[justmetoo]

I’ve just started doing more invasive work inside my computers, so was wondering if it would be a good idea to be putting some sort of gloves on when handling RAM and drives, etc… In the past I've only used bare hands, as most of you likely also still do.

BUT I have access to some cotton gloves (used in the museum at my other day-job to handle artifacts and keep finger grease off) but they have been washed and have shrunk so they don’t fit too well, at least on my hands. Or I can use "nitrile" gloves: all sizes, powder free, non-latex…

What do you think? Would one type be prone to generating static over the other? Are bare hands the way to go? Am I wasting your time reading this post?

[Sherman Homan]

Great question! I have worried about it since the chip companies stopped shipping those static wrist straps. Remember those? Here is my dilemna, obviously you don't want sweat and natural oils on any electric component. But powdered gloves? And I know all about generating static electricity with a latex balloon.

[©öñFü$íóÑ]

if you want to make sure you have no 'grease' and no sweat (which naturally contains salt and other minerals) on your fingers or hands while handling sensitie computer components, just wash your hands thoroughly with a bar of "Irish Spring" soap (the "Icy Blast" line works best). Antibacterial liquid soaps might get rid of the bacteria and sweat...... but it doesn't do much for naturally secreted oils.

And if you think salicilic acid works best for an excessively oily face, just try that particular bar of soap... it'll leave you as dry as sheet rock.

[Big Mac]

As long as you're not coming into direct contact with sensitive areas of the components, you don't need to worry about oils. And as far as static charge goes, as long as you dicharge yourself by touching metal before going inside the case and you avoid walking around on carpet unnecessarily, you shouldn't have any problem.

[Dork.]

For most routine operations (swapping RAM, hard drives, cards), controlling static is far more important than controlling your hand oils. A wrist strap, or just making sure you discharge yourself as BigMac said, is sufficient. Even if you touch the active traces on a RAM module or the pins on a HD, you're more concerned with static shorting something out than with hand oils.

I think hand oils only make a difference when handling something that can get very, very hot, like a halogen headlamp for a car: the small amount of oil can burn and reduce the life of the component.

[Waragainstsleep]

Here here. Get a strap if you want your kit to live long. Cotton or latex gloves will be a good creator of static, so avoid them. Handle boards by the edges at all times anyway, and grease and oil become pretty much a non-issue.

[jmault]

What do you mean by getting a "strap?"

[Sherman Homan]

jmault:
Get your head out of the gutter!
Thousands of years ago when ice covered the Earth, ram chips were expensive. The chips would come with a cute little wire wrist strap that clipped onto any exposed metal in the computer case. Thereby grounding you and the logic board.

[pcummins]

I recommend heading to the nearest reputable electronics store and purchasing an anti-static wrist strap, preferably one that plugs directly into the ground rather than clipping onto a bit of the computer/equipment. You can also purchase table-top anti-static pads or pads that you step on to discharge the static, good if there's high throughput and you don't want to slip the wrist strap on all the time.

[Millennium]

Wrist straps are a good idea, but the static generated by gloves is more of a threat than the oils secreted by your skin.

Even then, however, do keep in mind that wearing a strap (and not wearing gloves) is enough. No need to go all Largo on us...

[maceye]

I would think that gloves would make it hard to hold onto screws inside the case. I've def. dropped some screws while adding or removing parts from a few macs, and it's a pain to retrieve them. I do not think I could work with gloves on, although if you work at a museum you might have more practice with gloved hands.

offtopic: lol the title of this thread cracks me up... sounds like a really awful middle school sex ed textbook FAQ or something...

[Chips G]

Other useful safety tips regarding taking computers apart can be found here:

Computer Repair Safety - Important PC Repair Safety Tips

(Not meant to be spam)

-Chris

Good luck!