comps plugged in when you disassemble them?

V

Vasant56

Junior Member
I've heard of some practices where you leave your computer plugged in (but off) so that it acts as a ground in case something happens. Has anyone else heard of this practice, or better yet, would you follow it?

Thanks
 
If i am completely disassembling it (ie: taking the M/B out and everything) no i unplug it. However if i am merely changing peripherals or resetting something, or cleaning etc... then i just simply turn it off and flick the switch on the PSU.

I have heard that it is a good practice though; however if you simply walk up touch the metal frame of the case before fiddling with it it does the exact same thing.

-Kevin
 
I do the same as Kevin except I also hit the power button after I switch the PSU off, this drains the capacitors in the system.
 
No matter what I do in there I always unplug. Just use a grounding strap. It's not worth screwing something up.
 
Originally posted by: icejunkie
Capacitors take time to drain, like I heard days, but I could be wrong... But, yea, I unplug as well...
Click to expand...

Yes but pushing the power button with the computer unplugged supposedly speeds this up by cycling power. I dont know if it works, and im not willing to touch a nice capacitor in my PSU to find out 😛

-Kevin
 
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: icejunkie
Capacitors take time to drain, like I heard days, but I could be wrong... But, yea, I unplug as well...
Click to expand...

Yes but pushing the power button with the computer unplugged supposedly speeds this up by cycling power. I dont know if it works, and im not willing to touch a nice capacitor in my PSU to find out 😛

-Kevin
Click to expand...


True enough... Better safe than sorry 😛
 
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Originally posted by: icejunkie
Capacitors take time to drain, like I heard days, but I could be wrong... But, yea, I unplug as well...
Click to expand...

Yes but pushing the power button with the computer unplugged supposedly speeds this up by cycling power. I dont know if it works, and im not willing to touch a nice capacitor in my PSU to find out 😛

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Pushing the power button is supposed to make it "try" to power on, and that momentary attempt pulls the juice out of the PSU caps.

Oh, and don't short a PSU. It f***ing HURTS.

- M4H
 
Lol i was putting a cover over a wall socket and the socket itself looked crooked. So me, in all my geniousness, simply grabbed around the edges and tried to move it. All i heard was BZZZZZZZZ. And then it felt like i lost control of every muscle in my body. Then i somehow fell backwards away from the plug. It scared the living sh!t out of me.

-Kevin
 
If it's something simple I'll leave it plugged in, turn the switch on the PSU off and press the power button to drain residual charge. Otherwise, I'll unplug and do the same thing.
 
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Lol i was putting a cover over a wall socket and the socket itself looked crooked. So me, in all my geniousness, simply grabbed around the edges and tried to move it. All i heard was BZZZZZZZZ. And then it felt like i lost control of every muscle in my body. Then i somehow fell backwards away from the plug. It scared the living sh!t out of me.

-Kevin
Click to expand...


Everybody has to get juiced once in their life...luckly you weren't on a metal ladder tearing down gutters and fell 8 feet to the ground when it happened...ouch...
 
Heh, I usually don't go mucking around inside freshly powered-down PSUs either, whether they've been drained or not 🙂

A lot of mobos now deliver standby power to the PCI slots when the system is off. The PSU will still deliver power to the board from the +5VSB rail even after you unplug it, increasing the likelihood of causing a short or sudden discharge when you start adding or removing cards. If your board has a standby LED on it, you can see that it stays on after unplugging the PSU, and goes dark after you hit the power button and drain the caps.
 
Originally posted by: Painman
Heh, I usually don't go mucking around inside freshly powered-down PSUs either, whether they've been drained or not 🙂

A lot of mobos now deliver standby power to the PCI slots when the system is off. The PSU will still deliver power to the board from the +5VSB rail even after you unplug it, increasing the likelihood of causing a short or sudden discharge when you start adding or removing cards. If your board has a standby LED on it, you can see that it stays on after unplugging the PSU, and goes dark after you hit the power button and drain the caps.
Click to expand...

My onboard LAN remains on when the board is powered off via the 5 volt standby, I just wait a few seconds after the activity LEDs go otu.
 
Originally posted by: Vasant56
I've heard of some practices where you leave your computer plugged in (but off) so that it acts as a ground in case something happens. Has anyone else heard of this practice, or better yet, would you follow it?

Thanks
Click to expand...
You heard correctly, leaving it plugged into a properly grounded wall receptacle is good practice and will help reduce the posibility of static damage. This does the same as a ground strap. You must unplug the power leads from the mb before removing parts so the system won't inadvertantly start. In older non auto shutdown psu's this was not necessary.

 
Originally posted by: Vasant56
I've heard of some practices where you leave your computer plugged in (but off) so that it acts as a ground in case something happens. Has anyone else heard of this practice, or better yet, would you follow it?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Do NOT do that. It's: a) dangerous, potentially to both you and the computer, and b) totally unnecessary, from a static-protection point-of-view.

Simple rule of thumb - always unplug!
 
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Yes but pushing the power button with the computer unplugged supposedly speeds this up by cycling power. I dont know if it works, and im not willing to touch a nice capacitor in my PSU to find out 😛
-Kevin
Click to expand...
Hitting the power button after unplugging does work, some of the LEDs will glow briefly and then fade back out on some setups.
 
Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Lol i was putting a cover over a wall socket and the socket itself looked crooked. So me, in all my geniousness, simply grabbed around the edges and tried to move it. All i heard was BZZZZZZZZ. And then it felt like i lost control of every muscle in my body. Then i somehow fell backwards away from the plug. It scared the living sh!t out of me.
-Kevin
Click to expand...

LOL. I've done similar things. These are the sorts of things that can happen, when you don't listen to the "always unplug" rule. 😛
 
I usually leave the PSU plugged into a grounded outlet unless I am removing the mobo from the case. I always touch the PSU before I touch anything else inside the case as well.
 
I leave it plugged in but the outlet switch is turned off. Also I touch the PSU first to discharge static.
 
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