Owners Manual

Removing the hard drive backplane
Prerequisites
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform
troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or
telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by
your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that are shipped with your product.
CAUTION: To prevent damage to the drives and backplane, you must remove the hard drives from the system
before removing the backplane.
CAUTION: You must note the number of each hard drive and temporarily label them before removal so that you
can replace them in the same locations.
NOTE: The removal procedure for 2.5-inch of SATA2 and SAS backplane is similar to the backplane for 3.5-inch hard drive
systems.
NOTE: Observe the routing of the cable on the chassis as you remove them from the system. You must route these cables
properly when you replace them to prevent the cables from being pinched or crimped.
1. Follow the safety guidelines listed in the Safety instructions section.
2. Follow the procedure listed in the Before working inside your system section.
3. Remove all the hard drives.
4. Keep the Phillips #2 screwdriver ready.
Steps
1. Disconnect the control panel cables from the power distribution board.
2. Remove the screws that secure the hard drive cage to the chassis.
Figure 101. Removing and installing the backplane
a. hard drive cage
b. screw (2)
3. Remove the screws that secure the control panel to the chassis.
4. Remove the hard drive cage from the chassis.
144
Installing and removing system components