Horizontally mounted motherboards

[mindonstrike]

Kilith is it static charge on the vacumn that is being tranfered to the computer when you make physical contact or is it being created by the fast moving air?

I've been vacumning mine for years but I never let the hose or attachement come in physical contact with anything inside the case.

Sam

[kilith]

Originally Posted by mindonstrike

Kilith is it static charge on the vacumn that is being tranfered to the computer when you make physical contact or is it being created by the fast moving air?

I've been vacumning mine for years but I never let the hose or attachement come in physical contact with anything inside the case.

Sam

I am guessing by what I was told over and over in computer class in school in 200-2002 and for what I read on the internet when I search for it, that it is the movement of the air. The thing is you might now know it now and it could take months or years before it could just one day fry.

If you are holding it 2 feet outside of your case I doubt anything would ever happen but if you are sticking that hose inside of the case (even if not right on the motherboard) you could be causing damage. It is best to go out and buy a battery powered vacuum. If you look at computer vacuums they can start at 28 dollars and work their way up to a fully ESD-Safe vacuum which is over 300 dollars.

I guess the best way to test your vacuum to see how much ESD if has is use a balloon and how it away from the end of the hose for a little while and then see if when putting the balloon near your head if it raises your hair up. If it does then you are probably causing damage to your computer.

[horseshoe]

If it was movement of the air, why wouldn't blowing it do the same damage?

I would suspect that it is contact with the components that causes the problems. Vacuum cleaner ends are usually plastic or rubber, and that is a great concern about static electricity. Especially one that had been used to clean a carpet before being used on the computer.

I would think a metal wand on the vacuum, that has a grounding strap on it, would work fine. But then again, what the heck do I know. Maybe a garden hose would work better if you only used half pressure....LOL