Had a great day yesterday, installing an sd card reader into the pc. Fumbled with crutches dropped a screwdriver in the unit and fried the motherboard and power unit. Are we having fun yet?
Spose it was better than spilling tea on the laptop keyboard. I think I need an idiot proof computer.
He he he... That's gotta hurt. Try one of these:
na.panasonic.com/us/computers-tablets-handhelds
At the risk of making geeks redundant, simple concise instructions...nah, give the job to the experts.
Sorry, but I have to ask ...
"what the hell were you doing trying to install a card reader with the unit turned on???"
You couldn't have fried the motherboard etc. if the power was off
Unit was off at the time. Only conclusion I could draw was dropping the screwdriver on the m/board. Peripherals survived, but also took out the surge board (power) when I rebooted. I might state at this time that my expertise in computers is limited to say the least. Could have downloaded from gt11 but needed the reader for two purposes.
May also have something to do with dust build up
Found the culprit. When the card reader was installed (by me), the tower was unplugged and sitting on the dining room table. Whilst I was not wearing the latest in esd straps, I thought that having no footwear, I was earthed. Yes there is a power source on all motherboards, namely the battery (to keep the clock running).
And yes I've seen a friend change out a ram stick only to have the stick fry whilst holding it...esd. Sandshoes on carpet.
However, if the reader that you install (and trust to be wired correctly) is indeed faulty, it will, when reconnected and powered up take out various items of interest around said motherboard, namely the power supply unit, the motherboard the card reader was plugged into and the item of suspicion itself. The incorrectly wired unit will try to incinerate itself, briefly, before all the little do-da's inside give up the ghost and stop smoking...unspectacular!
Just because the finished product shows it was checked by No 34980123 on a production line of a million underpaid and probably underaged workers, doesnt mean the item actually works.
Ever bought a new kettle only to have the handle fall off?
When doing stuff to a computer, unplug everything from the back of the unit, including the power cord. Sometimes you can get stray voltages leaking back from peripherals, especially cheap powered speakers.
To earth yourself, keep one hand on the power supply/chassis. Then you should have no problems.
intergrated circuits on circuit boards that are not plugged in a very prone to damage from STATIC electricity. Earth yourself (wrist strap or touch chassi if earthed,)
