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Remove the middle drive cage

Use this information to remove the middle drive cage.

About this task

Attention

  • Read Installation Guidelines to ensure that you work safely.

  • Power off the server and disconnect all power cords for this task.

  • Prevent exposure to static electricity, which might lead to system halt and loss of data, by keeping static-sensitive components in their static-protective packages until installation, and handling these devices with an electrostatic-discharge wrist strap or other grounding system.

  • Before you remove or make changes to drives, drive controllers (including controllers that are integrated on the system board), drive backplanes or drive cables, back up all important data that is stored on drives.

  • Before you remove any component of a RAID array (drive, RAID card, etc.), back up all RAID configuration information.

  • If one or more NVMe solid-state drives are to be removed, it is recommended to disable them beforehand via the operating system.

Procedure

  1. Prepare your server.
    1. Remove the top cover. See Remove the top cover.
    2. Remove the system fan cage for easier operation. See Remove the system fan cage.
    3. Disconnect cables from the middle drive cage.
    4. Remove all the installed drives and fillers (if any) from the drive bays. See Remove a hot-swap drive.
  2. Remove the middle drive cage and drives.
    Note
    The illustration shows removing the 2.5-inch middle drive cage. The procedure is the same for removing the 3.5-inch middle drive cage.
    Figure 1. Removing the middle drive cage and drives
    Removing the middle drive and drives

    1. Rotate the drive cage handle to open it.
    2. Remove the drives from the drive cage.
    3. Pull and twist plunger pins to release the drive cage.
    4. Carefully lift the drive cage up from the chassis.
  3. Press the latch as shown and close the handle.
    Figure 2. Closing the drive cage handle
    Closing the drive cage handle

After you finish

Remove the backplanes from the middle drive cage. See Remove the middle drive backplane.

Demo video

Watch the procedure on YouTube