Upgrading and backing-up the Hard drive - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Gatorade Frost · 12-26-2004, 10:05 PM

Tomorrow's the day for me to finally upgrade my computer with two sticks of ram, a video card, and a new power supply unit.

I'm a little worried about this upgrade, though, since I've never done this. I've got a general idea of what I'm doing and I've messed around with this kind uf stuff but never with my own computer.

Should I worry about losing my files, etc. when doing this? I don't particularly care to lose my hard drives by making this upgrade. Is there a chance this could happen or is this just an easy upgrade that unless I don't ground myself I shouldn't worry about?

P.S. - W hat should I do to ground myself? Just touch the case of the computer before doing anything?

bal8664 · 12-26-2004, 10:46 PM

I wouldn't worry about hurting your hard drive, its very hard to break them unless you drop it, or it gets like a surge of power which it shouldnt when its turned off :P

Ram is easy, just pop it in the slot. Same as video card, 1 screw, maybe a power connector, and pop it in the slot.

Power supply is the most complex part you've got, since you're going to need to completely unplug and remove the old one, and be sure to correctly reconnect the new one. Just make sure if you have a pentium 4 motherboard that you connect the main power connector to it, and the smaller 4 pin one as well. Also be sure to reconnect any PCI cards that may have had power (i know my firewire one does). If you just be careful and take everything slowly you should be just fine.

To ground yourself you just need to touch the metal of the case, but that only works if the case is plugged into the wall still. As long as you're not doing it in socks on a shagg carpet you should be alright

Good luck!

Gatorade Frost · 12-26-2004, 10:57 PM

It's an AMD processor 3000+ or something.

If I wore rubber gloves when doing this could I ignore the worries of zapping my system?

sashime76 · 12-28-2004, 09:38 AM

Check out the video card manufacturer's website, make sure you download the latest driver first. In case the new card isn't automatically detected. The rest should be a piece of cake. Good luck.

neekap · 12-28-2004, 09:48 AM

Gatorade, leave the power cord to the power supply plugged in but turn the power supply off. As long as the power supply is mounted to the case, you can easily ground yourself by touching the case before grabbing any components.

I've deliberately tried to fry components with static electricity and haven't had much luck with it. I think the whole thing is mixed with a bit of paranoia. Not saying static CAN'T fry a component, but it's probably more rare than you think.

You shouldn't have to worry about the video card too much, as if Windows doesn't know what it is, it'll default to ugly 640x480x16 colors until you get the proper driver loaded.

Good luck!

shadowalker · 12-28-2004, 10:10 AM

A tip that i can give is after you turn off your power supply make sure you hit the power button on the front of your system, that will drain any of the caps that hold some power in your system. Less chance of shorting something out buy doing that.

12-26-2004, 10:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Gatorade Frost Rookie	Upgrading and backing-up the Hard drive Tomorrow's the day for me to finally upgrade my computer with two sticks of ram, a video card, and a new power supply unit. I'm a little worried about this upgrade, though, since I've never done this. I've got a general idea of what I'm doing and I've messed around with this kind uf stuff but never with my own computer. Should I worry about losing my files, etc. when doing this? I don't particularly care to lose my hard drives by making this upgrade. Is there a chance this could happen or is this just an easy upgrade that unless I don't ground myself I shouldn't worry about? P.S. - W hat should I do to ground myself? Just touch the case of the computer before doing anything?

12-26-2004, 10:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gatorade Frost Rookie	It's an AMD processor 3000+ or something. If I wore rubber gloves when doing this could I ignore the worries of zapping my system? Last edited by Gatorade Frost; 12-26-2004 at 11:02 PM..

12-28-2004, 10:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
shadowalker Psycho Location: Firefox yourself and change the world!	A tip that i can give is after you turn off your power supply make sure you hit the power button on the front of your system, that will drain any of the caps that hold some power in your system. Less chance of shorting something out buy doing that. __________________ I'll make ya famous!

12-26-2004, 10:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
bal8664 Crazy Location: Rochester, NY	I wouldn't worry about hurting your hard drive, its very hard to break them unless you drop it, or it gets like a surge of power which it shouldnt when its turned off :P Ram is easy, just pop it in the slot. Same as video card, 1 screw, maybe a power connector, and pop it in the slot. Power supply is the most complex part you've got, since you're going to need to completely unplug and remove the old one, and be sure to correctly reconnect the new one. Just make sure if you have a pentium 4 motherboard that you connect the main power connector to it, and the smaller 4 pin one as well. Also be sure to reconnect any PCI cards that may have had power (i know my firewire one does). If you just be careful and take everything slowly you should be just fine. To ground yourself you just need to touch the metal of the case, but that only works if the case is plugged into the wall still. As long as you're not doing it in socks on a shagg carpet you should be alright Good luck!

12-28-2004, 09:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
sashime76 Addict Location: Hoosier State	Check out the video card manufacturer's website, make sure you download the latest driver first. In case the new card isn't automatically detected. The rest should be a piece of cake. Good luck.

12-28-2004, 09:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
neekap Tilted Location: Central OH	Gatorade, leave the power cord to the power supply plugged in but turn the power supply off. As long as the power supply is mounted to the case, you can easily ground yourself by touching the case before grabbing any components. I've deliberately tried to fry components with static electricity and haven't had much luck with it. I think the whole thing is mixed with a bit of paranoia. Not saying static CAN'T fry a component, but it's probably more rare than you think. You shouldn't have to worry about the video card too much, as if Windows doesn't know what it is, it'll default to ugly 640x480x16 colors until you get the proper driver loaded. Good luck!