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Dell PowerEdge VRTX Enclosure Owner's Manual

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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.

Steps

  1. If installed, remove the front bezel.
  2. Turn off the server modules using the operating system commands or the CMC.
  3. Turn off the enclosure, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the enclosure from the electrical outlet.
  4. To reduce the chassis weight, remove the following (if required):
    1. hard drives
    2. server modules
    3. power supply units
  5. If applicable, rotate the system feet inward and lay the system on its side on a flat stable surface, with the cover release latch side on top.
  6. Open the system.
    CAUTION: To prevent damage to the hard drives and hard drive backplane, you must remove the hard drives from the enclosure before removing the hard drive 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.
  7. Remove all hard drives.
  8. Remove the cooling shroud.
  9. Remove the cooling fan assembly.
  10. Remove the backplane expander board.
  11. Disconnect the power cables from the backplane.
  12. If applicable, disconnect the power and data cable from the optical drive.
  13. Pull the backplane release pins in the direction of the system board and lift the backplane from the chassis.
    Figure 1. Removing and installing the 2.5-inch (x25) hard drive backplane
    The figure shows removing and installing the 2.5-inch (x25) hard drive backplane.
    1. hard drive connectors (25)
    2. release pins (2)
    3. SAS cables on backplane expander board (2)
    4. power cables (2)
    5. backplane expander board
    6. hard drive backplane
    Figure 2. Back view of the 2.5-inch (x25) hard drive backplane
    The figure shows the back view of the 2.5-inch (x25) hard drive backplane.
    1. release pins (2)
    2. slots for chassis hooks (10)
    3. backplane expander board connectors (6)
    4. guide pins for the backplane expander boards (4)
    5. backplane expander board brackets (2)
    6. power cable connectors (2)
    Figure 3. Removing and installing the 3.5-inch (x12) hard drive backplane
    The figure shows removing and installing the 3.5-inch (x12) hard drive backplane.
    1. hard drive connectors (12)
    2. release pins (2)
    3. SAS cables on backplane expander board (2)
    4. power cables (2)
    5. backplane expander board
    6. hard drive backplane
    Figure 4. Back view of the 3.5-inch (x12) hard drive backplane
    The figure shows the back view of the 3.5-inch (x12) hard drive backplane.
    1. release pins (2)
    2. slots for chassis hooks (10)
    3. backplane expander board connectors (6)
    4. guide pins for backplane expander boards (4)
    5. backplane expander board brackets (2)
    6. power cable connectors (2)

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