Installing Computer Hardware
Working in the IT Industry
You may have already opened up a computer systems unit to replace a hardware component such as a video card or RAM stick. Similar hardware upgrades and replacements are often carried out by IT support technicians to improve performance or simply to replace broken components.
IT support technicians are rarely able to just swap over hardware components, as organisations demand a more professional approach which involves planning, preparation and testing. This is because when providing support to users in an organisation, it is important to get it right first time. Every upgrade needs to be quick, effective and problem free, so the user can keep working without disruption. Many problems can be avoided if you are organised and professional in your approach to an upgrade – ensuring you have the correct tools and parts, as well as making sure you have enough log-in rights to configure the system.Safe working needs a good understanding of the risks involved in IT work: the risk to you from electricity, the risk of damaging components from electrostatic discharge (ESD) and the risk of losing user data by failing to back up. A regular part of IT support is to upgrade or replace hardware components to improve performance or to fix problems. This unit will introduce you to some of the skills and techniques used by ICT professionals to replace and upgrade computer hardware.