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Drives

Dell™ OptiPlex™ GX50 Systems

  Floppy Drive Removal

  Floppy Drive Replacement

  CD Drive Removal

  CD Drive Replacement

  Hard Drive Removal

  Hard Drive Replacement

Floppy Drive Removal

Small Form-Factor Desktop Computer

1. Disconnect the floppy-drive cable from the system board.
   
   
2. Remove the power cable from the interposer board.
   
   
3. Remove or raise the drive by pressing on the green tabs on either side of the drive and lifting the drive up.
   
   
4. Remove the floppy-drive cable from the floppy drive.
   
   
   1. Remove the interposer board from the floppy drive by pressing on the tab and rotating the interposer board.
      
      

Removing the Interposer Board—Small Form-Factor Computer

2. To release the floppy-drive cable from the connector, slide the lever until it is fully extended, and then lift the cable away.
   
   

Removing the Floppy-Drive Cable

5. Remove the floppy drive from its sled by pulling the sled tab out while pushing the drive up and then sliding the drive out of the sled.
   
   

Removing the Floppy Drive—Small Form-Factor Computer

Small Desktop and Small Mini-Tower Computers

1. Disconnect the cables from the floppy drive and system board.
   
   

Small Desktop Computer

Small Mini-Tower Computer

2. Press inward on the two tabs on the sides of the drive bay to disengage the drive from the computer.
   
   
3. Slide the drive upward and remove it from the computer.
   
   

Small Desktop Computer

Small Mini-Tower Computer

Floppy Drive Replacement

Small Form-Factor Desktop Computer

1. Snap the replacement drive into the sled and ensure that it is secure in the sled.
   
   
2. Connect the interposer board to the floppy drive.
   
   
   1. Slide the floppy-drive cable into the connector.
      
      
   2. Close the lever so that the cable is secure in the connector.
      
      
   3. Line up the hole on the bottom of the interposer board with the notch on the connector, and snap the interposer board onto the drive.
      
      
3. Gently slide the drive into the computer until the tabs securely click into position.
   
   

Attaching the Floppy-Drive Data Cable

4. Attach the power cable to the interposer board on the floppy drive.
   
   
5. Connect the strip cable to the DSKT connector on the system board.
   
   
6. Check all cable connections, and fold cables out of the way to provide airflow for the fan and cooling vents.
   
   
7. Close the computer cover, reconnect your computer and devices to their electrical outlets, and turn them on.
   
   
8. Enter system setup and update the appropriate Diskette Drive A option to reflect the size and capacity of your new floppy drive.
   
   
9. Verify that your computer works correctly by running the Dell Diagnostics.
   
   

Small Desktop and Mini-Tower Computers

1. If the replacement drive does not have the bracket rails attached, remove the rails from the old drive by removing the two screws that secure each rail to the drive. Attach the bracket to the new drive by aligning the screw holes on the drive with the screw holes on the bracket rails and tightening all four screws (two screws on each rail).
   
   

Floppy Drive Bracket Rails

2. Gently slide the drive into place until the tabs securely click into position.
   
   
3. Attach the power and data cables to the floppy drive, and connect the other end of the data cable to the connector labeled "DSKT" on the system board.
   
   

Small Desktop Computer

Small Mini-Tower Computer

4. Check all cable connections, and fold cables out of the way to provide airflow for the fan and cooling vents.
   
   
5. Close the computer cover, reconnect your computer and devices to their electrical outlets, and turn them on.
   
   
6. Enter system setup and update the appropriate Diskette Drive A option to reflect the size and capacity of your new floppy drive.
   
   
7. Verify that your computer works correctly by running the Dell Diagnostics.
   
   

CD Drive Removal

Small Form-Factor Desktop Computer

1. Remove the interposer board from the CD drive.
   
   

Removing the Interposer Board—Small Form-Factor Computer

2. Press inward on the two tabs on the sides of the drive to disengage the drive from the computer.
   
   

Removing the CD Drive—Small Form-Factor Computer

Small Desktop and Small Mini-Tower Computers

1. Remove the data, power, and audio cables from the drive.
   
   

Removing Cables—Small Desktop Computer

Removing Cables—Small Mini-Tower Computer

2. Press inward on the two tabs on the sides of the drive bay to disengage the drive from the computer.
   
   
3. Slide the drive upward and remove it from the computer.
   
   

Removing the CD Drive—Small Desktop Computer

Removing the CD Drive—Small Mini-Tower Computer

CD Drive Replacement

1. If you are replacing a drive that does not have the bracket rails attached, remove the rails from the old drive by removing the two screws that secure each rail to the drive. Attach the bracket to the new drive by aligning the screw holes on the drive with the screw holes on the bracket rails and tightening all four screws (two screws for each rail).
   
   
2. If you are installing a new drive, connect it to the set of rails that are attached to the inside of the cover.
   
   

If a set of rails is not attached to the inside of the cover, contact Dell.

CD Drive Bracket Rails

Small Form-Factor Desktop Computer

1. Gently slide the drive into place until the tabs securely click into position.
   
   
2. Connect the interposer board to the CD drive, ensuring that the data, power, and audio cables are attached to the interposer board.
   
   

Connecting the Interposer Board—Small Form-Factor Computer

Small Desktop and Small Mini-Tower Computers

1. Gently slide the drive into place until the tabs securely click into position.
   
   
2. If you are installing a drive that has its own controller card, install the controller card in an expansion slot.
   
   
3. Connect the drive, power, and audio cables to the drive.
   
   

Connecting Cables—Small Desktop Computer

Small Mini-Tower Computer

If your computer came with an IDE CD drive, use the spare connector on the existing interface cable. Otherwise, use the IDE interface cable provided in the drive kit.

4. If you are installing a drive that has its own controller card, install the controller card in an expansion slot.
   
   

Hard Drive Removal

Small Form-Factor Desktop Computer

1. Disconnect the power and hard-drive data cables from the drive.
   
   

Removing Cables—Small Form-Factor Computer

2. Press in on the tabs on each side of the drive and slide the drive toward the I/O panel and remove it from the computer.
   
   

Removing the Hard Drive—Small Form-Factor Computer

3. If the replacement drive does not have the bracket rails attached, remove the rails from the old drive by removing the two screws that secure each rail to the drive.
   
   

Drive Brackets Rails

Small Desktop Computer

1. Remove the plastic shroud covering the hard drive by pressing in on the indented tab at the top of the shroud and lifting the shroud away.
   
   

Removing the Shroud—Small Desktop Computer

2. Disconnect the power and hard-drive data cables from the drive.
   
   

Removing Cables—Small Desktop Computer

3. Press in on the tabs on each side of the drive and slide it up and out.
   
   

Removing the Hard Drive—Small Desktop Computer

4. If the replacement drive does not have the bracket rails attached, remove the rails from the old drive by removing the two screws that secure each rail to the drive.
   
   

Drive Brackets Rails

Small Mini-Tower Computer

1. Disconnect the power and hard-drive data cables from the drive.
   
   

Removing Cables—Small Mini-Tower Computer

2. Press in on the tabs on each side of the drive and slide it up and out.
   
   

Removing the Hard Drive—Small Mini-Tower Computer

3. If the replacement drive does not have the bracket rails attached, remove the rails from the old drive by removing the two screws that secure each rail to the drive.
   
   

Drive Brackets Rails

Hard Drive Replacement

NOTICE: To avoid possibly damaging the drive by ESD, ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the back of the computer.

NOTICE: When you unpack the drive, do not set it on a hard surface, which may damage the drive. Instead, set the drive on a surface, such as a foam pad, that will sufficiently cushion it.

1. If the replacement drive does not have the bracket rails attached, remove the rails from the old drive by removing the two screws that secure each rail to the drive.
   
   
2. Reinstall the hard drive in the computer by gently sliding the drive into place until you hear it securely click.
   
   
3. Connect the power and hard-drive data cables to the drive.
   
   
4. On the small desktop computer, replace the hard-drive shroud by inserting the two tabs on the bottom into the holes in the computer and snapping the top into place.
   
   

Connecting Cables—Small Form-Factor Computer

Connecting Cables—Small Desktop Computer

Connecting Cables—Small Mini-Tower Computer

5. Check all connectors to be certain that they are properly cabled and firmly seated.
   
   

NOTICE: To avoid possible damage to the computer, you must match the colored stripe on the hard-drive data cable with pin 1 on the hard-drive (IDE1) connector and with the system board interface connector (IDE1).

To locate the system board interface connector (IDE1), see "System Board Components."

6. If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, insert a bootable floppy disk into the floppy drive.
   
   
7. Turn on the computer.
   
   
8. Enter system setup and update the appropriate Primary Drive option, 0 or 1.
   
   

See the User's Guide for complete information on system setup.

9. Reset the chassis intrusion detector.
   
   
10. Restart the computer.
    
    
11. Partition and logically format the computer's hard drive before proceeding to the next step.
    
    

For partition and format instructions, refer to the documentation that came with the operating system.

NOTE: On Windows NT computers with hard drives larger than 2 GB, create a primary partition of 2 GB and divide the remaining capacity into partitions of 2 GB or less. For example, a computer with a 2.5-GB hard drive would have a primary partition of 2 GB (drive C) and a second partition of 500 MB (drive D).

12. Test the hard drive by running the Dell Diagnostics.
    
    

See "Solving Problems" in the User's Guide for complete information.

13. If the drive you just installed is the primary drive, install the operating system on the hard drive.
    
    

For instructions, refer to the documentation that came with the operating system.

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