Preparing Your Computer

Computer motherboards and expansion cards contain very delicate Integrated Circuit (IC) chips. To protect them against damage from static electricity, you should follow some precautions when- ever you work on your computer.

1.Unplug your computer when working on the inside.

2.Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. If you do not have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal object, such as the power supply case.

3.Hold components by the edges and try not touch the IC chips, leads or connectors, or other components.

4.Place components on a grounded antistatic pad or on the bag that came with the compo- nents whenever the components are separated from the system.

5.Ensure that the ATX power supply is switched off before you plug in or remove the ATX power connector on the motherboard.

Installing the motherboard to the chassis

If the motherboard has mounting holes, but they don't line up with the holes on the base and there are no slots to attach the spacers, do not become alarmed you can still attach the spacers to the mounting holes. Just cut the bottom portion of the spacers (the spacer may be a little hard to cut off, so be careful of your hands). In this way you can still attach the motherboard to the base without worrying about short circuits. Sometimes you may need to use the plastic springs to iso- late the screw from the motherboard PCB surface, because the circuit wire may be near by the hole. Be careful, don't let the screw contact any printed circuit write or parts on the PCB that are near the fixing hole, otherwise it may damage the board or cause board malfunctioning.