Back to Contents Page

Installing Drives

Dell™ PowerEdge™ 850 Systems Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

  Optical Drive

  SCSI Configuration Information

  Configuring the Boot Drive

  Hard Drives

  Installing a SCSI Controller Card

Your system contains up to two SATA or SCSI hard drives and an optional optical drive. If your system contains SCSI hard drives, they must be connected to a optional SCSI controller card. The integrated SATA controller supports up to two SATA hard drives.

Optical Drive

The optional optical drive is mounted in a bracket using two alignment pins and a spring clip on top of hard drive 0. An interposer card is connected to the back of the drive which allows the drive to be connected to the Pri-IDE connector on the system board.

Removing the Optical Drive

CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

1. Open the system. See "Opening the System" in "Troubleshooting Your System."
   
   
2. Disconnect the power and interface cables from the optical drive's interposer card.
   
   
3. Pull the two captive fasteners that secure the interposer card to the hard drive 0 carrier. See Figure 6-1.
   
   
4. Disconnect the interposer card from the optical drive.
   
   
5. Press the bracket release lever that secures the optical drive to the hard drive 0 carrier. See Figure 6-1.
   
   
6. Lift and tilt the optical drive up and out of the bracket as shown in Figure 6-1.
   
   

Figure 6-1. Removing and Installing the Optional Optical Drive

Installing the Optical Drive

CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

1. Align the optical drive's mounting holes with the retaining pins on the hard drive 0 bracket. See Figure 6-1.
   
   
2. Rotate the drive downward until it snaps into place.
   
   
3. Connect the interposer card to the optical drive.
   
   

Push the plungers into the captive fastener barrels until they snap into place.

4. Connect the interface and power cables to the optical drive's interposer card.
   
   
5. Close the system. See "Closing the System" in "Troubleshooting Your System."
   
   

SCSI Configuration Information

Although SCSI drives are installed in essentially the same way as other drives, their configuration requirements are different. To install and configure a SCSI drive, follow the guidelines in the following subsections.

SCSI Interface Cables

SCSI interface connectors are keyed for correct insertion. Keying ensures that the pin-1 wire in the cable connects to pin 1 in the connectors on both ends. When you disconnect an interface cable, take care to grasp the cable connector, rather than the cable itself, to avoid stress on the cable.

SCSI ID Numbers

Each drive attached to a SCSI controller must have a unique SCSI ID number from 0 to 15.

• The SCSI hard drive from which the system boots is configured as SCSI ID 0.
  
  
• If you install optional SCSI drives or change your SCSI configuration, see the documentation for each SCSI drive for information on setting the appropriate SCSI ID number.
  
  

NOTE: There is no requirement that SCSI ID numbers be assigned sequentially or that drives be attached to the cable in order by ID number.

Device Termination

SCSI logic requires that termination be enabled for the two drives at opposite ends of the SCSI chain and disabled for all drives in between. For internal SCSI drives, termination is configured automatically. See the documentation provided with any optional SCSI drive you purchase for information on disabling termination.

Configuring the Boot Drive

The drive or device from which the system boots is determined by the boot order specified in the System Setup program. See "Using the System Setup Program" in your User's Guide. To boot the system from a hard drive or drive array, the drive(s) must be connected to the appropriate controller:

• To boot from a single SATA hard drive, the master drive (drive 0) must be connected to the SATA_PORT_0 connector on the daughter card. To identify daughter card connectors, see Figure A-3.
  
  
• To boot from a single SCSI hard drive, the drive must be connected to the SCSI controller card. See the documentation that accompanied the controller card.
  
  
• To boot from a SCSI RAID array, the drive must be connected to the RAID controller card. See the documentation that accompanied the controller card.
  
  

Hard Drives

Your system contains up to two non-hot-pluggable SATA or SCSI hard drives. If your system contains SCSI hard drives, they must be connected to a SCSI controller card. The cables for hard drive 1 are routed through a cable clamp mounted to the chassis.

Removing a Hard Drive

The procedures for removing and installing SATA or SCSI hard drives are the same.

CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

1. Open the system. See "Opening the System" in "Troubleshooting Your System."
   
   
2. If applicable, remove the optical drive.
   
   

Remove the optical drive if you are removing hard drive 0. See "Removing the Optical Drive."

3. Disconnect the power and interface cables from the hard drive.
   
   

The interface cables for SATA hard drives are connected to the daughter card. See Figure A-3 for the location of the daughter card connectors.

The interface cables for SCSI hard drives are connected to a controller card.

4. Loosen the captive screw that secures the hard-drive carrier to the chassis. See Figure 6-2.
   
   
5. Slide the hard-drive carrier backward and lift the carrier out of the chassis.
   
   

Figure 6-2. Removing the Hard-Drive Carrier

6. Using a #2 Phillips screwdriver, remove the four screws that secure the hard drive to the carrier and remove the drive from the carrier. See Figure 6-3.
   
   

Figure 6-3. Removing the Hard Drives From the Drive Carriers

Installing a Hard Drive

CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.

1. Align the hard-drive mounting holes with the holes in the drive carrier.
   
   
2. Using a #2 Phillips screwdriver, install the four screws that secure the hard drive to the carrier. See Figure 6-3.
   
   
3. Align the hard-drive carrier so that the tabs on the chassis slide into the notches in the carrier. See Figure 6-2.
   
   
4. Slide the carrier forward until it stops.
   
   
5. Tighten the captive screw that secures the hard-drive carrier to the chassis.
   
   
6. Connect the power and interface cables to the new drive.
   
   

The interface cables for SATA hard drives are connected to the daughter card. See Figure A-3 for the location of the daughter card connectors.

The interface cables for SCSI hard drives are connected to a SCSI controller card.

7. Install the CD drive.
   
   

Install the CD drive if you are removing hard drive 0. See "Installing the Optical Drive."

8. Close the system. See "Closing the System" in "Troubleshooting Your System."
   
   

Installing a SCSI Controller Card

See "Installing an Expansion Card" in "Installing System Components" for general instructions about installing the controller card. See the controller card documentation for specific information on installing and configuring the card.

Back to Contents Page