Would it be possible to give some tips on safely opening a computer for changing the Graphics Card?

Question

As you know, I'm a little new to all this thing, so I hope you won't be too hard on me.

My mother only wants me to open this computer ONCE, so I would want this experiment on changing the computer's Graphics card to be successful.

I just wanted to know, when I open the computer, where would the graphics card be located?

To remove it, do I simply unplug it and plug in the new one, or is there anything special to do before that, so that I won't accidentally misplace anything so that the computer won't even work afterwards?

Would you have any safety tips by any chance, to make sure I won't do anything wrong?

Thank you for taking your time to read and hopefully answering to this question.

Answer 1

Would be nice to know WHAT computer we're 'talking' about here!

Does it have Integrated graphics, or a graphics card? If it has a graphics card, it will be in a sideways slot, on the back of the computer, where the monitor itself plugs in.

Look at this example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage....

See the ventilation holes down on the lower right, in a column shape?

To the left of them are the slots I'm referring to. These are expansion card slots. If the monitor is plugged into a card that is in one of these slots, you have a dedicated graphics card.

Now look at the round set of ventilation holes. To the left of them is the I/O Shield area. (Input/Output devices plug in here) If the monitor is plugged into a 15 hole plug,(VGA. Has 5 holes, in three rows, staggered.), in this area, you have Integrated graphics.

There will be NO graphics card to replace. You will just insert your graphics card, in the appropriate slot.

Now since again, I don't know what computer this is, I can't tell you if you have a PCI slot, AGP slot, or PCI-Express x16 slot for a graphics card.

This is an example of a motherboard that has an AGP slot for graphics. (AGP=Accelerated Graphics Port)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ASRoc...

Look towards the top right. See where it says 'AGP Slot', and points to the black slot?

This one has an AGP slot also.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cusl2...

It is the brownish/black slot, to the left of the 6 PCI white slots.

If you just have PCI slots for graphics, you'll just see White PCI slots like these. (There will probably be expansion cards in these slots. If any one of them is open, with nothing in it, you can use it for a graphics card. Doesn't matter which ONE. As long as there's nothing in it, you're good to go!)

1.PCI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_...

2.AGP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGP

3.PCI-Express: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-Express

Now we come to the newest form of graphics slot. The PCI-Express x16 slot. The above gives you info on it. The link below shows you what a PCI-Express x16 slot looks like on a motherboard.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...

Scroll down this page, and as you do keep your eye on the green slots. These are PCI-Express x16 slots. This particular motherboard has two. They are green. Not all PCI-E x16 slots are green.

This is from ATT.Yahoo Tech.

http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/upgrading-your-...

1.First thing is to unplug the computer from the AC source of electricity.

2.Next unplug all cables, and familiarize yourself with where they go before you unplug them. ESPECIALLY the speaker plugs. Sometimes the colors are close to each other,(PInkish, light orange, etc.), and when it comes time to plug them back in, you may be at a loss. Still have the Setup Diagram? Good! But if Mom has to dig it out, she may lose faith with you. Be a pro! Write it down if you have to!

3.If you don't do anything ELSE, DO THIS!

Work on a table. Wash your hands with warm, soapy water, dry them well. You may be the cleanest person in the world, but your body still carries static. Static is a silent 'killer' of those delicate computer parts inside. Open the case. (If I knew what computer!) TOUCH the metal frame of the computer case to de-static your body. Touch it before you reach inside. Touch it before you take that graphics card out of it's anti-static bag. Touch it if you get up, walk away, then return.

If the computer has a graphics card already installed, it will be held in by a Philips s***w on the inside. This will be towards the outside of the computer case, in the metal frame. OR, there may be a metal panel on the outside of the case, where you remove a Philips s***w,or a Thumb s***w. The panel swings to the outside. Remove the graphics card by holding onto the corners, and rock it gently side to side, while pulling up. It will be pretty tight. Putting one back in, can be fun sometimes. The metal tab, on the metal face of the graphics card, has to go in-between the metal frame, and the motherboard. WHILE you are lining up the gold plated contact pins on the bottom of the card, in the graphics slot. AGP, and PCI-Express x16 slots have a lock on the slot.

Edit: This lock is pushed in, not pulled out! When you get the graphics card, follow the Quick Install Instructions. I take the CD that comes with the card, and with the computer on and running install the contents of the graphics card. I then power the computer down normally, and install the graphics card.

A lot of times if you install the graphics card first, Windows tries to use one of it's generic drivers. You need THE drivers that comes on the CD.

Answer 2

When you open it the graphics card thingy would be located at your APG, PCI, or PCI-E slot. It's pretty much located near the back side of your computer.

Before removing it buy an anti-static wrist-strap or simply rub/slide or whatever you wanna do your hands on your computer case to remove static from your hands.

When you remove it just find it and give it a little tug to pull it out. Then plug in the new one and check if it's secure. DON'T push too hard or you might damage something. And also don't pull to hard either.

Umm for safety be careful doing this because you can accidently cut your hands. And once agian remember to get the static off of your hands because if you don't one little itsy bitsy touch and BOOM your computer is fried up and you might have to buy another one. PLUS DISCONNECT EVERYTHING ( wires, plugs ect. ) before doing this and also turn your computer off and unplug everything and leave it there for a while so there won't be any electricity or whatever its called inside still.

HERE IS A GREAT LINK TO HELP YOU IF YOU GET LOST: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docum...

Answer 3

There isnt much to do for changing a graphics card. First, you want to ground yourself so there will be no ESD (electro-static discharge). Most people have no problem with this (myself included), but we usually take safety precautions anyways (so hardware wont be damaged). Simply, all you have to do for that is just touch a metal part of the computer case while changing the part or just touch it every now and then. To remove the graphics card, it depends on the case. Some cases have it so all you do is loosen the expansion slots and everything can be just pulled out, but usually, there is a s***w holding that specfic graphics card in. To find the graphics card, you just have to look. there will be white slots, and possibliy black, red, and blue. In that area, there will be cards, so try to figure out which one is the graphics card. I cant give you exactly where it is and what it looks like since its your computer, but it should be really easy to find. For removing it, it also depends on your computer. If its a pci-express card, there will usually be a white lever that you have to push, and at the same time you have to be pulling the graphics card up so the lever wont go back down. You can just pull it out easily after that. If you have a somewhat powerful graphics card though, you may have to pull out a power cord that is in the graphics card. For putting it in, just line it up in the slot that you pulled your old graphics card out of (if they are both the same card type meaning pci-e, agp, etc...), and put the new one in. If there is an area for a 6 pin pci-e power cord, then plug that in as well. You have to install the drivers for the new card though, but make sure you uninstall the old ones fully so the drivers dont conflict with each other. There is very little that can go wrong with such an easy thing, but im sure its possible if you try to manhandle your parts. Good luck