II. Warnings
Warning! - General
This guide is by no means intended to be comprehensive, nor is it capable of dealing with every situation that may arise while troubleshooting a computer system. If you are unsure about what you are doing, I suggest that you consider taking the computer in question to a professional computer technician. The small diagnostic fee that you will have to pay is a pittance compared to the price of replacing a needlessly destroyed component. While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained herein is accurate, the author will not be held accountable for the misuse of or the inaccuracy of any information.
Warning! - Electrostatic Discharge
When working with any computer system, great care must be taken not to allow static charge to build up on your person or clothes. An electrostatic discharge could damage the sensitive components of a computer system and make a simple problem even worse. While there is no guaranteed way of preventing electrostatic discharge, a few simple precautions can greatly reduce the likelihood of damaging a computer system. One good way to prevent electrostatic discharge is to ground yourself to your (plugged in but turned off) computer's case before touching anything else inside the case. This is accomplished by touching a bare metal portion of the case. This action will eliminate any built up electrostatic charge and add a greater margin of safety to your work. Electrostatic grounding kits are also sold at various retailers, and can help to minimize the chance of an electrostatic discharge in a high static environment.
Proceed to next section: III. Tools and Software