Anitstatic Wriststrap

It is not a question of whether static electricity will damage components, it always does. Sometimes, it may take a day or two or even a month for the damage to appear, but eventually the computer will begin to have random failures and then finally the damaged component will fail. A major goal of opening a computer case up for upgrade or repair is to not have to open it up again later for an additional repair.

You cannot predict when static electricity will occur. Yes, static electricity is worse when conditions are dry, but do not depend on that. Simply standing up or taking a drink from a styrofoam cup will create enough charge to damage some electronics. That small spark jumping from the back of your hand to your hard drive can turn the drive into a door stop...a $60-$150.00 door stop.

To avoid damaging components with static electricity, always, always, always touch a metal part of the computer's case or some other large piece of metal to ground yourself before even reaching close to any electronic components. Even when wearing the wriststrap

There are also wrist straps that you can wear to safely ground yourself without restricting your movement. There are two parts to a wrist strap: an elastic wrist band and a coiled wire. Simply attach the alligator clip at the end of the wire to the computer's chassis and attach the other end of the wire to the snap on the wrist band. As long as the user is wearing this wrist band, he or she is statically discharged.