He'll kill me if I sabotage his computer parts...
August 5, 2009 2:22 PM Subscribe
What is the safest way to store computer parts in a plastic bin? Details inside.
This seems simple, but I really don't want to screw anything up... It would cause major problems.
My husband has various desktop and laptop computer parts all around the house. My baby is now up and getting into everything, so I need to put them up. I bought a plastic bin that locks, and I'm confident she won't be able to get into it.
Here's my problem though... He isn't here to put these parts up, so I have to deal with it. There are lots of pieces and parts, and I have no static bags or anything. Would it be safe to maybe wrap the bigger pieces in plastic bags (to give it some buffer/cushion)? Or bubble wrap? If not, what are some things I could use? Preferably things laying around the house.
Thanks in advance for any help.
This seems simple, but I really don't want to screw anything up... It would cause major problems.
My husband has various desktop and laptop computer parts all around the house. My baby is now up and getting into everything, so I need to put them up. I bought a plastic bin that locks, and I'm confident she won't be able to get into it.
Here's my problem though... He isn't here to put these parts up, so I have to deal with it. There are lots of pieces and parts, and I have no static bags or anything. Would it be safe to maybe wrap the bigger pieces in plastic bags (to give it some buffer/cushion)? Or bubble wrap? If not, what are some things I could use? Preferably things laying around the house.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Best answer: Static stock is mostly a problem when being touched by people (though still pretty rare) so the main thing would be to earth yourself first before handling the parts by touching a metal radiator, or other conducting parth to ground - and re-earth yourself periodically if you're doing much walking around on synthetic carpet collecting it all. Plastic bags will be fine for things like cables, connectors, power leads, switches, that sort of thing - anything that's designed to encounter the outside world on a regular basis. Zipties or the like to tie-up individual cables is a good way to stop cables becoming too tangled together in a giant spaghetti nest.
Anything with exposed circuitry or heatsinks (graphic cards, motherboards) that goes on in the inside of a computer would be best with some extra padding such as bubble wrap - hard-drives will definitely want bubble-wrap or foam or the like. I do store spare plugin-in cards stacked together vertically in small boxes, but if they're going in a larger box with other parts and can move around, I always pad them so they don't rub together. They have sharp corners and spiky metal bits, so can rip through plastic bags.
Anything large/awkward will be fine if it's packed on it's own in an individual box, cardboard of plastic.
posted by ArkhanJG at 2:41 PM on August 5, 2009
Anything with exposed circuitry or heatsinks (graphic cards, motherboards) that goes on in the inside of a computer would be best with some extra padding such as bubble wrap - hard-drives will definitely want bubble-wrap or foam or the like. I do store spare plugin-in cards stacked together vertically in small boxes, but if they're going in a larger box with other parts and can move around, I always pad them so they don't rub together. They have sharp corners and spiky metal bits, so can rip through plastic bags.
Anything large/awkward will be fine if it's packed on it's own in an individual box, cardboard of plastic.
posted by ArkhanJG at 2:41 PM on August 5, 2009
All my stuff is jumbled together randomly in a big plastic bin. I've never to my knowledge (in the 15-odd years I've been building PCs) done any damage to a component through static shock, despite never earthing myself. That may be due to choice of floor coverings (natural rather than synthetic), or just luck.
Seconding zip ties for cables of all kinds (including wires on keyboards, mice). They really help when you're looking for a particular cable and don't want to be unravelling the flying spaghetti monster all afternoon.
If he's anything like me though, 90% of those parts will never see use again. Computer parts get old so quickly that it's rarely worth storing them.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:52 PM on August 5, 2009
Seconding zip ties for cables of all kinds (including wires on keyboards, mice). They really help when you're looking for a particular cable and don't want to be unravelling the flying spaghetti monster all afternoon.
If he's anything like me though, 90% of those parts will never see use again. Computer parts get old so quickly that it's rarely worth storing them.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:52 PM on August 5, 2009
All my stuff is jumbled together randomly in a big plastic bin. I've never to my knowledge (in the 15-odd years I've been building PCs) done any damage to a component through static shock, despite never earthing myself. That may be due to choice of floor coverings (natural rather than synthetic), or just luck.
Seconding this to the "nth" degree. To be safe (as this is "his" stuff), "ground" yourself and carefully place them into baggies and into the bin...
If it was me - I would chuck 'em in the direction of the bin (excepting hard drives and not if I know something was very expensive ($$$ graphics card)), whack on the lid and then place it in a dark corner somewhere. Then (potentially years later) I would "re-discover" them, think of the "Make/hackery-type" projects I could do and then either; recycle or re-gift them to some other geek...
Rather, rinse, repeat.
posted by jkaczor at 4:25 PM on August 5, 2009
Seconding this to the "nth" degree. To be safe (as this is "his" stuff), "ground" yourself and carefully place them into baggies and into the bin...
If it was me - I would chuck 'em in the direction of the bin (excepting hard drives and not if I know something was very expensive ($$$ graphics card)), whack on the lid and then place it in a dark corner somewhere. Then (potentially years later) I would "re-discover" them, think of the "Make/hackery-type" projects I could do and then either; recycle or re-gift them to some other geek...
Rather, rinse, repeat.
posted by jkaczor at 4:25 PM on August 5, 2009
Head to the office supply store and get some paper (or better yet, tyvek) envelopes and put the stuff in there. Raw electronics directly on plastic bags or bubble wrap is probably not a good idea, unless it's static-proof bubble wrap. The friction of just putting the item into the plastic could be enough to zap a little something.
(As electronics get smaller and cheaper and more complicated, static damage becomes more of an issue. You can pop something with a shock that's below your detection threshold, and not KILL it, just make it flaky. That video card that randomly locks up or resets the computer, for example. The memory that freezes the computer twice a month. Etc.
I'm saying break out the grounding strap or anything. Just use common sense. If you can rub the material on your head and get static, you probably don't want to package electronics in it.)
That said, almost anything is better than lying around on the floor. Just don't make it worse.
posted by gjc at 5:49 PM on August 5, 2009
(As electronics get smaller and cheaper and more complicated, static damage becomes more of an issue. You can pop something with a shock that's below your detection threshold, and not KILL it, just make it flaky. That video card that randomly locks up or resets the computer, for example. The memory that freezes the computer twice a month. Etc.
I'm saying break out the grounding strap or anything. Just use common sense. If you can rub the material on your head and get static, you probably don't want to package electronics in it.)
That said, almost anything is better than lying around on the floor. Just don't make it worse.
posted by gjc at 5:49 PM on August 5, 2009
Bubblewrap is pretty terrible. It's a great insulator and thus can build up a strong charge. It only matters what they're packed in if they jostle around a little - but rubbing against an insulator is how static charges build up - e.g, feet on carpets, balloons on hair, etc.
You're probably better off just putting them loose in a box than wrapping them in bubble wrap. Paper's probably okay too. It's nowhere near as good an insulator as plastic. Tyvek is basically plastic, and probably should be avoided.
You also don't want real real conductive, like tin-foil. It won't help build up any charge, but if a part does have a charge, it will be able to discharge very rapidly through a good conductor. Anti-static bags are basically lousy conductors (but not great insulators either).
posted by aubilenon at 6:07 PM on August 5, 2009
You're probably better off just putting them loose in a box than wrapping them in bubble wrap. Paper's probably okay too. It's nowhere near as good an insulator as plastic. Tyvek is basically plastic, and probably should be avoided.
You also don't want real real conductive, like tin-foil. It won't help build up any charge, but if a part does have a charge, it will be able to discharge very rapidly through a good conductor. Anti-static bags are basically lousy conductors (but not great insulators either).
posted by aubilenon at 6:07 PM on August 5, 2009
Oh, I'm not really saying "Don't use bubble-wrap anywhere". But avoid touching bare metal (connectors, circuits, etc) with it. If you want mechanical protection as well, corrugated cardboard is a great way to go.
posted by aubilenon at 6:08 PM on August 5, 2009
posted by aubilenon at 6:08 PM on August 5, 2009
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posted by smackfu at 2:29 PM on August 5, 2009