Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!ucselx!petunia!csuchico.edu!news
From: tempest@ecst.csuchico.edu (Kenneth K.F. Lui)
Subject: Re: Tragic SIMMS installation
Message-ID: <1991Apr20.034428.4290@ecst.csuchico.edu>
Sender: tempest@ecst.csuchico.edu (Kenneth K.F. Lui)
Organization: California State University, Chico
References: <41443@cup.portal.com>
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 91 03:44:28 GMT

[Stuff about upgrading an SE and the CPU ended up being fried
somehow.]

There are a lot of sensitive components in today's computers and
it wouldn't take a whole lot to fry a component via electrostatic
discharge.  You don't have to actually touch anything because the
charge stored in your body can leap through the air; all it takes
is for the charge to touch the right place and wham!  When the SE
was upgraded, did you/your friend wear a grounding wrist strap?
If you/your friend did, was the strap connected to _metal_
(painted metal don't count)?  The environment is also important
because I've opened up my SE many times (~50) without any ill
effects (and this was before I knew about ESD, so naturally, I
had no grounding wrist strap) for which I was grateful and very
lucky.

That's one possibility.  Another is improper mounting of the new
SIMMs.  When I upgraded SIMMs in my SE to 4MB (I had upgraded to
2.5MB before without any problems) I didn't set a pair of
high-profile SIMMs and I got the same result your friend did.  I
opened up the Mac again and after careful inspection, noticed the
SIMM pins weren't in contact with their holder pins.  Reseating
the suspect SIMMs fixed it.

Ken
difficult to 
______________________________________________________________________________
tempest@ecst.csuchico.edu, tempest@walleye.ecst.csuchico.edu,|Kenneth K.F. Lui|
tempest@sutro.sfsu.edu, tempest@wet.UUCP                     |________________|