Protected swapping of peripheral components and expansion cards by powering on and off a whole computer system according to the position of a retaining latch

Disclosed is a method and system for providing the protected swapping of a peripheral component such as an expansion card. The method makes use of a mechanical retention latch that is attached to the card slot to hold in the card. The latch has an open and a closed position. When the latch is open the power management system prevents the computer from powering up, but when the latch is closed the power management system allows the computer to be powered up. The latch may be coupled to a peripheral component interconnect slot. The position of the latch may be determined by an optical device. The computer may be powered down to a sleep mode when the latch is open and powered up from the sleep when the latch is closed. The system may have a plurality of latches retaining the cards such that if any latch is in the open position the computer is powered down. The latch may automatically close when the card is fully inserted.