Compaq N160 manual Preventing Damage to Removable Drives

Removal and Replacement Preliminaries

4.3Preventing Damage to Removable Drives

Removable drives are fragile components that must be handled with care. To prevent damage to the computer, damage to a removable drive, or loss of information, observe the following precautions:

■Before removing or inserting a hard drive, shut down the computer. If you are unsure whether the computer is off or in Hibernation, turn the computer on, then shut it down.

■Before removing a diskette drive or optical drive, ensure that a diskette or disc is not in the drive. Ensure that the optical drive tray is closed.

■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 into 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 into a bubble pack mailer or other suitable form of protective packaging and label the package “Fragile: Handle With Care.”

Maintenance and Service Guide 4–3