Chapter Two

Hardware Preventive
Maintenance and Safety
1
Precautions
2 2.1. Preventive Maintenance

 Preventive maintenance is a regular and

systematic inspection, cleaning, and
replacement of damaged parts,
materials, and systems.
 Troubleshooting is a systematic
approach to locating the cause of a
fault in a computer system.
 Troubleshooting is a learned skill.
3 The Purpose of Preventive
Maintenance
 Benefits of Preventive Maintenance are:
• Reduced computer down time and repair costs.
• Increased data protection.
• Extended life of the components.
• Increased equipment stability.
• Increase the system performance
• Improved safety conditions and quality of
services.
 Preventive Maintenance can be divided
into:
• Hardware maintenance
• Software maintenance
4 Preventive Maintenance
Tasks
 Hardware Maintenance
• Check the condition of cables, components, and peripherals.
• Repair or replace any components that show signs of excess
wear.
• Keep components clean to reduce the likelihood of
overheating.
• Software Maintenance
• Verify current version.
• Review security, software, and driver updates.
• Update virus definition files.
• Scan for viruses and spyware.
• Remove unwanted programs.
• Scan hard drives for errors.
• Defragment hard drives.
5 Clean the Case and Internal
Components
 An important part of hardware
preventive maintenance is to keep the
computer case and internal
components clean.
 The amount of dust and other airborne
particles in the environment and the
habits of the user determine how often
to clean the computer components.
 Regularly cleaned or replaced air filters
in the building in which the computer is
used will significantly reduce the amount
of dust in the air.
6 Clean ….

 When dust accumulates inside the computer, it

prevents the flow of air and reduces the cooling of
components.
 Several components are important to keep clean:
 Heat sink and fan assembly
 RAM
 Motherboard
 Fans
 Power supply
 Internal drives
 Clean ….
7
To remove dust from the inside of a computer, use a
combination of :
 Liquid Cleaning  Cleaning Contacts and
Compounds Connectors
 Clean or Soapy Water  Erasers
and a Damp Cloth
 Non-Static Vacuums
 Denatured Alcohol
 Compressed Air
 Glass Cleaner
 Lint-Free Cloths
 Fabric Softener
8 Clean ….
 Regular cleaning also gives you a chance to inspect components for
loose screws and connectors.
 Look for things that might cause a problem later and correct them,
such as the following:
 Missing expansion slot covers that let dust, dirt, or living pests into the
computer
 Loose or missing screws that secure adapter cards
 Missing cables
 Loose or tangled cables that can pull free from the case
 If you use a cleaning product, do not spray it directly on the case.
Instead, put a small amount onto a cleaning cloth or a duster and
wipe the outside of the case.
 When cleaning the LCD display screen of a laptop, do not use glass
cleaner at all. You will melt the screen!
9 Component Protection and
Storage
 You need to protect Your computing environment
from any kind of power surge, or power sags, as either
of these events can cause severe damage to your
system.
 Many things outside the control of normal folks cause
sags and surges, such as electrical brownouts and
blackouts, spikes on the electrical grid, lightning, and
electromagnetic interference.
11 Types of Interference
 Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
• Buildup of an electric charge resting on a surface
• 30 volts of static electricity can damage a computer
component.
 Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
• Intrusion of outside electromagnetic signals in a
transmission media, such as copper cabling
• Sources can be: Man-made, natural events, climate or
any source designed to generate electromagnetic
energy.
 Power Fluctuation
• Voltage in a computer that is not accurate or steady
• Blackouts, brownouts, noise, spikes, power surges
• Power Protection Devices
• Surge suppressor
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
• Standby Uninterruptible Power Supply (SUPS)
• Online Uninterruptible Power Supply (OUPS)
• Standby Power Supply (SPS)
12 Electrostatic Discharge Precautions
and Procedures

 Dust and ESD are the two main enemies of your

computer.
 To maintain your computer and to prolong the life of
components, you need to know about
 the effects of ESD and
 how to protect your computer from those effects.
13 ESD …
 How ESD Is Apparent or Hidden
 A prime example of ESD, or electrostatic discharge,
 is the small shock you receive when you walk across a
carpeted floor and then touch an object or a person.
 The electrical discharge doesn't do you any lasting
damage, but such a seemingly harmless shock will
destroy computer components
 In fact, even discharges well below the level that you
can feel will still damage or destroy PC components-
and you won't even know!
14 ESD …

 Hidden ESD
 A real concern, and another good reason to clean
your computer regularly is that
 the dust buildup on PC components can cause an
electrical charge that you probably will not be aware of
at the time.
 In most cases, you will not even be aware that
 a problem exists until a component begins to behave
intermittently, and
 by that point it will be extremely difficult or impossible to
pinpoint the original source of the problem.
15 ESD …

 Catastrophic ESD
 causes a computer component to fail immediately.
 When it occurs, it will be obvious,
 To remove the component and replace it with a new
one, and
 it most likely will not affect any other components
16 ESD …

 Common ESD Protection Devices

 Many devices are available that can help to protect
your system from the effects of ESD
 anti-static wrist and ankle straps
 anti-static mats,
 anti-static floor mats,
 anti-static bags, and
 anti-static sprays.
17 Power Fluctuation

 The following types of AC power fluctuations can

cause data loss or hardware failure:
 Blackout - Complete loss of AC power
 Brownout - Reduced voltage level of AC power that lasts
for a period of time
 Noise - Electrical interference from generators and
lightning
 Spike - Sudden increase in voltage that lasts for a very
short period and exceeds 100% of the normal voltage on
a line
 Power surge - Dramatic increase in voltage above the
normal flow of electrical current
18 Power Protection Devices

 To help shield against power fluctuation issues, use power

protection devices to protect the data and computer
equipment:
 A surge suppressor helps protect against damage from surges
and spikes.
 A surge suppressor diverts extra electrical voltage on the line to
the ground.
 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) helps protect against potential
electrical power problems by supplying electrical power to a
computer or other device.
 Standby Uninterruptible Power Supply (SUPS)
 Online Uninterruptible Power Supply (OUPS)
 Standby Power Supply (SPS) helps protect against potential
electrical power problems by providing a backup battery to
supply power when the incoming voltage drops below the
normal level
19 2.2 Potential Hazards and Proper
Safety Procedures

 While power issues can cause damage to your PC

 many hazards can injure the technician, such as high-
voltage shocks or electrical fires.
 You need to make yourself aware of these hazards
and of ways to prevent them from occurring.
20 High-Voltage Equipment

 The capacitors in PC
 power supplies,
 monitors, and
 laser printers carry very high voltages that can easily
cause severe bodily injuries.
 In most cases high-voltage equipment usually marked
by a bright yellow warning sticker
 Whenever you work with a piece of high-voltage
equipment, always make sure
 the device is unplugged and
 you have removed your anti-static wrist strap
21 Power Supplies
 Whenever you work on your computer, you need to
make sure it is unplugged.
 When it comes to power supplies, though, even
unplugging them does not make them safe to fix.
 It is extremely risky even to open the case of a Power
supply, because the capacitors can hold a serious
charge even when the power supply is unplugged.
 If you must work on a power supply, make sure you
remove your anti-static wrist strap and discharge the
capacitors on the power supply.
 A little static electricity won't bother a power supply at all,
but the metal resistor in the strap can attract voltage (or,
more importantly, current (amperage)) and
 lead to bad things-massive jolts through your body can
kill, so be careful!
22 Monitor

 Never open a monitor unless you know exactly what

you are trying to accomplish.
 The capacitors in a typical PC monitor also carry
extremely high voltages even when unplugged.
 never wear your anti-static wrist strap when working on
a CRT to avoid the possibility of the voltages being
transferred to your body front the CRT
23 Fire

 Most of us will never experience a PC fire, but we may

experience an electrical fire in our homes.
 It is important that you realize that just as smoke can
harm you, it can also harm your PC and its
components.
 If you do experience a computer fire, or any electrical
fire for that matter, never, ever throw water on it,
 because throwing water on an electrical fire can
cause the electrical current to travel up the water and
straight into you!
 Instead, if you experience an electrical fire, make sure
you use a type C or a type ABC fire extinguisher
24 2.3. Safe Lab Procedures
and Tool Use
The workplace should have safety guidelines to follow to:
 Protect people from injury
 Protect equipment from damage
 Protect the environment from contamination
25 Characteristics of a Safe
Workplace
 Clean, organized, and properly lit workspace
 Proper procedures for handling equipment
 Proper disposal or recycling of components containing
hazardous materials
 Safety guidelines
• Most companies require reporting any
injuries, including description of safety
procedures not followed.
• Damage to equipment may result in
claims for damages from the customer.
• Types of safety guidelines: General,
Electrical, Fire
26 Procedures to Protect the
Environment
 Computers and peripherals contain materials that can
be harmful to the environment.
 Protect the environment by responsibly disposing and
recycling:
• Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS): Fact sheet
summarizing information about material identification,
including hazardous ingredients that can affect personal
health, fire hazards, and first aid requirements.
• Proper Disposal: Comply with policies that specify the
procedures for disposing different materials such as
batteries, monitors and used printer kits.
27 Tools for the job

 Hardware Tools
• ESD Tools
• include antistatic wrist strap and antistatic mat
• Hand Tools
• include various screwdrivers, needle-nose pliers,
hex drivers, wire cutters, tweezers, part retriever,
and flashlight
• Cleaning Tools
• include soft cloth, compressed air can, cable ties,
and parts organizer
• Diagnostic Tools
• include Digital multimeter, loopback adapter,
Toner Probe and POST card
28 Software Tools

Disk Management Tools

Protection
 FDISK
Software Tools
 Format
 Windows 7 Security Center
 Scandisk or CHKDSK  Antivirus program
 Defrag  Antispyware program
 Disk Cleanup  Window 7 Firewall program

 Disk Management
Organizational
 System File Checker (SFC)
Tools
Notes
Journal
History of repairs
Internet Reference
29 Proper Tool Use
▪Safety in the workplace is
everyone's responsibility.
▪Before cleaning or repairing
equipment, check to make sure
that tools are in good condition.
• Proper use of an antistatic wrist strap can prevent ESD damage to computer
components.
 CAUTION: Never wear an antistatic wrist strap if you are repairing a monitor or CRT.
• Proper use of an antistatic mat transfers static electricity away from equipment
to a grounding point.
• Proper use of hand tools.
• Proper Use of Cleaning Materials.
• CAUTION: Before cleaning any device, turn it off and unplug the device from the
power source.