Good things to remember when installing computer devices:

[Goldom]

Plug them into the power supply! *smacks self*

I just added a fan to a chain of things on a dongle (another fan + video card), and turned the computer back on with the whole thing sitting there not attached to anything, and was greeted with a lovely banshee wailing. I freaked out and thought I had overloaded the power supply or something, then noticed that... none of it was connected. Anyway...

[Jersey Devil]

1. Another warning - always have the power off when plugging in cables

I learned the hard way when I plugged in a cable into the back of my machine and fried the mother board with static electricity. Now I power down, unplug and rid myself of static electricity before even thinking of touching the back of the machine.

[Princess Turandot]

2. Also try not to bleed on your motherboard..

I was installing a PCI card and cut my finger on a sharp edge of the card. Next thing I noticed, there was a drop of blood on the motherboard. I blotted it gently, then used my hair dryer set on cool to blow on it for awhile since I had no idea what else to do!

[hobbit709]

3. You have to bleed on it

Otherwise the computer gods will not be happy. No sacrifice, no work.