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Safety Instructions: Dell™ PowerEdge™ 2400 Systems User's Guide

Overview • Notes, Notices, Cautions, and Warnings • Safety Caution and Warnings • Additional Safety Precautions • When Working Inside Your Computer • Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge • Ergonomic Computing Habits

Overview

Use the following safety guidelines to ensure your own personal safety and to help protect your computer or storage system from potential damage.

Notes, Notices, Cautions, and Warnings

Throughout this guide, blocks of text may be accompanied by an icon and printed in bold type or in italic type. These blocks are notes, notices, cautions, and warnings, and they are used as follows:

NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.

Safety Caution and Warnings

Observe the following caution and warnings while servicing this system:

Precautions for Server and Storage Systems

Follow the additional safety guidelines for your system:

• Unless your installation and/or troubleshooting documentation specifically allows it, do not remove enclosure covers, attempt to override the safety interlocks, or access any components inside the system. Depending on your system, installation and repairs may be done only by individuals who are qualified to service your computer or storage system equipment and trained to deal with products capable of producing hazardous energy levels.
• When connecting or disconnecting power to hot-pluggable power supplies, if offered with your Dell product, observe the following guidelines:
  • Install the power supply before connecting the power cable to the power supply.
  • Unplug the power cable before removing the power supply.
  • If the system has multiple sources of power, disconnect power from the system by unplugging all power cables from the power supplies.
• Move products with care; ensure that all casters and/or stabilizers are firmly connected to the computer or storage system. Avoid sudden stops and uneven surfaces.

Precautions for Rack-Mountable Products

Observe the following precautions for rack stability and safety. Also refer to the rack installation documentation accompanying the system and the rack for specific warning and/or caution statements and procedures.

• System rack kits are intended to be installed in a Dell rack by trained service technicians. If you install the kit in any other rack, be sure that the rack meets the specifications of a Dell rack.
• Do not move large racks by yourself. Due to the height and weight of the rack, Dell recommends a minimum of two people to accomplish this task.
• Before working on the rack, make sure that the stabilizers are secure to the rack, extend to the floor, and that the full weight of the rack rests on the floor. Install front and side stabilizers on a single rack or front stabilizers for joined multiple racks before working on the rack.
• Always load the rack from the bottom up, and load the heaviest item in the rack first.
• Make sure that the rack is level and stable before extending a component from the rack.
• Extend only one component at a time from the rack.
• Use caution when pressing the component rail release latches and sliding a component into or out of a rack; the slide rails can pinch your fingers.
• After a component is inserted into the rack, carefully extend the rail into a locking position, and then slide the component into the rack.
• Do not overload the AC supply branch circuit that provides power to the rack. The total rack load should not exceed 80 percent of the branch circuit rating.
• Ensure that proper airflow is provided to components in the rack.
• Do not step on or stand on any system/component when servicing other systems/components in a rack.

Precautions for Products With Modems, Telecommunications, or Local Area Network Options

Observe the following guidelines when working with options:

• Do not connect or use a modem or telephone during a lightning storm. There may be a risk of electrical shock from lightning.
• Never connect or use a modem or telephone in a wet environment.
• Do not plug a modem or telephone cable into the network interface controller (NIC) receptacle.
• Disconnect the modem cable before opening a product enclosure, touching or installing internal components, or touching an uninsulated modem cable or jack.
• Do not use a telephone line to report a gas leak while you are in the vicinity of the leak.

Precautions for Products With Laser Devices

Observe the following precautions for laser devices:

• Do not open any panels, operate controls, make adjustments, or perform procedures on a laser device other than those specified in the product’s documentation.
• Only authorized service technicians should repair laser devices.

When Working Inside Your Computer

Before you remove the computer covers, perform the following steps in the sequence indicated.

NOTICE: Some Dell systems can be serviced only by trained service technicians because of high voltages and energy hazards. Do not attempt to service the computer system yourself, except as explained in this guide and elsewhere in Dell documentation. Always follow installation and service instructions closely.

NOTICE: To help avoid possible damage to the system board, wait 5 seconds after turning off the system before removing a component from the system board or disconnecting a peripheral device from the computer.

1. Turn off your computer and any peripherals.
2. Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the chassis, such as the metal around the card-slot openings at the back of the computer, before touching anything inside your computer.
   While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the computer chassis to dissipate any static electricity that might harm internal components.
3. Disconnect your computer and peripherals from their power sources. Also, disconnect any telephone or telecommunication lines from the computer.
   Doing so reduces the potential for personal injury or shock.

In addition, take note of these safety guidelines when appropriate:

• When you disconnect a cable, pull on its connector or on its strain-relief loop, not on the cable itself. Some cables have a connector with locking tabs; if you are disconnecting this type of cable, press in on the locking tabs before disconnecting the cable. As you pull connectors apart, keep them evenly aligned to avoid bending any connector pins. Also, before you connect a cable, make sure that both connectors are correctly oriented and aligned.
• Handle components and cards with care. Don’t touch the components or contacts on a card. Hold a card by its edges or by its metal mounting bracket. Hold a component such as a microprocessor chip by its edges, not by its pins.

Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge

Static electricity can harm delicate components inside your computer. To prevent static damage, discharge static electricity from your body before you touch any of your computer’s electronic components, such as the microprocessor. You can do so by touching an unpainted metal surface on the computer chassis.

As you continue to work inside the computer, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface to remove any static charge your body may have accumulated.

You can also take the following steps to prevent damage from electrostatic discharge (ESD):

• When unpacking a static-sensitive component from its shipping carton, do not remove the component from the antistatic packing material until you are ready to install the component in your computer. Just before unwrapping the antistatic packaging, be sure to discharge static electricity from your body.
• When transporting a sensitive component, first place it in an antistatic container or packaging.
• Handle all sensitive components in a static-safe area. If possible, use antistatic floor pads and workbench pads.

The following notice may appear throughout this document to remind you of these precautions:

NOTICE: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge." 

Ergonomic Computing Habits

For comfort and efficiency, observe the following ergonomic guidelines when you set up and use your computer system:

• Position your system so that the monitor and keyboard are directly in front of you as you work. Special shelves are available (from Dell and other sources) to help you correctly position your keyboard.
• Set the monitor at a comfortable viewing distance (usually 510 to 610 millimeters [20 to 24 inches] from your eyes).
• Make sure that the monitor screen is at eye level or slightly lower when you sit in front of the monitor.
• Adjust the tilt of the monitor, its contrast and brightness settings, and the lighting around you (such as overhead lights, desk lamps, and the curtains or blinds on nearby windows) to minimize reflections and glare on the monitor screen.
• Use a chair that provides good lower back support.
• Keep your forearms horizontal with your wrists in a neutral, comfortable position while you use the keyboard or mouse.
• Always leave space to rest your hands while you use the keyboard or mouse.
• Let your upper arms hang naturally at your sides.
• Sit erect, with your feet resting on the floor and your thighs level.
• When sitting, make sure the weight of your legs is on your feet and not on the front of your chair seat. Adjust your chair’s height or use a footrest, if necessary, to maintain proper posture.
• Vary your work activities. Try to organize your work so that you do not have to type for extended periods of time. When you stop typing, try to do things that use both hands.