Compaq 279362-002 Laptop User Manual


 
Removal and Replacement Preliminaries
Maintenance and Service Guide 4–3
Before handling a drive, ensure that you are discharged of
static electricity. While handling a drive, avoid touching the
connector.
Handle drives on surfaces that have at least one inch of
shock-proof foam.
Avoid dropping drives from any height onto any surface.
After removing a hard drive, CD-ROM drive, or a diskette
drive, place it in a static-proof bag.
Avoid exposing a hard drive to products that have magnetic
fields, such as monitors or speakers.
Avoid exposing a drive to temperature extremes or to 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: Handle With Care.”
4.4 Preventing Electrostatic Damage
Many electronic components are sensitive to electrostatic
discharge (ESD). Circuitry design and structure determine the
degree of sensitivity. 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.
A sudden discharge of static electricity from a 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 may not
be affected at all and can work perfectly throughout a normal
cycle. Or the device may function normally for a while, then
degrade in the internal layers, reducing its life expectancy.