Ground yourself - do you bother?

meowCat

I upgraded the RAM in my laptop today and the RAM came with a notice saying "Static electricity can damage your module and other computer parts. You need to ground yourself to avoid "shocking" your computer".

Friends of mine said they've never bothered. I asked why and the answer was "nothing bad ever happened".

So my question: Do YOU bother?

Silverfish

Yes. Always. After the motherboard incident of 2007.

Creamy Goodness

god yes, i don't go to the lengths some people go to ie. buying wrist straps/haz suits etc but definitely touch some unpainted metal ie inside of your case chasis.

it's there whilst you're working inside your pc so for a couple of seconds it's foolish not to ground yourself.

irlrobins

Sort of... I usually try and touch the PSU before I unplug the PC in order to ground myself. But often I'm just opening the case quickly to blow dust out or whatever. In which case I just lay it on the carpet. Which is probably static heaven! But so far I haven't had any probs.

Naikon

Yes every time, No point in risking damaging the Hardware by not following simple rules when building a PC.
I also use the anti-static wrist strap.

Grounding yourself by touching unpainted metal is probably enough unless you handle Enterprise level Hardware, I mean I didnt bother wearing the strap working on the old P1 266mhz machine which now resides as a router:D

Ruu_Old

Everytime, without fail.

TerrorFirmer

Not once in my entire life. In fact, once I was assembling a PC with some of my stuff laid out on the carpet in my room. This was, in my younger days. but even now I don't ever bother. Don't know why, not like it's time consuming....

zAbbo

always !

discharge static onto metal casing, unplug pc, and cycle power to remove any current.

John mac

always.
And have wire connected from radiator to case just in case!:D

dazftw

I touch loads of stuf.. radiators, light switches, psu... Its weird almost everyday I get a static shock of a door handle or something... but ive never had it happen with a pc

uberpixie

Always tip a radiator on an unpainted metallic part or the metal base of a plugged in lamp.

Once forgot to and got a pop and a spark when handling my old maxtor harddrive.

Luckily the harddrive survived and still works perfectly to this day:eek:.

conzy

leave your pc plugged in, but with the PSU switch off when you're working on it...

Then its grounded, and you will be grounded by touching the case...

ethernet

Wouldn't like to risk not doing it, especially for a processor. Just a wrist strap. Was going to buy an anti-static mat in Maplin but they didn't have any at the time.

Khannie

Used not bother, but newer kit is a /lot/ more likely to fry.

For my last build, I got some wire, stripped a bit and tied it to my (metal) watch, stripped the other end and tied it to the radiator. Presto; Anti static strap.

DirkVoodoo

Yup, touch the back of my radiator every time, so far no frying. Also, I have lots of wood in my room, no carpets (god, that sounds really dodgy!)

sharingan

conzymaher wrote:

leave your pc plugged in, but with the PSU switch off when you're working on it...

Then its grounded, and you will be grounded by touching the case...

Sounds a bit like trusting your PSU manufacturer too much. Or trusting yourself to switch the PSU off .

I like static wrist strap clipped to case, and another wire clipping case to radiator.

Anti

Never ever. The most i would ever do is touch the case every few mins to make sure no static build ups. i have built close to maybe 50/60 pcs in the last 2 years, And nothing has been damaged by static.

hopeful

You could always live dangerously...try rubbing a cat vigorously against your head before touching delicate electronics...better than the Lotto

If the static doesn't kill any components you will surely get ripped to bits by the cat :eek:

conzy

sharingan wrote:

conzymaher wrote:

eave your pc plugged in, but with the PSU switch off when you're working on it...

Then its grounded, and you will be grounded by touching the case...

Sounds a bit like trusting your PSU manufacturer too much. Or trusting yourself to switch the PSU off .

What? The whole case is grounded through the PSU....

TonyM.

I never have and its never been a problem .

AppleBack

See as were all talking about static electricity, when wearing a wrist strap do you attach it to the floor or to a metal part in the PC? I have a book that says you attach it to the floor but this website here says you attach it to the metal part.

Which is it?

L31mr0d

you attach it to the "ground", thus the name, i'm guessing people attach it to a radiator as it goes into the ground? I dunno?

I did 5 years in college studying and building electronics and not once did I fry a component (well, not accidentally, a few times we'd turn the volts up to 30v on some guys 5v circuits, man those IC's pop )

I never wear protection against static, I just use common sense, by only holding the edges of the PCB when handling components. Oh and conzy is right, if the case isn't plugged into the wall or at least attached to a radiator, then it isn't grounded. You can only ground something by actually having it connect to the ground, via a metal water pipe or earth electrode. Its a myth that touching a case on its own will ground you.

EDIT: never really looked into this, but how well do computer cases act like a faradays cage? Could this be the reason why people ground themselves off stand alone computer cases?

Blowfish

For me it depends what i'm doing.

If it's just fiddling with a hdd/floppy/cd/dvd I don't bother, for pretty much anything else I would.

Incidentally, i've never actually gotten a static shock from anything. Maybe I just don't conduct very well.

mloc

I just touch an unpainted part of a radiator before I start and if I've been moving over carpet whilst building. Couldn't be arsed with a strap. I know of guys who've dropped level 2 cache modules (back in the day!) down behind car seats and they've worked fine, once the dust was blown off.

Revalco

I kinda do try lol, somedays I just couldn't arsed. Depends on the computer to be honest.

But if its a job of importance i will do my best to ground myself.

Beelzebub

Never have.

No problems so far. Touch wood!:D

Revalco

Beelzebub wrote:

Never have.

No problems so far. Touch wood!:D

LMAO

DanGerMus

who actually has an unpainted radiator in there house? they're supplied sprayed white. and touchin the case or any metal thing just discharges any static build up doesnt it. and grounding yourself with a straps prevents any build up at all. So the touching things is for those of us who arent strapped and grounded. I'm always strapped i'm a student. lol strapped to the ground now that would be scarey...lol cringe... then you would be static.. cringier.. lol sorry

mloc

happygandalf wrote:

who actually has an unpainted radiator in there house? they're supplied sprayed white. and touchin the case or any metal thing just discharges any static build up doesnt it. and grounding yourself with a straps prevents any build up at all. So the touching things is for those of us who arent strapped and grounded. I'm always strapped i'm a student. lol strapped to the ground now that would be scarey...lol cringe... then you would be static.. cringier.. lol sorry

probably also an idea not be to be drunk when your putting a computer together...

DirkVoodoo

Back of most radiators aren't painted. Also, you could touch the copper tubing at the inlet/outlet near the bottom.

I am also in the bracket of not getting static shocks too often. I remember coming home after a science class one day and trying the whole "rubbing feet on a carpet while wearing socks and touching something metal".....nothin!

The most I have broken so far is a SATA power cable when reorganising HDDs.

joshcork

I once got a hell of a shock of the power button on my Dell inspiron, purely from static now. Work in the desert most of the time so static is an issue if I had touched any bit of electronics it'd be dead after. I get shocks regularly enough getting out of cars touching grounded cabinets etc bloody annoying so it is. Started wearing non static clothing but all the dust doesn't help.

So discharging yourself is good, really should discharge at least once before you start.

Stephen

I ground myself as in touch a steel surface in the case and so on, but I never bother with wrist straps or any of that tat.

Anti

Stephen wrote:

I ground myself as in touch a steel surface in the case and so on, but I never bother with wrist straps or any of that tat.

Wriststraps r 4 feags

mathias

As I have posted before I work in the industry , specifically test , and the amount of ESD troubleshooting teams I have had to join has increased in the last number of years due to the shrinking geometry of the fab process , you guys are currently buying 90nm chips , we are currently producing 45nm chips , this hugely increases their sensitivity to ESD damage,

The following quote is taken from here ,

http://www.broadbandreports.com/faq/hard/2.1_Build_Where_to_Buy ,

Why use Electro Static Discharge straps (#1731)

Taken from the A+ Certification book by Michael Meyers.

Typical Electrostatic Voltages-

Humans can accumulate electrical potentials well over 25,000 volts. Although we might experience a shock or other sensation when the charge dissipates, it is a very quick, low-current flow that is not harmful. But as little as 30 volts can destroy some of today's more sophisticated integrated chips, so daily activities can generate static charges on your body that are potentially harmful to sensitive electronic components.

Consider the following:

Walking across carpet: 1,500 to 25,000 volts
Walking over an untreated vinyl floor: 250 to 12,000 volts
Picking up a common plastic bag: 1,200 to 20,000 volts
Working at a bench: 700 to 6,000 volts
Handling a vinyl envelope: 600 to 7,000 volts.

Costly Effects of ESD

An ESD must reach a minimum of 3,000 volts of electricity before most people notice the shock. Although most of us feel an ESD of 3,000 volts, we fail to feel smaller charges, and yet these charges still damage semiconductor devices. Many of the CMOS technology components can be destroyed by less than 1,000 volts.

Technology continues to advance, making smaller, more closely packed components. The microscopic spacing of insulators and circuits within chips is increasing the sensitivity to ESD. Proper ESD protection is a must!

Types of ESD Damage

The damage caused by ESD takes on three forms: upset failures, latent catastrophic failures, and direct catastrophic failures.

Upset failures occur when a small ESD causes minor gate leakage. Upset failures are intermittent in nature. This type of damage might not be detected by quality control or end-user test programs, but it shows up as an unexplained loss of data. These ESD cause the most embarrassment to technicians because mishandling parts tends to create this type of error. The embarrassment manifests itself as repeated calls, or worst yet, installing a device such as extra RAM. The RAM takes an upset failure and displays random-memory errors during POST. Who was the last person to touch the system? You! "Everything was fine until you touched it!" Sound familiar?

Latent catastrophic failures occur when the ESD damage causes the transistor junction to weaken; we like to call these zings. This transistor might pass all tests, but over time will react with poorer system performance and eventual system lockups. Because latent failures show up well after installation, the cause of these lockups seems "unknown," and the cost to troubleshoot and repair usually makes system replacement worthwhile.

Direct catastrophic failures, known as zaps, usually occur with ESD shocks of more than 3,000 volts. The device that takes the shock fails completely, and you must replace the part. The obvious failure makes zaps the easiest to find, as diagnosis tends to point quickly to the failed device.

Pages 366-368 in the 2001 revision
As posted by YIN

JTMO- Wrist straps are only a few dollars at the local electronics store. Use them and save yourself some grief later on.

In short , there is a very good reason why the likes of Komplett now include a static wrist strap with their upgrade packs , it takes seconds to clip yourself to a radiator , and can save you weeks of RMA hell , so do it lads !!

DaSilva

25000 Volts in a person? Rofl I really am having a hard time believing that figure.

Grounding is basically just touching a good large conductor.

ESD damage is most likely going to occur to hardware if you have built up a lot of static, and you touch some of the sensitive areas on hardware, such as pins, transistors, etc...

If your holding hardware by the edges (the green parts [ok well I'm colour blind i think its green], not the shiny bits) or by plastic parts then you are very unlikely to discharge any notable current, simply because these parts are good insulators. Unless your charged like a feckin Tesla coil, but if that's the case I'd be more worried for my health than the hardware.

Touching anything big and metal will most likely discharge you a huge amount, and you can begin work, unless you think you are going to build up a huge charge again. I think those static wrist things are the biggest gimmick ever.

Or wait, I'm gonna patent the solid silver wrist ground wire, cause you know those ones they use currently are probably copper or maybe even aluminium and frankly when it comes to conductors they just won't cut it.

mathias

Assuming you are serious and not trolling of course , and for the benefit of the 1 or 2 that might believe you ,

25000 Volts in a person? Rofl I really am having a hard time believing that figure.

Yes , easily , you need to learn some electrostatics , you seem to be mistaking current electricity for static electricity or electrostatics ,
Read this ,

http://www.esda.org/documents/esdfunds1print.pdf

If your holding hardware by the edges (the green parts [ok well I'm colour blind i think its green], not the shiny bits) or by plastic parts then you are very unlikely to discharge any notable current, simply because these parts are good insulators.

Not so , ever heard of Field induction , or more specifically regarding chips , the field induced charged device model ,

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/4126/18727/00865120.pdf?arnumber=865120

The package gets charged , package is usually plastic , the charge is induced to the die by field induction and can discharge then through the pins ,
50V , a very small amount of charging in triboelectric terms , is enough to damage a modern integrated circuit.

Grounding is basically just touching a good large conductor.

Not unless the large conductor is itself grounded ! , again learn some electrostatics !! Basic Junior cert stuff !!

Heres a paper showing projected device sensitivities for ESD from 2004 out to 2010 , Field induced charge device model being the number one concern as it has the lowest damage threshold , 50v , thats static charge of course , you can generate that by blowing a kiss at someone !!

http://www.esda.org/documents/ElectrostaticDischargeRoadmap-March42004Final_061405edits_000.pdf

Or wait, I'm gonna patent the solid silver wrist ground wire, cause you know those ones they use currently are probably copper or maybe even aluminium and frankly when it comes to conductors they just won't cut it.

Funny man ,

Of course " grounding " wrist straps are described as "grounding" straps in terms of ESD only , naturally the operator is not expected to be directly connected to ground , that would be a major health hazard , no , the strap has a 1 megaohm resistor connected in series. This is adequate to quickly and safely dissipate any charge on a device or on the person while still keeping the builder safe ! So its ground for ESD and nothing else if you know what I mean !

The Dissipative range for ESD is between 1 x 10^6 Ohms to 1 x 10^9 Ohms, there are various materials that can manage this including treated carpets , tiles , shoe leather , smocks , polymers such as Torlon , Semitron , etc.
It does not necessarily have to be metal or wire. Indeed there are various worktops, shoes , and mats that can be used instead of wire.

This is one of the reasons why its safer and better to use the strap , touching yourself off the PC case only dissipates charge if the case is left plugged in , and that provides a potential electrocution hazard for the builder should the power be accidentally left on and the PSU is faulty, the strap on the other hand , has a safe resistance built in that dissipates the charge
while restricting any dangerous currents for the builder , do the ohms law calculation , even touching the mains with the wriststrap on limits current to approx 240 microamps.
Therefore , using the strap , you can safely disconnect the case from the mains, and clip the strap to a ground point , the most common home ground point is a radiator , the back part thats not painted of course.

The strap is the cheapest by far too , so the "gimmick" is this 2-3 euro wrist-strap that most parts manufacturers would gladly give you for free to stop you bringing back blown parts , rather than try to sell you the much more expensive shoes , smocks , tables , mats , etc. Some Gimmick !!