I've implemented an idea in an attempt to make hot plugging safer. I imagine it is something that people have already done, but have been too embarrassed to post. ( I, fortunately, have no shame ). It involves taking the little push tacks ubiquitous in the office environment and clipping off the needle point. I then super glue them to the top of my flash (I only recommend this for PLCC. With DIPs, and whatever else, you are probably better off with the chip pullers). Pictures of my experiments are shown here;
http://members.cox.net/rtphilipson/knob1.jpg http://members.cox.net/rtphilipson/knob2.jpg
So far it has been very successful. I have not had a knob fall off (yet). With the PLCC I think this is a much safer way to hotplug than using a chip puller. If I ever do have one fall off, I'll have a future post about recovery techniques :o). The most important point is to shave off the resulting nub left when cutting off the needle point so that you have a flat surface to glue. I recommend a dremel tool grinder. Although I've had success using a scissor blade (takes a long time). If you have a BIOS sticker on top, you'll need to peel that off and clean off the glue thoroughly.
One of the drawbacks is that the chip part number is covered up. If you have several chips types to deal with, this can be a problem. I've implemented a color coding system that works well since I only have a couple of chip types to deal with.
FWIW,
Randy