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Is it relatively safe to plug/unplug devices inside the PC while it's on?

M

MaxDSP

Lifer
My friend asked me to plug a case fan in so I can tell him how it looks and how it sounds, but I didnt want to turn the PC off. He said to just do it without turning it off, since he's plugged CD-ROM drives and case fans in while the PC was running (supposedly). I didnt try it and tried it on my other PC instead, but what are your opinions? Is it safer for some devices (fans, lights, etc) than others (IDE devices (excluding hard drives))

 
Your friend is lucky he has no blown out any components. Do NOT plug components in and out while your PC is running...very bad idea. Do you go changing out spark plugs while your car is running?

Viper22
 
the only devices i would hotswap while the computer is on is USB or firewire. although, i dont think it hurts to unplug things from the ps/2 port while the computer is on.
 
Umm changing spark plugs while your car is running is a bit different than plugging stuff in while the power is on. But I guess it does get the point across.

What would really happen if you changed your spark plugs while the engine was running. Once you pulled the wire off the plug your engine would start knocking really bad. Fuel would get everywere. Hmmm
 
Originally posted by: Viper22
Your friend is lucky he has no blown out any components. Do NOT plug components in and out while your PC is running...very bad idea. Do you go changing out spark plugs while your car is running?

Viper22
Click to expand...

thats what I tried telling him (that hes an idiot to try that) but he started calling me an idiot. Of course, this is the same idiot that is buying a $50 sound activated cold cathode kit so it can light up when the "bass hits" on his pair of $20 speakers 😛
 
Bad idea! There is always the possibility of arcing when doing that. Working with an ATX case, it is also prudent to disonnect it or turn off the power source (UPS, plug box, or whatever) because it is always "live" otherwise.

But, yes, if you accept the risks, it is safer to pull a fan plug than a HDD drive plug when running. Some lights are very risky because a slight arcing can burn out a LED. Doesn't take much.
 
Originally posted by: Hendrik
I've plugged fans in and out a thousand times with the system running, without any problem.
Click to expand...

Same here. Molex connectors and fan headers on the motherboard too.
 
ahh, u can do it to cdrom drive, fans or just about anything. i've done it to IDE hard drives until........ my hand slipped and the red lead hit one of the neutral plugs and shorted out the HD. luckly, it was my 10gb storage swap drive that holds stupid stuff. so i recommend. DONT hot swap ide hard drives unless u have a steady hand.
 
As long as you're careful, and where possible connect the ground first, it's really not that bad.

It's almost like the 'will my magnetic screwdriver hurt my computer' argument...

Just be careful is all that's required. As long as you dont go shorting things left right and centre, all you're doing is connecting a live feed to a device - how is that different from pressing a power switch?

Oh, and the spark plug thing - as soon as you unplug one of them, the motor would be missing quite considerably, but even a 4cyl can usually still idle when you're down one cylinder. Once you actually REMOVE the plug, you loose all compression in that cylinder, and it'll spit fuel out of the hole.

Replace the plug, connect the lead, hey presto.

However - touch the contact of the spark-plug lead at any point during that last operation = painful.

So even something as outlandish as that is possible - all it requires, is care.
Tell your riceboy friend to spend money on speakers before lights, too 😉
 
I'd try it and feel safe enough about it with a fan on a power supply cable, but never anything connected to the motherboard, except USB, Firewire, or a monitor.
 
My policy has always been to remove all power before opening any of my cases. I have never had a problem swapping anything externally connected to any of the ports.
 
so fans and stuff is pretty much alrite, I gather. Im not going to ever try to plug an HD or cdrom while the PC is on, but fans and stuff I might
 
I plug fans and the case light, reset, power, etc switches in all the time while the computer is on. I have never had any problems or have seen any archs. Now I wouldn't plug a harddrive in while the computer was on. I once did that and it sent a surge through the harddrive that was running and it crashed the computer. This may have happened because the hd I plugged in was broken but I dunno. I wouldn't plug any piece of hardware in while the pc is on, that has a large power draw. It can cause a sudden drain of power which isn't good for the components that are running. A lot of times I work on a computers with it plugged in, I really don't see the danger in that, as long as I don't rub my hands all over the motherboard, etc. Someone mentioned the argument about using a magnetic screwdriver on a computer. In my opinion the magnet on a screw driver isn't strong enough to mess anything up. I just wouldn't rub it on top of the bios chip. Remember that a harddrive has a really powerful magnet in it itself. Does me working on the computer with it plugged in dangerous? I havn't had anything happen so I still do it.
 
"Hot Swapping" active devices is a bad idea. Just plugging in a fan to a live molex connector isn't going to do anything negative. Although, watch those fingers, they have a tendancy to become one with the fan blades if you're not careful. 😉
 
I do it with fans all the time. Unplug 1 swap with another plug back in. If I blow something up, Ooops! I did it, I'll take it out and buy another. Now I have never done it on anthing but fans and would not recommend doing it on HDs or CD drives. 😉

Off topic: A lil story about how cool USB is. Yesterday i ran into a problem. My mom wanted me to scan and print something. I said sure but then it struck me. My mouse is USB, my printer is USB, and of course my Scanner is USB. Well the problem is only have 2 USB ports on my system. Using my super intelligence(not really) I figured out I could plug one USB cable into the back of the scanner, hit the copy button, and the unplug the cable and plug it into my printer to print. That way i didn't have to buy a USB hub. Now this my sound like common sense but I didn't know you could do that. 😀
 
I really don't agree with you guys on "hotswapping" parts that don't specifically say their hot swappable. Just because they're small (like fans) or seem idiot proof (like molex connectors) doesn't mean its OK.

I mean generally you won't have a problem (BTW P/S2 is not hot swappable though I did unplug/plug it in a few times with no problems) but why take the risk of screwing up parts in saving a few minutes? I mean do you make that much an hour?

Laziness generally doesn't pay.
 
Common Sense says "NO". Survey Says "YES?" What is wrong with you people? Someone earlier said "Glad you guys are not working on my system" That was the most intelligent statement in this thread, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. My God, I can't believe this actually turned into a thread.
 
Its fairly safe for fans and molexes (I did that a couple times to my Cold Cathode Light)

If you want to swap things while your computer is on, that is what Hot-Swappable harddrives, etc are for.
 
Hell no.

Devices such as IDE HD's, CD-ROM's, etc etc, aren't meant to be hot plugged.

Thats what SCA drives, hot plug PCI cards, etc are for, and if you want it, you have to cash up.
 
Saying you should turn off the power to your PC before plugging in a fan is like saying you should cut off the power to your fuse box in your house before you plug in a desklamp.

Think about it - a male and female molex is like a switch. First they're not touching, then they are. Do you shut off the power to your PC before you flip the switch for your case lights? At what's with this "power surge" baloney? Right now I've got a couple of unused molexes coming out of my power supply. Are they secretly building up a huge charge of say, 220 volts on the 12 volt rail, just waiting for me to plug something in to release their catostrophic "power surges"? Treacherous little devils, these molex plugs. Lying in ambush like a ninja assasin inside my PC.

Do you guys think before you type, or do you just make things up?
 
I got shocked today while adding a controller card. My computer was unplugged at the time. Wasn't really paying much attention, and fingers touched my modem which gave me quite a shock. I was damn surprised. Thought sure everything would be fried, but it didn't hurt anything. I guess current from phone line can zap ya if ya touch the wrong parts at the same time.
 
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