Remove a PCIe adapter

Use this information to remove a PCIe adapter. The PCIe adapter can be an Ethernet card, a host bus adapter, a RAID adapter, an add-in PCIe SSD adapter, or any other supported PCIe adapters.

About this task

Attention

• Read Installation Guidelines and Safety inspection checklist to ensure that you work safely.

• Power off the server and peripheral devices and disconnect the power cords and all external cables. See Power off the server.

• 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 assembly), 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.

Watch the procedure

• A video of this procedure is available at YouTube.

Procedure

1. Make preparation for the task.
   1. If the server is installed in a rack, slide the server out on its rack slide rails to gain access to the top cover, or remove the server from the rack. See Remove the server from rack.
   2. Remove the top cover. See Remove the top cover.
   3. Remove the riser assembly. See Remove a riser assembly.
2. Remove the PCIe adapter from the riser cage.

   • Riser 1 cage (same for riser 2 cage)

     Note

     The following uses the 3-slot riser cage as an example for illustration. The replacement procedure for the 1-slot riser cage is similar.
     Figure 1. Removing a PCIe adapter from riser 1 cage or riser 2 cage
     
     
   1. Press the retainer clip downward.
   2. Rotate the PCIe adapter retention latch to the open position.
   3. Grasp the PCIe adapter by its edges and carefully pull it out of the PCIe slot.

   • Riser 3 cage

     Figure 2. Removing a PCIe adapter from riser 3 cage
     
     
   1. Press the retainer clip downward.
   2. Rotate the PCIe adapter retention latch to the open position.
   3. Grasp the PCIe adapter by its edges and carefully pull it out of the PCIe slot.

   • 4LP riser 3/4 cage

     Figure 3. Removing a PCIe adapter from the 4LP riser 3/4 cage
     
     
   1. Remove the screw that secures the PCIe adapter.
   2. Grasp the PCIe adapter by its edges and carefully pull it out of the PCIe slot.
3. (Optional) If you are replacing the riser card, remove the riser card from the riser cage.

   • Riser card 1 (same for riser card 2)

     Note

     The following uses the 3-slot riser cage as an example for illustration. The replacement procedure for the 1-slot riser cage is similar.
     Figure 4. Removing the riser card from riser 1 cage or riser 2 cage
     
     
   1. Loosen the screw that secures the riser card.
   2. Grasp the riser card by its edges and carefully take it out of the riser bracket.

   • Riser card 3

     Note

     The following uses the Gen 5 riser 3 cage as an example for illustration. The replacement procedure is the same for Gen 4 riser 3 cage.
     Figure 5. Removing the riser card from riser 3 cage
     
     
   1. Loosen the screw that secures the riser card.
   2. Grasp the riser card by its edges and carefully take it out of the riser bracket.

   • Riser card 3/4

     Figure 6. Removing the riser card from 4LP riser 3/4 cage
     
     

After you finish

1. Install a new PCIe adapter to the riser cage. See Install a PCIe adapter.

2. If you are instructed to return the component or optional device, follow all packaging instructions, and use any packaging materials for shipping that are supplied to you.