windows 8 - What precautions should I take when modifying/upgrading components in a computer?

Drop it off a cliff, hit it with a hammer, jam a incompatible component in the wrong slot, jam a incompatible component in the wrong slot with a hammer, etc. Not what I mean.

I am asking about commonly overlooked things to do to protect your computer when upgrading. Do I need to upgrade the BIOS? Create a backup of the hard drive/prior drivers? Uninstall something? Make sure that my laptop battery is removed and that you give some time for it to "let the power drain out"? Discharge capacitors... you get the point.

So what are all the precautions when I am changing some basic components? (RAM, WiFi, and adding Bluetooth (if there is a slot)?

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Edit: Forgot to say that one other thing that would be useful is a resource that can tell if a certain part will fit physically in your computer, if that would be a problem on a laptop. Sorry, I left that out.

Answer

This is a very broad question and depends entirely on the hardware in question. Some common pitfalls include:

• The PSU: make sure the PSU has i) enough power to run your components and ii) the right connector cables. The format of computer power cables has changed these last few years from this (source):

  
  

  

  
  

  to this (source)::

  
  

  




• Hard drive cables. Depending on the age of your hardware, you may have IDE or SATA (or eSATA) connected hard drives or a combination of the two. Make sure you have the right cables and make sure your new motherboard can deal with whatever combination you have.

  
  

  IDE cable (source):

  
  

  

  
  

  SATA and eSATA cables (source):

  
  

  




• Graphics card. There have been various types of slots for graphics cards over the years, make sure that your motherboard can deal with your card. See the answer here for a nice list with images and have a look at this article for a brief explanation of the various types.




• RAM type. There are various types and speeds of RAM sticks. Make sure the ones you get are compatible with your motherboard. You need to check both the type (DDR, DDR2, DDR3 etc) and the speed 133 MHz or 200 MHz or whatever. Also, some types do not play well with one another so I recommend getting only one type of RAM.