# Module 1

## Exploring a Desktop Computer

> Consider the monitor and the power supply to be “black boxes.” Never remove the cover or put your hands inside this equipment unless you know about the hazards of charged capacitors and have been trained to deal with them. The power supply and monitor contain enough power to kill you, even when they are unplugged.

For monitors, this CRTs and power supplies of other monitors; this does not apply to most modern screens. However, this makes no mention of stuff like mercury inside some old LCD backlights, another safety hazard.

WARNING: I am not remotely qualified to comment on this, take this with a huge grain of salt and learn about it yourself - I am not responsible for your safety.

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> If an ESD strap is unavailable or won't work, use a ground mat, also called an ESD mat, to dissipate ESD (see Figure 1-2). While the equipment is resting on the ground mat, it is protected from ESD; however, if you lift the equipment off the mat, it is no longer protected, unless you are wearing an ESD strap.

While they say in the caption that it must be connected to (the) ground, I'll still mark them off for not mentioning that in the paragraph about this, and also for saying "to *the* ground".

![the text above, with an image of an anti-static mat and grounding cable for it (not connected to the mat or ground), captioned "An ESD mat dissipates ESD and should be connected to the ground"](/modules/module-1/assets/1-2.png)

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> Most cases have panels on each side that can be removed.

While this is true for retail cases, there are a *lot* of prebuilts that don't have a second side panel for cable management.

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> Processor is underneath this fan

It's not *just* underneath the fan, it's underneath the heatsink; just say it's under the CPU cooler.

![The inside of an ATX computer; the relevant bit is that there's an arrow pointing to the CPU cooler, labelled "Processor is underneath the fan"](/modules/module-1/assets/1-14.png)

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> Because the CPU generates heat, a fan and heat sink might be installed on top to keep it cool. A heat sink consists of metal fins that draw heat away from a component. The fan and heat sink together are called the processor cooler.

1. A heat sink *needs* to be installed, it's not a "might", it's a requirement - however, a fan is optional.
2. Everyone calls it the "CPU cooler", nobody says "processor cooler".
3. This doesn't mention the possibility of water cooling.

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It's very odd that they would use a *blue* DVI port, which as far as I can tell is not standard, and I can only find information about for a single motherboard very similar to this one on [a forum post](https://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/76508-blue-dvi-port.html), rather than just find one of a million motherboards with a white DVI connector (the standard).

![A photo of a motherboard, and the DVI port is blue for some reason](/modules/module-1/assets/1-16.png)

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> The easiest way to identify this video card is to look at the ports on the end of the card

That's just nonsense. Let's say I look for [GPUs](https://pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#H=1,4&O=3,4&D=0&o=0) on PC Part Picker filtering for 3 DisplayPort ports, and 1 HDMI port. There are 1434 results, and just from a quick estimate, more than 350 available to purchase right now. And regardless, just look at the sticker on it.

![A photo of an old graphics card, with the caption "The easiest way to identify this video card is to look at the ports on the end of the card"](/modules/module-1/assets/1-14.png)

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> Video cards draw the most power in a system

This isn't guaranteed, but is generally true.

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> Some cases have a removable bay for smaller hard drives

This just doesn't even really make any sense. There can be a separate, removable drive cage, but it's just a matter of case design. This isn't even to mention the fact that these are not for smaller hard drives, these are for 3.5" drives, possibly including external ones like floppy drives, depending on case layout.

![The relevant text is above; the images shows a 3.5 inch floppy drive being taken out of a partially toolless external drive bay, and a hard drive being put into that drive cage.](/modules/module-1/assets/1-45-46.png)

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> Spacers are installed in this case

Those are called standoffs.

![A motherboard in a case, but not screwed in yet (and ~5-10 mm from its correct spot). There is an arrow pointing to the standoffs, labelled "Spacers are installed in this case."](/modules/module-1/assets/1-48.png)

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## First Look at Laptop Components

> One example of diagnostic software is PC-Doctor (pc-doctor.com), which is recommended by some manufacturers\
> [...]
> You can find a standalone version of PC-Doctor for DOS and PC-Doctor for Windows at pc-doctor.com. You can purchase it at this site; it’s expensive but might be worth it if you plan to service many laptops

I don't care if the manufacturer recommends it, I'm not using PC-Doctor. In my opinion, any half-decent technician wouldn't need PC-Doctor, and it wouldn't help them much.

![A paragraph talking about PC-Doctor which I can't be bothered to transcribe. It doesn't matter, just read the text above this.](/modules/module-1/assets/pc-doctor.png)

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> Remove the wireless card. For the laptop in Figure 1-79, the Mini PCI Express wireless card is installed in the same compartment as the memory modules. Disconnect the two wires leading to the wireless antennas, which are located in the laptop lid. Next, remove the screw securing the wireless card, then pull the card directly away from the socket, as shown in Figure 1-80.

These instructions suck. No mention of what angle or direction, just "pull the card directly away from the socket".

![The text above, with an unhelpful caption, and an image of someone holding a wifi card for a laptop, which has just been taken out of its slot.](/modules/module-1/assets/1-80.png)

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> For some laptops, such as the one shown in Figure 1-83, the keyboard bezel is the top of the case. For other laptops, you remove the case top and then remove the keyboard. Once you remove screws and disconnect the cables from the motherboard, the keyboard bezel should easily lift away from the laptop, as shown in Figure 1-83.

This is just poorly explained, but even my best attempts at parsing what this means still leave it as incorrect for many laptops.

![Someone lifting the keyboard and top of the laptop away from ](/modules/module-1/assets/1-83.png)

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> Only use battery packs and AC adapters recommended by the laptop manufacturer

Need I say more?

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