Before handling a drive, be sure that you are discharged of static electricity. While handling a drive, avoid
touching the connector.
Before removing an optical drive, be sure that a disc is not in the drive, and be sure that the optical drive tray
is closed.
Handle drives on surfaces covered with at least 2.54 cm (1 inch) of shock-proof foam.
Avoid dropping drives from any height onto any surface.
After removing a hard drive or an optical drive, place it in a static-proof bag.
Avoid exposing an internal hard drive to products that have magnetic fields, such as monitors or speakers.
Avoid exposing a drive to temperature extremes or liquids.
If a drive must be mailed, place the drive in a bubble pack mailer or other suitable form of protective
packaging, and label the package “FRAGILE.”
Electrostatic discharge information
A sudden discharge of static electricity from your finger or other conductor can destroy static-sensitive
devices or microcircuitry. Often the spark is neither felt nor heard, but damage occurs. An electronic device
exposed to electrostatic discharge (ESD) might not appear to be affected at all and can work perfectly
throughout a normal cycle. The device might function normally for a while, but it has been degraded in the
internal layers, reducing its life expectancy.
Networks built into many integrated circuits provide some protection, but in many cases, the discharge
contains enough power to alter device parameters or melt silicon junctions.
IMPORTANT:
To prevent damage to the device when you remove or install internal components, observe
these precautions:
Keep components in their electrostatic-safe containers until you are ready to install them.
Before touching an electronic component, discharge static electricity by using the guidelines described
Personal grounding methods and equipment on page 30
Avoid touching pins, leads, and circuitry. Handle electronic components as little as possible.
If you remove a component, place it in an electrostatic-safe container.
Generating static electricity
Follow these static electricity guidelines.
●
Different activities generate different amounts of static electricity.
●
Static electricity increases as humidity decreases.
Table 4-1
Static electricity occurrence based on activity and humidity
Relative humidity
Event
55%
40%
10%
Walking across carpet
Walking across vinyl floor
7,500 V
3,000 V
15,000 V
5,000 V
35,000 V
12,000 V
Electrostatic discharge information
29
