Removal and Replacement Preliminaries
Maintenance and Service Guide
4–3
4.3 Preventing Damage to
Removable Drives
Removable drives are fragile components that must be handled
with care. To prevent damage to the notebook, damage to a
removable drive, or loss of information, observe the following
precautions:
■
Before removing or inserting a hard drive, shut down the
notebook. If you are unsure whether the notebook is off or
in hibernation, turn the notebook on, and then shut it down
through the operating system.
■
Before removing a diskette drive or optical drive, ensure that
a diskette or disc is not in the drive and 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 covered with at least one inch of
shock-proof foam.
■
Avoid dropping drives from any height onto any surface.
■
After removing a hard drive, an optical 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 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.”
