Remove Drive from Dell Cage?

The Halk · 27 Jan 2011 at 13:14

I'm replacing a drive in an old Dell my dad has. It's getting a bit of an overhaul - the windows license is worth more than the box now

I can't seem to work out how to extract the old hard drive.

Has anyone come across this before?

Here's some pics

Thanks if you can!

True_Scotsman · 27 Jan 2011 at 13:17

Have you tried pushing the blue parts on the sides in to the HDD to see if they release the drive?

The Halk · 27 Jan 2011 at 13:21

Yeah, none of them seem to "give" in any way - unlike the one used to release the floppy drive - and I've tried every combination of them pushing/pulling that I can. It's difficult to see (the pictures show as much as I can see) but I think the tabs are part of a carrier that the hard drive is inside, and I somehow need to release the whole carrier...

Ch3m1c4L · 27 Jan 2011 at 13:32

push down (or maybe up) and then left. See the rest of the cage, like where one would sit above it, thats going to be how the drive cage is clipped in. The blue bits, may need to be pushed in at the same time to unclip it or something.

Mr Plow · 27 Jan 2011 at 14:35

The blue parts around the hard drive are probably part of the caddy that the hard drive sits in, I think you need to use the metal switch (labelled in blue, top left in your bottom picture) to release the hard drive then slide it backwards then lift it up.

Fonz-Valo · 27 Jan 2011 at 14:55

We have those cages on the dells at work.

Push the two blue clips together on the side and push the drive forward and then lift it. You will probably have to unplug the sata and power connectors first.

The hard drive is held in the cage by a few screws

Edit: Infact I think that is the same system case that our dells are in. Is it an Optiplex 320?

The Halk · 27 Jan 2011 at 15:26

Fonz, that worked a treat. Using your method (the only possible correct way!) I had to apply a sizable force, which I was reluctant to do when I was trying to find the solution at random.

Thanks very much!

It's an Optiplex 330. I bought it refurb when it was only a couple of months old, for my dad as an email/MS word/browser machine. It's time to go Win7 on it, so I replaced the old HD, added a 1GB of memory and stuck a 2nd hand dual core in.

They're horrible little systems, but there is a bit of engineering beauty in them in the way that they fit neatly together.

The metal switch top left in the bottom picture is used to deconstruct the drives, but it's used to get the floppy drive out, the floppy is released and can be pushed backwards and out that way.

Anyway, thanks for the help. And hopefully this thread will serve as a reference for someone who considers doing a drive upgrade on their Optiplex.