Difficulty removing hard drive from small-form Optiplex 755

Question

Hello,

I work at a university in Georgia. Our department has 20 small-form Optiplex 755s. We are having difficulty replacing the hard drive on one of them. There is a plate that anchors the DVD player over the hard drive bay. It is not easily apparent how to remove this plate. Even after removing the power supply, the hard drive cannot be moved laterally out of its bay.

I took a few pictures of the computer. There are available at this link for persual:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TQoipbODvh63bBP1wkhnXrSInrKC73i42_p_TRS22r8?feat=directlink

The regular owner's manual for the Optiplex 755 small-form computer does not depict this plate.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

I.T. Tech at Georgia university

speedstep · Accepted Answer

The Floppy Filler panel must have the Button Pulled The Blue Release button Pull UP on that while pushing the fake floppy panel towards the power supply and it will come out. The Floppy FAKE plate slides back slightly then OUT. The Holes are J Shaped not straight up and out.

Note the 2 Levels of J Shaped Holes in my previous post.

Pull up on the drive release latch and slide the floppy plate towards the back of the computer.

Then lift up to remove the floppy plate from the computer.

speedstep · Accepted Answer

The Floppy Filler panel is not present when an actual Floppy drive is installed.  The Same screws go into the actual drive in the same way as the fake panel.

osprey4 · Answer

Hi IT Tech, Based on the picture here, the drives appear to be separated for the SFF model. I think you actually have a USFF, in which case the instructions are here.

University I.T. · Answer

Hi Osprey4,

Thanks for your reply. Actually, we're both wrong about the form factor. The computers in question are Optiplex 755 Desktop form factors. My mistake.

I have posted a photo at the link below that shows the plate in question:

picasaweb.google.com/.../TQoipbODvh63bBP1wkhnXrSInrKC73i42_p_TRS22r8

In the picture, I have moved the power supply out of the way to the left to show how the HD rests in its bay.

I have looked through the manuals for the various form factors for this model, but I can't figure out a way to get the plate off. As I mentioned in my previous post, even after removing the power supply, the hard drive cannot be moved laterally out of its bay.

I've been swapping out HDs for many years. This one has me stumped.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Robert

University I.T. · Answer

Hi Speedstep,

Thanks for the suggestion, but that method will not work because there is a plate/panel that has three screws (top left, top right, and middle right) that prevent the plate/panel from being lifted or removed. These screws can be seen in the photo that is linked in my earlier post. The plate will not swing up. Two of us seasoned I.T. guys can't see how to access the three screws that hold the plate down.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

speedstep · Answer

You Use the Blue Button down on the side then lift the drive up and out.

I can see from your picture that you have not yet removed the floppy Filler panel.

Dell™ OptiPlex™ 755 User's Guide

Desktop Computer

Hard Drive

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide.

CAUTION: To guard against electrical shock, always unplug your computer from the electrical outlet before removing the computer cover.

NOTICE: To avoid damage to the drive, do not set it on a hard surface. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam pad, that will sufficiently cushion it.

Removing a Hard Drive

If you are replacing a hard drive that contains data you want to keep, back up your files before you begin this procedure.

Check the documentation for the drive to verify that it is configured for your computer.

Follow the procedures in Before You Begin.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Remove the computer cover (see Removing the Computer Cover)<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
.

NOTE: Since the following steps do not require the complete removal of the optical drive and the floppy drive, it is not necessary to disconnect the cables connecting the two drives.

Remove the optical drive from the bay and carefully set it aside (see Optical Drive).<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Remove the floppy drive from the 3.5-inch bay and carefully set it aside (see Floppy Drive).<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

Press in on the two plastic securing clips on each side of the drive and slide the drive towards the back of the computer.

NOTICE: Do not pull the drive out of the computer by the drive cables. Doing so may cause damage to cables and the cable connectors.

Lift the drive out of the computer and disconnect the power and data cables from the drive.

1	securing clips (2)
2	hard drive

University I.T. · Answer

That makes sense.  Noted.  Thanks.

University I.T. · Answer

SpeedStep,

That did it! Thanks for your detailed instructions, and the accompanying illustrations and video. This particular step - Removing the Floppy Filler panel - really should have been included in the Optiplex 755 manual. Also, I noticed that in both of the videos that you included, the floppy filler panel is not present in the demonstrations.

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated.

University I.T.

lgsunflower · Answer

Good information thanks so much for sharing...I to support pc's for state users and was perplexed at trying to remove this coverplate. Lisa

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Difficulty removing hard drive from small-form Optiplex 755

Dell™ OptiPlex™ 755 User's Guide

Desktop Computer

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