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Maintaining the System: Dell™ PowerEdge™ 6350 Systems User's Guide

Proper use of preventive maintenance procedures can keep the system in top operating condition and minimize the need for costly, time-consuming service procedures. This appendix contains maintenance procedures that you should perform regularly.

This section discusses various environmental factors that can adversely affect system performance and longevity.

Dust and Particles

A clean operating environment can greatly reduce the negative effects of dust and other particles, which act as insulators and interfere with the operation of a system's mechanical components. Also, in addition to regular cleaning, you should follow these guidelines to deter contamination of the system equipment:

• Do not permit smoking anywhere near the system.
• Do not permit food or drink near the system.
• Use dust covers when the system is not in use.
• Keep all diskettes in a closed diskette box when not in use.
• Close windows and outside doors to keep out airborne particles.

Temperature

Temperature extremes can cause a variety of problems, including premature aging and failure of chips or mechanical failure of devices. Extreme temperature fluctuations can cause chips to become loose in their sockets and can cause expansion and contraction of disk drive platters, resulting in read or write data errors. When you perform a low-level format operation on a hard-disk drive, it is important to ensure that the drive's surrounding temperature is at or near the temperature at which the drive will be operated. Failure to do so can result in relocation of the tracks on the disk platters.

To minimize the negative effects of temperature on system performance, follow these guidelines:

• Ensure that the system is operated in an environment no colder than 10 Celsius (C) (50 Fahrenheit [F]) or hotter than 35C (95F).
• Ensure that the system has adequate ventilation. Do not place it within a closed-in wall unit or on top of cloth material, which can act as insulation. Do not place it where it will receive direct sunlight, particularly in the afternoon. Do not place it next to a heat source of any kind, including heating vents during winter.

Adequate ventilation is particularly important at high altitudes. System performance may not be optimum when the system is operating at high temperatures as well as high altitudes.

• Make sure that all slots and openings on the system remain unobstructed, especially the fan vent on the back of the system.
• Clean the system at regular intervals to avoid any buildup of dust and debris, which can cause a system to overheat.
• If the system has been exposed to abnormally cold temperatures, allow a two-hour warm-up period to bring it up to normal operating temperature before turning it on. Failure to do so may cause damage to internal components, particularly the hard-disk drive.
• If intermittent system failures are noticed, try reseating any socketed chips, which might have become loose due to temperature fluctuations.

Humidity

High-humidity conditions can cause moisture migration and penetration into the system. This moisture can cause corrosion of internal components and degradation of properties such as electrical resistance, thermal conductivity, physical strength, and size. Extreme moisture buildup inside the system can result in electrical shorts, which can cause serious damage to the system.

Each Dell system is rated to operate at 8 to 80 percent relative humidity, with a humidity gradation of 10 percent per hour. In storage, a Dell system can withstand from 5 to 95 percent relative humidity.

Buildings in which climate is controlled by air-conditioning in the warmer months and by heat during the colder months usually maintain an acceptable level of humidity for system equipment. However, if a system is located in an unusually humid location, a dehumidifier can be used to maintain the humidity within an acceptable range.

Altitude

Operating a system at high altitude (low pressure) reduces the efficiency of forced and convection cooling and can result in electrical problems related to arcing and corona effects. This condition can also cause sealed components with internal pressure, such as electrolytic capacitors, to fail or perform at reduced efficiency.

Each Dell system is rated to operate at altitudes from -16 to 3048 meters (m) (-50 to 10,000 feet [ft]) and can be stored at altitudes of -16 to 10,600 m (-50 to 35,000 ft).

Corrosion

The oil from a person's fingers or prolonged exposure to high temperature or humidity can corrode the gold-plated edge connectors and pin connectors on various devices in the system. This corrosion on system connectors is a gradual process that can eventually lead to intermittent failures of electrical circuits.

To prevent corrosion, you should avoid touching contacts on boards and cards. Protecting the system from corrosive elements is especially important in moist and salty environments, which tend to promote corrosion. Also, as a further deterrent to corrosion, the system should not be used in extreme temperatures, as explained in Temperature.

ESD

ESD results from the buildup of static electricity on the human body and certain other objects. This static electricity is often produced by simple movements such as walking across a carpet. ESD is a discharge of a static electrical charge, that occurs when a person whose body contains such a charge touches a component in the system. This static discharge can cause components, especially chips, to fail. ESD is a problem particularly in dry environments where the relative humidity is below 50 percent. To reduce the effects of ESD, you should observe the following guidelines:

• When working inside the system, wear a wrist grounding strap. If a wrist grounding strap is unavailable, touch an unpainted metal surface on the chassis periodically to neutralize any static charge.
• If at all possible, stand on a concrete floor while working inside the system.
• Use an antistatic floor mat when working inside the system.
• If it is necessary to work in a carpeted area, spray the carpet with an antistatic spray and allow it to dry before beginning to work inside the system.
• Keep components in their antistatic packaging until they are installed.
• Avoid wearing clothing made of wool or synthetic materials.

Electromagnetic and Radio Frequency Interference

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) from a system can adversely affect devices such as radio and television (TV) receivers operating near the system. Radio frequencies emanating from a system can also interfere with cordless and low-power telephones. Conversely, RFI from high-power telephones can cause spurious characters to appear on the system's monitor screen.

RFI is defined as any EMI with a frequency above 10 kilohertz (kHz). This type of interference can travel from the system to other devices through the alternating current (AC) power cable and power source or through the air like transmitted radio waves. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) publishes specific regulations to limit the amount of EMI and RFI emitted by computing equipment. Each Dell system meets these FCC regulations.

To reduce the possibility of EMI and RFI, follow these guidelines:

• Operate the system only with the system cover installed.
• Ensure that all expansion slots are covered either by a card-mounting bracket or by a metal filler bracket and that all drive bays have a drive and/or a metal insert installed. These brackets and metal inserts are available from Dell.
• Ensure that the screws on all peripheral cable connectors are securely fastened to their corresponding connectors on the back of the system.
• Always use shielded cables with metal connector shells for attaching peripherals to the system.

To prevent the possibility of RFI from a system affecting TV reception, follow these guidelines:

• Keep any TV set at least 6 ft away from the system.
• Use cable TV when possible.
• Use a directional outdoor TV antenna.
• Attach line filters to the TV set.
• Use 75-ohm coaxial cable for the TV set rather than twin-lead antenna wire.
• If interference occurs, rotate the system or the TV set 90 degrees.

Magnetism

Because they store data magnetically, diskettes and hard-disk drives are extremely susceptible to the effects of magnetism. Diskettes should never be stored near magnetic sources such as the following:

• Monitors
• TV sets
• Printers
• Telephones with real bells
• Fluorescent lights

Shock and Vibration

Excessive shock can damage the function, external appearance, and physical structure of a system. Each Dell system has been designed to operate properly even after withstanding a minimum of six consecutively executed shock pulses in the positive and negative x, y, and z axes (one pulse on each side of the system). Each shock pulse can measure up to 50 gravities (G) for up to 2 milliseconds (ms). In storage, the system can withstand shock pulses of 92 G for 2 ms.

Excessive vibration can cause the same problems as mentioned earlier for shock, as well as cause components to become loose in their sockets or connectors. Systems can be subject to significant vibration when being transported by vehicle or when operated in an environment with machinery that causes vibration.

Each Dell system, when operating, is designed to withstand 0.25 G (half-sine wave) at a sweep of 3 to 200 hertz (Hz) for 15 minutes. In storage, the system can withstand 0.5 G at 3 to 200 Hz for 15 minutes.

Power Source Interruptions

Systems are especially sensitive to variations in voltage supplied by the AC power source. Over-voltage, undervoltage, and transients (or spikes) can erase data from memory or even cause components to fail. To protect against these types of problems, power cables should always be properly grounded and one or both of the following methods should be used:

• Use one of the power protection devices described in the following section, Power Protection Devices.
• Place the system on a dedicated power circuit (rather than sharing a circuit with other heavy electrical equipment). In general, do not allow the system to share a circuit with any of the following:
• Copier machines
• Air conditioners
• Vacuum cleaners
• Space heaters
• Power tools
• Teletype machines
• Adding machines
• Laser printers
• Facsimile machines
• Any other motorized equipment

Besides these appliances, the greatest threat to a system's supply of power are surges or blackouts caused by electrical storms. Whenever possible, turn off the system and any peripherals and unplug them from their power sources during thunderstorms.

If a blackout occurs--even a temporary one--while the system is turned on, turn off the system immediately and disconnect it from its power source. Leaving the system on may cause problems when the power is restored; all other appliances left on in the area can create large voltage spikes that can damage the system.

The fan assembly cools the system by drawing air in through various openings in the system and blowing it out the back. However, the fan also draws dust and other particles into the system, causing contaminant buildup, which results in an increase in the system's internal temperature and interferes with the operation of various system components.

To avoid these conditions, Dell recommends keeping your work environment clean to reduce the amount of dust and dirt around the system, thereby reducing the amount of contaminants drawn into the system by the power supply fan. In particular, you should keep the exterior of your system and monitor clean, and you should use a commercially available diskette-drive head-cleaning kit to remove contaminants inside your diskette drives.

Dell recommends that you use the following tools and accessories when you clean the system:

• A wrist grounding strap -- The proper use of a wrist grounding strap reduces the effect of electrostatic discharge (ESD), which can damage certain system components. To use a wrist grounding strap, place the strap around your wrist and attach the other end of the strap to an unpainted metal surface in the chassis, such as the power supply bracket, that is connected to chassis ground.
• A liquid dishwashing detergent -- Use a mixture of one part liquid dishwashing detergent and three parts water to clean the exterior of the system, monitor, and keyboard. You can also add fabric softener to produce an antistatic solution that prevents dust from being attracted to the monitor screen.
• A soft, lint-free cleaning cloth -- Moisten the cleaning cloth with the dishwashing detergent solution to clean the exterior of the system.
• A nonabrasive diskette-drive head-cleaning kit -- Dell recommends that you use a kit that contains pretreated diskettes in individually sealed packages. These kits ensure that the cleaning solution is applied evenly over the entire diskette-drive head surface, and they prevent contamination of the heads by exposure to foreign substances.
• A small vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment -- Use the vacuum cleaner to remove dust and dirt from the exterior of the system and keyboard.

A conventional monitor or keyboard cover minimizes the accumulation of dust and other debris inside the monitor and keyboard when they are not in use. Also, commercially available keyboard membrane covers make it possible to use the keyboard while providing protection against foreign particles.

However, regardless of any protective covers, the monitor and keyboard must be cleaned occasionally. To clean the exterior of the system, monitor, and keyboard, follow these steps:

1. Turn off the system, monitor, and any other attached peripherals, and disconnect them from their power sources.

2. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust from the slots and holes on the system and between the keys on the keyboard.

3. Moisten a soft cleaning cloth with a solution of three parts water and one part liquid dishwashing detergent.

Do not soak the cloth in the solution; you must not let the solution drip inside the system or keyboard.

4. Use the moistened cloth to wipe the system cover, the keyboard, and the exterior of the monitor, including the screen.

Cleaning Drives

You can clean the heads of your diskette drives by using a commercially available diskette-drive head-cleaning kit. These kits include diskettes pretreated with a chemical solution to nonabrasively remove contaminants that accumulate on the drive heads during normal operation.

If the kit does not contain instructions, insert one of the pretreated diskettes into a diskette drive and turn on the system. After 20 or 30 seconds, remove the diskette from the drive. Repeat this procedure for each diskette drive in the system.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to clean drive heads with a swab. You may accidentally misalign the heads, rendering the drive inoperable.

Data Preservation

Everyone inadvertently deletes files at one time or another. Also, hard-disk drives can fail after extended use, so it is not a question of whether you will eventually lose data, but when. To avoid such loss of data, you should regularly make backup copies of all hard-disk drive files. Frequent, regular backups are a must for anyone using a hard-disk drive.

Scheduling Backups

The frequency with which backups should be made depends on the amount of storage space on a hard-disk drive and the volatility of the data contained on the drive. Heavily used systems require more frequent backups than systems in which files are seldom changed.

Dell recommends that you back up the hard-disk drive at least once a week, with a daily backup of those files known to have been changed. Following these guidelines ensures the loss of no more than a day's work in the event of a hard-disk drive failure or if you inadvertently delete one or more important files.

As further insurance against data losses, you should keep duplicate copies of the weekly and monthly backups at an off-site location. Doing this ensures that you lose no more than a week's work, even if one of the on-site backups becomes corrupted.

Backup Devices

Tape drives are fast, convenient, and reliable devices that can back up data at rates of up to 1.5 megabytes per second (MB/sec) (sustained, without data compression) and can often run unattended. Dell offers tape drives with storage capacities in the range of 20 to 70 gigabytes (GB) (when available) per tape cartridge and recommends these drives and their associated backup software for use as system backup devices.

As a last resort, you can back up a hard-disk drive's contents on diskettes, a method that is both time-consuming and prone to human error. Also, backing up a full 4-GB hard-disk drive requires approximately 277 diskettes (when using 1.44-MB diskettes), 334 diskettes (when using 1.2-MB diskettes), or 139 diskettes (when using 2.88-MB diskettes). Therefore, if it is absolutely necessary to use diskettes as backup devices, any unwanted hard-disk drive files should be deleted before a backup procedure is started.

Recovering Data

Some hard-disk drive failures are recoverable. In these cases you may be able to recover all lost data if the proper utility software is available. Even losses such as accidentally deleted files or accidental reformatting of a hard-disk drive can be reversed with these utilities.

If the system is running MS-DOS, many apparent data loss problems are due to corruption or erasure of the hard-disk drive's master boot record (MBR), MS-DOS boot sector, or file allocation table (FAT). That is, accidental deletion of files or accidental reformatting of the hard-disk drive alters the MS-DOS boot sector, the FAT, and the root directory.

However, such accidents do not actually erase the contents of the hard-disk drive files until new data is written to the sectors containing these files. With software such as the Norton Utilities, Mace Utilities, or PC-Tools Deluxe, the data stored in these areas can often be restored, meaning that you can recover most, if not all, of the data.

Unlike using the format command on a hard-disk drive, using format on a diskette completely erases all the data on the diskette unless you use the diskette format program included in the Mace Utilities.

For a complete description of data recovery procedures and the software needed to perform them, see The Paul Mace Guide to Data Recovery, published by Brady.

Power Protection Devices

A number of devices are available that protect against power problems, such as power surges, transients, and power failures. The following subsections describe some of these devices.

Surge Protectors

Surge protectors are available in a variety of types and usually provide a level of protection commensurate with the cost of the device. Surge protectors prevent voltage spikes, such as those caused during an electrical storm, from entering a system through the AC power source. Surge protectors, however, do not offer protection against brownouts, which occur when the voltage drops more than 20 percent below the normal AC line voltage level.

Line Conditioners

Line conditioners go beyond the overvoltage protection of surge protectors. Line conditioners keep a system's AC power source voltage at a fairly constant level and, therefore, can handle brownouts. Because of this added protection, line conditioners cost more than surge protectors--up to several hundred dollars. However, these devices cannot protect against a complete loss of power.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems offer the most complete protection against variations in power because they use battery power to keep the system running when AC power is lost. The battery is charged by the AC power while it is available, so once AC power is lost, the battery can provide power to the system for a limited amount of time--from 15 minutes to an hour or so--depending on the UPS system.

UPS systems range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, with the more expensive units allowing you to run larger systems for a longer period of time when AC power is lost. UPS systems that provide only 5 minutes of battery power let you conduct an orderly shutdown of the system, but are not intended to provide continued operation. Surge protectors should be used with all UPS systems, and the UPS system should be Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety-approved.

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