Unplugging power cord

[Derek Baker]

I see in the manual for my new motherboard - an MSI K8N Neo - it says to
remove the power cord when inserting and removing cards and DIMMs.

Is this good advice or excessive caution? With my current board I never did
that.

 

[Paul Hill]

I see in the manual for my new motherboard - an MSI K8N Neo - it says to
remove the power cord when inserting and removing cards and DIMMs.

Is this good advice or excessive caution? With my current board I never did
that.

Good advise - else there's still the standby power to your mobo!

 

[David Besack]

I see in the manual for my new motherboard - an MSI K8N Neo - it says to

remove the power cord when inserting and removing cards and DIMMs.

Is this good advice or excessive caution? With my current board I never did
that.

Good advice. 99% of the time you're probably okay anyway, but why take
chances.

 

[David Maynard]

I see in the manual for my new motherboard - an MSI K8N Neo - it says to
remove the power cord when inserting and removing cards and DIMMs.

Is this good advice or excessive caution? With my current board I never did
that.

There's still standby power active in the system when it's 'off'.

Unplug it when working inside.

 

[Derek Baker]

There's still standby power active in the system when it's 'off'.

Unplug it when working inside.

Thanks for the replies. Guess I got lucky with my current setup.

 

[Parish]

Good advise - else there's still the standby power to your mobo!

My ASUS A7M266-D has a (rather bright) green LED between two of the PCI
slots when the standby power is on to remind you to turn it off. Also my
PSU also has a power switch to save unplugging the power lead which is a
Good Thing(TM) as it means the chassis is still earthed.

Parish

 

[Derek Baker]

My ASUS A7M266-D has a (rather bright) green LED between two of the
PCI slots when the standby power is on to remind you to turn it off.
Also my PSU also has a power switch to save unplugging the power lead
which is a Good Thing(TM) as it means the chassis is still earthed.

Parish

My PSUs - old and new - have switches on them. I've always used that, when
I've left the cable in.

 

[GwG]

I see in the manual for my new motherboard - an MSI K8N Neo - it says to
remove the power cord when inserting and removing cards and DIMMs.

Is this good advice or excessive caution? With my current board I never did
that.

It is always good advice to remove the power cord, or unplug an
appliance from the socket, when carrying out any work. Even if you
switch off at the socket, most sockets only switch the live feed, and if
the socket is incorrectly wired, (it does happen, it happened to me with
a house that had been rewired by the Electric Board, they had crossed
the feeds at the fuse box, reversing live and neutral throughout the
whole house), you could get a shock whilst thinking you were safe. I
grabbed hold of 240 volts, and was not too pleased with the person that
did the rewire.

 

[Parish]

My PSUs - old and new - have switches on them. I've always used that, when
I've left the cable in.

This is the first ATX PSU I've had that has a switch - and this is an
el-cheapo case. I bought a new PSU for friends PC last week and that
didn't have a switch either.

Problem is with the power lead out the chassis isn't earthed, so where
do you connect your anti-stat wrist strap too? I have one of those
special plugs that go in a mains socket but most straps only seem to
have a croc clip for clipping to the chassis - and yes, I have seen
someone with the power lead out and their wirst strap clipped to the
chassis - teapots and chocolate spring to mind

Parish

 

[Noozer]

I see in the manual for my new motherboard - an MSI K8N Neo - it says to
remove the power cord when inserting and removing cards and DIMMs.

Is this good advice or excessive caution? With my current board I never did
that.

Good advice! But if your PSU has a power switch near the cord, this should
be good enough when switched off and will keep the case grounded (touch it
often).

ATX computers keep the PCI slots, standby power, and other components turned
on even when the PC is off. You have to make sure that the PC is getting NO
power before working inside.

 

[Derek Baker]

This is the first ATX PSU I've had that has a switch - and this is an
el-cheapo case. I bought a new PSU for friends PC last week and that
didn't have a switch either.

[snipped]

What sort of PSU did you get your friend?

 

[Parish]

This is the first ATX PSU I've had that has a switch - and this is an
el-cheapo case. I bought a new PSU for friends PC last week and that
didn't have a switch either.

[snipped]

What sort of PSU did you get your friend?

A Dabsvalue one from, would you believe, Dabs

300w £17.88 inc VAT and p&p

Strangely for a cheapo one it's got a brand name on it (and the box),
Mercury, and a URL for their website www.kobian.com


Parish

 

[Derek Baker]

Parish wrote:

[snipped]

This is the first ATX PSU I've had that has a switch - and this is
an el-cheapo case. I bought a new PSU for friends PC last week and
that didn't have a switch either.

[snipped]

What sort of PSU did you get your friend?

A Dabsvalue one from, would you believe, Dabs

300w £17.88 inc VAT and p&p

Strangely for a cheapo one it's got a brand name on it (and the box),
Mercury, and a URL for their website www.kobian.com


Parish

No expense spared, eh?

I've just spent more then eighty pounds for an Antec True Power 550.

 

[Derek Baker]

Parish wrote:

[snipped]

This is the first ATX PSU I've had that has a switch - and this is
an el-cheapo case. I bought a new PSU for friends PC last week and
that didn't have a switch either.


[snipped]

What sort of PSU did you get your friend?

A Dabsvalue one from, would you believe, Dabs

300w £17.88 inc VAT and p&p

Strangely for a cheapo one it's got a brand name on it (and the
box), Mercury, and a URL for their website www.kobian.com


Parish

No expense spared, eh?

Certainly not. Only the very best for my friends

I've just spent more then eighty pounds for an Antec True Power 550.

What, brand new? Where from?

Parish

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000YPUOM/ref=pd_sim_ce_dp_1/202-5872665-8912609

 

[Parish]

Parish wrote:

[snipped]

This is the first ATX PSU I've had that has a switch - and this is
an el-cheapo case. I bought a new PSU for friends PC last week and
that didn't have a switch either.


[snipped]

What sort of PSU did you get your friend?

A Dabsvalue one from, would you believe, Dabs

300w £17.88 inc VAT and p&p

Strangely for a cheapo one it's got a brand name on it (and the box),
Mercury, and a URL for their website www.kobian.com


Parish

No expense spared, eh?

Certainly not. Only the very best for my friends

I've just spent more then eighty pounds for an Antec True Power 550.

What, brand new? Where from?

Parish

 

[Michael Salem]

GwG wrote:
....

Even if you
switch off at the socket, most sockets only switch the live feed, and if
the socket is incorrectly wired, (it does happen, it happened to me with
a house that had been rewired by the Electric Board, they had crossed
the feeds at the fuse box, reversing live and neutral throughout the
whole house), you could get a shock whilst thinking you were safe. I
grabbed hold of 240 volts, and was not too pleased with the person that
did the rewire.

A possibly life-saving tip: if you touch something electrically live
with your fingers in the normal way, your muscles will contract, making
you press or grip the hazard.

If you stroke it gently with the backs of your fingers, you will feel if
it is live, but the muscular contraction will move your hand away from
the hazard.

Best wishes,

 

[Rob Morley]

Problem is with the power lead out the chassis isn't earthed, so where
do you connect your anti-stat wrist strap too? I have one of those
special plugs that go in a mains socket but most straps only seem to
have a croc clip for clipping to the chassis - and yes, I have seen
someone with the power lead out and their wirst strap clipped to the
chassis - teapots and chocolate spring to mind

Is that really a problem? As long as everything is at the same
potential it doesn't really matter whether it's at ground or 40,000
volts does it?

 

[Parish]

GwG wrote:
...

I read a while ago in uk.diy someone who was altering the upstairs
lighting wiring in the loft. He'd isolated the upstairs lighting circuit
but when his wife came upstairs she instintvely switch the stirs light
on and *bang* the guy gets thrown out if the loft. Turned out the
previous owner of the house (or maybe the Leccy Board ) had
connected the downstairs switch to the downstairs lighting circuit and
the upstairs switch to the upstairs circuit!

A possibly life-saving tip: if you touch something electrically live
with your fingers in the normal way, your muscles will contract, making
you press or grip the hazard.

Even better tip - get someone else to check it

Seriously, that is good advice that I've read elsewhere (possibly from
you in another NG).

 

[Jeff Gaines]

GwG wrote:
...

A possibly life-saving tip: if you touch something electrically live
with your fingers in the normal way, your muscles will contract, making
you press or grip the hazard.

If you stroke it gently with the backs of your fingers, you will feel if
it is live, but the muscular contraction will move your hand away from
the hazard.

Best wishes,

Is that better than using a neon screwdriver )

 

[Parish]

Is that really a problem? As long as everything is at the same
potential it doesn't really matter whether it's at ground or 40,000
volts does it?

I'm not an electricl/electronic expert but I'd say yes - why do
components always comw in an anti-stat bag?