Touch case to discharge static electricity?

[nickbits]

I always thought that it was a good idea to touch the case to discharge any static electricity. However, last night when I was working on my computer when I touched the case, I got a static shock then the computer shut off. And when I turned it back on the power LED no longer worked. So now I'm not so sure that is a good idea. I know you can get those wrist strap things but from the instructions I've read they say to connect them to the computer case, so I don't see how it would help.

Thanks.

 

[tool_462]

You can't receive a shock from something you are grounded to already. That is the idea behind the straps. Once you are connected to the case by the wire, you cannot create a charge differential between yourself and the case that you are grounded to.

A static shock given to your PC while it is on can shut it down, and the high voltages may have burnt out an LED.

 

[doolittle]

This sounds crazy, but I use a strap w/ a banana clip that I expanded slightly so it fits in the ground hole of a power outlet and plug it into the power strip on my bench.

I enjoy people's reaction when I show them 8O then have to explain it's the best ground you can get :lol:

 

[Whizzard9992]

This sounds crazy, but I use a strap w/ a banana clip that I expanded slightly so it fits in the ground hole of a power outlet and plug it into the power strip on my bench.

I enjoy people's reaction when I show them 8O then have to explain it's the best ground you can get :lol:

lol. Until someone does that on a badly wired ground (There are a LOT of poorly wired houses in the US).

All you need is 4 or 5 outletes wired on the same fuse with no actual ground. Next thing you know, YOU ARE your microwave's new ground The next time someone pops something in, you get a nice zap or 3.

 

[nobly]

I don't think grounding yourself on your computer while its ON is a good idea.
Use a metal chair or something.

 

[doolittle]

I'm glad I ran my own 20A circuit from the old "disgarded" datacenter upgrades, some nice L5-20R w/ 30' MC and TrippLite PS722-20T PDU on my bench.

Well I did have to buy the breaker

 

[sailer]

This sounds crazy, but I use a strap w/ a banana clip that I expanded slightly so it fits in the ground hole of a power outlet and plug it into the power strip on my bench.

I enjoy people's reaction when I show them 8O then have to explain it's the best ground you can get :lol:

I know how its supposed to work and why it works. Problem I've found many times in the past was that whoever wired the house, or boat as has been the case, got the wires mixed up on the way from the box to the outlet. In my boating days, wiring was so bad that I had a specific tester to use for checking that sort of thing. I found I had to rewire 8 out of 10 electrical boxes. Sad, it was. I wouldn't try doing anything like that unless I had personally wired or checked the wiring to make sure it was right.

 

[hammerhead2]

from the electronic classes and some personal experiances

you do several things when you work inside your computer
1) put on a non conductive surface ( card board is good)
2) unplug from the wall ( why in a moment)
3) unplug anything else ethernet, modem etc that carry
power from outside.
4) if you have one use a static strap, otherwise touch the
case before and during if you can while working on the
computer.

what this does is reduce (and reduce only) the chance that
your electical potential and that of the computer are different
as long as they aren't you shouldn't have a proplem,
why not keep the compter plugged in,, becasue you have a
great big electrical sink ( earth ) that is most likely at a
different potenial than you. sure many times you can and will
get away with it , but not always

to Sailor and yes the wonderfully wired homes also make for
a fun time.

also as you move arround you can build up an elecrtical charge
as the capacitors in the computer can also pick up a charge just
from the electrical energy in the air arround them..

 

[doolittle]

I'm glad I am not the only one who worries about such things, luckily peace of mind is relatively cheap - Under $10 thankfully

Well the one I got was under $10 from home depot. They also have circuit tracers for under $40. IMHO a dedicated circuit is the best bet for anyone's test bench.

 

[sailer]

I'm glad I am not the only one who worries about such things, luckily peace of mind is relatively cheap - Under $10 thankfully

Well the one I got was under $10 from home depot. They also have circuit tracers for under $40. IMHO a dedicated circuit is the best bet for anyone's test bench.

Mine looked a bit different, but the idea's the same; test and be sure, rahter than not test and light up like a Christmas tree for a few moments.