Another dumb scew story



  • The front page item on Dell's screw delivery policy reminded me of something similar I had with HP a while ago.

    While setting up a server, there was a large box that had within it a single bag containing a single screw. Nowhere was this screw documented, and no use could be found for it. However, the one thing about this screw that really had me confused was the warning tag attached to it.

     

     (obligatory wooden table)
    Screw you, dumb screw!!
    (/obligatory wooden table)

    Yes, the warning label attached to this mystery screw warned you of exactly one thing - to remove the warning label after shipping.


     



  • That's a nice looking table there.



  • Doesn't look like a warning tag to me -- it looks like an inventory control tag.  The sole purpose of that tag is to allow the screw to be easily tracked and scanned via the barcode on the tag there.  Once they ship it out, the tag's meaning becomes pointless so you can remove it.

    Nice wooden table though. :D



  • That screw is for the case. But what happens if you do not remove the tag?....For me, that is the real mystery



  • I have stacks of these sat in the pile of random HP bits in the corner of the server room.

    Their purpose......

    If you ever need to recocate your server racks and are not going to unload all the servers first you are supposed to put these screws in.

    HP also use them if they ship you a rack with the servers preinstalled - hence the remove after shipping

    Although you than end up taking all the kit out again when it arrives anyhow as either: 1 the server are not positioned in the rack U's you wanted them or 2 the rack doesent fit through the doors of your building, being about 2 cm taller than a standard door frame (good design that!) 



  • It looks like a transport screw. They lock moving parts so they won't get damaged during shipping. Turntables used to have them. The removable plastic inserts around the head of an inkjet printer exist for similar reasons. The tag is warning you not to remove the screw from whatever hardware it was stuck in until after shipping.

    Of course, that means that not only did they remove the screw before shipping, they sent you the evidence. I would make sure any moving parts get a thorough workout, especially components that look like they would fit in the box the screw came in.



  • @mixedbag said:

    If you ever need to recocate your server racks and are not going to unload all the servers first you are supposed to put these screws in.

    HP also use them if they ship you a rack with the servers preinstalled - hence the remove after shipping

    Although you than end up taking all the kit out again when it arrives anyhow as either: 1 the server are not positioned in the rack U's you wanted them or 2 the rack doesent fit through the doors of your building, being about 2 cm taller than a standard door frame (good design that!) 

    So the "remove after shipping" refers to a server that is optionally attached to the screw? That definitely wasn't the case here (the server wouldn't have fit in the small plastic bag). Still, makes no sense to ship it with a "remove after shipping" label when there's nothing to remove it from. I prefer my explanation of the label being self-referential. ;-)

    Oh, and AARGH! on the rack height. The last rack I had to set up was off of a narrow (barely wider than the rack) corridor. The feet had to come off the bottom, and the doorframe had to be removed to ge it in there. Even then, there was some scraping. 

     

    @rsg said:

    It looks like a transport screw. They lock moving parts so they
    won't get damaged during shipping. Turntables used to have them. The
    removable plastic inserts around the head of an inkjet printer exist
    for similar reasons. The tag is warning you not to remove the screw
    from whatever hardware it was stuck in until after shipping.

    Of
    course, that means that not only did they remove the screw before
    shipping, they sent you the evidence. I would make sure any moving
    parts get a thorough workout, especially components that look like they
    would fit in the box the screw came in.

    Nope, it was a virgin screw (pffft). Presumably it is something along those lines, but if it can survive shipping to me without it, I doubt that anything I'm ever going to do will require it!



  • @RayS said:

    Still, makes no sense to ship it with a "remove after shipping" label when there's nothing to remove it from.

    It was removed from the box, wasn't it?  I think you may have unconsciously fulfilled the instructions!  



  • Re: Another dumb screw story

    @Cyrijl said:

    That screw is for the case. But what happens if you do not remove the tag?....For me, that is the real mystery
    [b]J[/b]ust about as perplexing as the <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2">"Do Not Remove Under Penalty
    of Law" tag on your new mattress.
    </font>



  • Can someone fax me a copy of that image?  I'd like to post it on my own website.

     

    Thanks. 



  • @RayS said:

    @mixedbag said:
    ...

    Although you than end up taking all the kit out again when it arrives anyhow as either: 1 the server are not positioned in the rack U's you wanted them or 2 the rack doesent fit through the doors of your building, being about 2 cm taller than a standard door frame (good design that!) 

    ...

    Oh, and AARGH! on the rack height. The last rack I had to set up was off of a narrow (barely wider than the rack) corridor. The feet had to come off the bottom, and the doorframe had to be removed to ge it in there. Even then, there was some scraping. 

     ...

    [b]D[/b]on't you just tip it to a 45 degrees angle to let it in under the door frame.



  • @triso said:

    @Cyrijl said:
    That screw is for the case. But what happens if you do not remove the tag?....For me, that is the real mystery
    [b]J[/b]ust about as perplexing as the <FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular size=2>"Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law" tag on your new mattress.
    </FONT>

    Just to be horribly pedantic, it says 'do not remove under penalty of law except by consumer'. It's designed to ensure that the consumer has full access to the manufacturer's statement of origin and contents



  • Looks to me like somebody at HP forgot to remove the tag after shipping it.

    (By telekinesis maybe?)

     



  • @triso said:

    @RayS said:
    Oh, and AARGH! on the rack height. The last rack I had to set up was off of a narrow (barely wider than the rack) corridor. The feet had to come off the bottom, and the doorframe had to be removed to ge it in there. Even then, there was some scraping.

    [b]D[/b]on't you just tip it to a 45 degrees angle to let it in under the door frame.

    Not really. There wasn't enough room on either side of the door for that. Oh, the false ceiling in the "server room" is all of a few inches higher than the top of the cab, so it wouldn't have worked for that reason either (we considered moving the semi-fixed equipment until we noticed the ceiling issue too).

     

    Anyway... I just noticed the title. The real WTF is that I can't spell scew (sic).


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