Unplug while on?

[kaukau]

Is it alright to unplug and re-plug or swap things such as monitors and headphones while the computer is on? (Only things connected to the mobo's breakout box thingy on the back of the case)

 

[rally9x]

I've never had problems doing it. I mean bad stuff can happen like moving the video card a bit or a static shock but that would be extremely rair...I've done it millions of times without an issue.

 

[jagec]

monitors, headphones/speakers, parallel, USB (some devices require that you Stop them first) all can be hot-swapped.

However, you're not supposed to do it with PS/2 connectors.

 

[EquaLiZr]

ive never been able to hot swap ps2 connections...comp eithor crashes or the device doesnt work (Till you reboot)

 

[TheMostWantedPolishTwin]

Originally posted by jagec
monitors, headphones/speakers, parallel, USB (some devices require that you Stop them first) all can be hot-swapped.

However, you're not supposed to do it with PS/2 connectors.

I successfully hot swapped my ps/2 keyboard and mouse... well almost, cause the keyboard was kinda laggy but nothing crashed or anything...

 

[Met-AL]

I swapped a monitor with the PC on and the monitor died a horrible death. It couldn't take the refresh rate and res settings and died so make sure your not a bonehead like me and check to see of the monitor can handle what it's getting plugged into.

Old PS/2 boards could actually be permantly damaged when you hot swapped PS/2 devices...

 

[velocitypimp]

your mainboard has a ps/2 bios, when you try hot swapping ps/2 devices you can actually cause surges through this and eventually your ps/2 ports will die

 

[cirial]

I used to have a weird problem back in the day, where my p/s2 keyboard would stop responding til i unplugged it and plugged it back in.. at random intervals

 

[Pepsiholic]

whatever you do, do not swap your headphone connection. You'll have to reformat each time.

 

[corrosive23]

if you have native sata drives you can hotswap them.

 

[LeviathanZERO]

I'd turn the monitor off, before hot-swaping. But thats just me.
been doing it daily, since i got a fook'd HD adaptor. (waiting on the replacement...)

 

[Whatsisname]

My buddy hot swapped a video card once.

 

[rally9x]

My buddy hot swapped a video card once.
__________________________________

are you sure it wasn't the friend of a buddy's cousing?

this would have to be impossible...

was it agp/isa/pci or maybe he swapped the onboard chip?

its defintly impossible with agp the others are just about as unlikely.

 

[Supchaka]

Heh, I've unplugged cards right from the board with the machine on. Granted the computer locks up 90% of the time, its never damaged anything. I've built 100's of computers and never used a static strap. I dont use surge suppressors. I'm either the luckiest computer guy in the world or people are overly paranoid.

 

[Tengis]

Lol, I dont use anti-static crap either. The co0l3st thing ev4r was when I h0t sw4ppped a CPU! Yea!... or not.

Is that at all possible with dual cpus or anything?

 

[zandor]

Originally posted by Tengis
Lol, I dont use anti-static crap either. The co0l3st thing ev4r was when I h0t sw4ppped a CPU! Yea!... or not.

Is that at all possible with dual cpus or anything?

Not on PCs. Some fancy (read high end/expensive) servers can do it though. Same for hot-swap PCI.

 

[Deleted member 69395]

DUDE! Hot swapping headphones dont make u need a format! I do it ALL the time even when sound is being sent to the port

 

[Big Worm]

Originally posted by ChappyChaps11
DUDE! Hot swapping headphones dont make u need a format! I do it ALL the time even when sound is being sent to the port

REALLY!!!!!!?!?!@!@!





I remember someone saying they hot swapped a stick of ram once, it worked too apperently. Mabey he had to refresh something or reboot for it to be detected, I forget.

 

[Deleted member 69395]

Originally posted by Big Worm
REALLY!!!!!!?!?!@!@!


duh how do I know if hes sarcastic or not there are alot of noobs running around its hard to show sarcasm with just words typed on the screen jeeze no need to start a flame here

 

[Big Worm]

Originally posted by ChappyChaps11

Originally posted by Big Worm
REALLY!!!!!!?!?!@!@!


duh how do I know if hes sarcastic or not there are alot of noobs running around its hard to show sarcasm with just words typed on the screen jeeze no need to start a flame here

Whos starting a flame?

 

[stevewm]

Monitors - OK to hotswap. And unless your using a ancient monitor, refresh rate 'out of range' problems will be non-existent.

Parallel - OK to hotswap when no data is being sent. Otherwise the app sending the data may lock, possibly the entire OS may lockup. Ditto for Serial ports.

PS/2 Ports - DO NOT UNPLUG/PLUG THESE LIVE! In some cases a surge will result that blows the protection fuses on the mobo leaving you with dead ports. PS/2 was not designed for hotswapping. It may work sometimes but if you value your mobo or the PS/2 device do not hotswap them.

IDE - Do not under any circumstances hotswap IDE devices. IDE was not designed electrically or in protocol to handle hotswapping. You may damage your IDE controller and/or IDE device. Don't even try it with a "removable" IDE hardrive rack.

USB/FireWire - Designed with hotswapping in mind. Perfectly fine to do so.

SATA - Designed with hotswapping in mind. Technically you are supposed to use a backplane, but it can be done without just fine. You MUST use the SATA style power connector though. Do not use the Molex power connector if you plan to hotswap, it was not designed for it.

Audio Input/Outputs - Perfectly fine to "hotswap". Will not damage anything.

ISA/PCI/AGP - Do not under any circumstances hotswap these. Some server motherboards do support hotswap of PCI devices, but this is usually only on high-end mobos. The PCI device itself also needs to support it.

CPU/Memory - Not possible to do so, unless using a above mentioned server mobo that specifically supports its.