| If you've ever walked across a thick carpet and felt | | | | sophisticated electronic components can be damaged |
| a shock after touching a grounded object (or | | | | by charges as low as 10 volts. |
| shocked a friend on purpose) you know about the | | | | ESD damage occurs when a charge on a hand or tool |
| general effects of static electricity. But do you know | | | | finds a path of lesser resistance from itself to a |
| how it works, or how damaging it can be to | | | | drive. If the energy of that charge is larger than the |
| computer components? Although it may seem a bit | | | | amount of energy the drive can safely dissipate, |
| silly and unimportant, "static shock" or Electrostatic | | | | damage may occur. |
| Discharge (ESD) can cause significant damage to your | | | | Especially sensitive to ESD are integrated circuits: |
| hard drive. Comparable to a lighting bolt damaging a | | | | processors, memory, cache chips and expansion |
| tree, ESD can act like a bomb exploding in your drive, | | | | cards. This damage can be immediate, resulting in |
| blowing apart parts of the circuit board. But don't | | | | melting, junction breakdown or oxidation. Even |
| worry - if you follow a few simple steps you can | | | | scarier, you could electrocute your drive and never |
| ensure you're well protected and avoid letting a minor | | | | even know it - the effects of ESD are difficult to |
| thing like ESD cause major problems. | | | | trace and often do not affect the drive until several |
| WHAT IS ESD? | | | | days to several months after the ESD occurrence. |
| ESD or "static shock" is a portion of an imbalanced | | | | PREVENTION TIPS |
| high voltage field on a non-conductive surface (e.g. | | | | Luckily, a few simple steps can help you avoid ESD |
| your hand, the carpet, a screwdriver) that has just | | | | damage and promote long life for your disk drive. |
| moved to a conductive surface in a rapid, | | | | - Keep your drive in an ESD bag until you handle it - |
| uncontrolled fashion. "Static electricity" is the same | | | | an ESD bag is specially designed to prevent ESD. |
| portion of an imbalanced high voltage field on a | | | | - Always wear an ESD wrist strap grounded to an |
| nonconductive surface, but it has not yet reached | | | | unpainted surface on the chassis of your computer. |
| the point of releasing it's electrons to equalize the | | | | - If a wrist strap is unavailable, touch an unpainted |
| imbalance between a conductor with a greater | | | | surface on the chassis of your computer before |
| positive charge than itself. This imbalanced high | | | | handling your drive. |
| voltage field will not "discharge" until conditions are | | | | - Only touch the connector pins on your drive with |
| right, that is until the number of electrons the charge | | | | the proper cabling ends or jumpers. Never use a bare |
| grabs from around its location builds to a point in | | | | finger or non-insulated tool. |
| which no more electrons can be sustained. When a | | | | - Protect your drive from sources of high voltage |
| conductive surface of some type gets within | | | | power such as fans or vacuum cleaners. |
| 'jumping" distance, the process of equalising the | | | | - Never try to plug a power or data cable into a |
| electrical field is experienced. | | | | drive unless power to the box is completely off. |
| Imbalanced high voltage fields are everywhere, | | | | Finally, by controlling the temperature, you can also |
| constantly flowing over and around us, and people | | | | help limit ESD. By increasing the relative humidity of |
| feel them because we are good conductors. The | | | | the room where the computer is located, you can |
| shock you sometimes get when touching a door | | | | greatly reduce build-up of ESD. Static builds up more |
| knob after shuffling across the carpet is made in the | | | | readily in dry environments than in moist ones; this is |
| same way a thunderstorm makes a lightning bolt. | | | | why you get zapped much more often in the winter |
| Some Examples of Voltage: | | | | time in northern climates than in summer. |
| - 3,000 volts - the average human can't feel voltage | | | | So what happens if by some freak accident your |
| below this threshold. | | | | hard drive experiences ESD and your data is lost? |
| - 8,000 volts - yawning and stretching with clothes | | | | Don't panic, because your best solution is only a |
| on. | | | | phone call away. Many 'Data Recovery' companies |
| - 15-20,000 volts - shoving a plastic-coated box | | | | have experience dealing with hard drives damaged by |
| across the carpet with foot. | | | | ESD and will apply the most advanced technology in |
| - 18,000 volts - getting up from a foam cushion on a | | | | the industry to perform data recovery. Contacting |
| nylon-covered couch. | | | | these immediately upon discovering ESD damage is |
| - 35,000 volts - walking across a typical carpet.5 | | | | the best option to keep you and your clients working |
| WHAT CAN ESD DO? | | | | and productive. |
| While ESD won't kill you, it can definitely kill your | | | | Knowing that ESD exists is the first step in |
| computer components. While it takes an electrostatic | | | | prevention. By following ESD handling procedures and |
| discharge of 3,000 volts for you to feel a shock, | | | | understanding the dynamics behind "static electricity," |
| much smaller charges, well below the threshold of | | | | you can ensure that working with a hard drive is |
| human sensation, can and often do damage | | | | never a shocking experience. |
| semiconductor devices. Many of the more | | | | |