Installing Five or More Hard Drives Into Precision T7600, T7610 and T7910 Systems

This Article provides guidance on Installing Five or More Hard Drives Into the Precision T7600, T7610 and T7910 Systems

Table of Contents:

1. Installing Five or More Hard Drives Into a Precision T7600, T7610 and T7910 Systems
2. Parts to Order
3. Removing the Factory Installed Cage
4. Installing the Drive Cage From the Upgrade Kit
5. Attaching Hard Drive Connectors to the Hard Drive Cage and Fans
6. Routing and Connecting Fan and Hard Drive Cables
7. Attaching Thermal Sensors and Mounting the Hard Drives
8. Installation Video

1. Installing Five or More Hard Drives Into a Precision T7600, T7610 and T7910 Systems

The Precision T7600, T7610 and T7910 models are capable of supporting up to eight (8) installed hard drives. The factory installed hardware only allows the installation of up to four (4) hard drives. A user may wish to upgrade the system to support the full eight hard drive configuration. This guide shows what equipment to purchase, and how to install the hardware.

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2. Parts to Order

Users who wish to expand the drive capacity will need to order a special drive mounting kit to handle the additional hard drives. You can contact Sales or Technical Support to order this kit, please reference the following part numbers:

• For Precision 7600 and 7610:
  • Americas - SKU 331-9320
    Componet list (SPMD BOM of the SKU)
    • 6J8J3 ASSY,CBL,HD,THRM,SEC,T7600
    • RP2K5 ASSY,BRKT,HD,2.5,T7600
    • HN058 ASSY,BRKT,CADDY,HDD,2.5,T7600
    • T5C70 ASSY,CBL,PWR/SAS,HDD,2.5,T7600
    • 48480 SCR,6-32X1/4",HX,TF,ZPS,TRI-PT
    • 4J3HT BRKT,HD,CON,3.5,T7600
    • 31P1V ASSY,FAN,HDD,12V,60X25,PTL,BS
    • P876J SCR,M3X5,PHH,MSCR,NI
• EMEA - SKU 400-ACNL

• For Precision 7910:
  • Americas - SKU 470-ABHF
    Componet list (SPMD BOM of the SKU)
    • 08F0F CUS,BRKT,HD,2.5,T7910
    • 6J8J3 ASSY,CBL,HD,THRM,SEC,T7600
    • R7778 SHP MTL,CNTNR,PWR SPLY,MODULAR
    • W80XH ASSY,BRKT,HD,2.5,T7910
    • 48480 SCR,6-32X1/4",HX,TF,ZPS,TRI-PT
    • 4J3HT BRKT,HD,CON,3.5,T7600
    • 31P1V ASSY,FAN,HDD,12V,60X25,PTL,BS
    • HH163 ASSY,CAGE,HDD,2.5,4C,T7600
    • HN058 ASSY,BRKT,CADDY,HDD,2.5,T7600
    • P2F49 ASSY,FAN,HDD,12V,60X25,PTL,A7
    • 48480 SCR,6-32X1/4",HX,TF,ZPS,TRI-PT
    • CTTJK SCR,M5X7MM,FLH,ZPS,XE
    • NPHFY ASSY,FAN,60X25,12V,PWS,AVALON
    • VG6F0 SPEC,FAN,60X25,12V,PWS,AVALON
    • PWRC1 ASSY,CBL,PWR, SAS HD, T7910

In the picture below, ordering this kit will provide the following (7600/7610 shown left to right) :

• Four Hard Drive Mounting Brackets
• One Four Bay Hard Drive Cage
• A Four Connector Hard Drive Wiring Assembly
• Two Hard Drive Cooling Fans
• One Set of Hard Drive Temperature Sensors (Pictured still in its bag)

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3. Removing the Factory Installed Cage

In order to remove the drive cage installed at the factory, remove the system cover and any blank filler panels installed in the lower half of the drive housing. Remove the three screws in the drive housing highlighted below on the left half of Figure 1 (two of the three screws have been removed in the picture). After these screws have been removed, push the blue slide lock at the bottom of the cage to the left to pull the cage from the system as shown in the right half of Figure 1.

Figure 1

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4. Installing the Drive Cage from the Upgrade Kit

Take the hard drive cage from the installation kit and align it as shown on the left half of Figure 2. Slide the cage forward, ensuring the hook at the top of the chassis inserts into the cage (reference the green box on the right half of Figure 2 for location). Once the cage is in place, replace the screws removed in Step 3, Figure 1 and insert the fourth screw noted in the red box at the right of Figure 2.

Figure 2

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5. Attaching the Hard Drive Connectors to the Hard Drive Cage and Fans

The Hard Drive Cage Kit comes with two sets of two hard drive connectors to mount at the back of the hard drive cage. The cables at the connectors are labeled for the drive numbers the connector will host (4/5, and 6/7). It is recommended to install the connector with 4/5 at the top, and 6/7 at the bottom.

Line the drive connectors up with the spaces at the back of the drive cage with the screw brackets against the chassis and the drive connectors facing the cage. Slide the connectors toward the drive cage, and lock the brackets in with the hooks on the outer side of the cage. (See Figure 3 highlighted in green)

Line up the brackets to the system plate, and screw them in using two screws for each bracket. (See Figure 3 highlighted in red.)

Figure 3

The hard drive cooling fans are mounted behind the drive connectors on the chassis. Locate the four holes on the chassis that are half way from the case end, and the hard drive connectors (See Figure 4 highlighted in red.) Line up the hard drive fans with the metal brackets facing the hard drive connectors, then attach each fan with two screws. (See the right half of figure 4.)

Figure 4

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6. Routing and Connecting the Fan and Hard Drive Cables

The power connector for the hard drive cage assembly should be close to the back of the hard drive connectors. This is a single connection to provide power for all four drives.

Figure 5

Cables for the fans will be routed through a hole behind the location of the fan mounts (See the upper left of Figure 6). Both cables will be routed through this hole to the other side of the system board. The fan cable will emerge on the system board side just above the PCI card slot covers (See the upper right of Figure 6). The cables will need to be pulled through and plugged into the fan power connectors on the other side of the system board, below the memory slots. The length of the cable will go over the system board to the connectors (See Figure 6).

Figure 6

The hard drive data connectors will be run through a hole at the top of the chassis. (Figure 7) The connector for the drives is next to the other hard drive cage connection near the point where the cable goes through the chassis (Highlighted red in Figure 7).

Figure 7

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7. Attaching Thermal Sensors and Mounting Hard Drives

Note: This step is not shown in the video and you will need to remove existing cable.

The hard drive thermal sensors are two cables with sensors on the end (Figure 8, upper left), attached to a single connector. The connector on the system board is to the right of the hard drive data connection used in Step 6 (Figure 8, upper right). Once plugged into the system board, the sensors should be threaded through the same space on the chassis that the hard drive data connection was placed. Once threaded through, the sensors will need to be clipped on to the cables directly behind each primary drive cage. One sensor should be located on the top set of four drives and one on the bottom set of four drives where the first four drives are located, (Figure 8, both bottom halves).

Figure 8

The hard drive mounting brackets are plastic mounts with four posts to secure the hard drive where the screws would normally be placed. Place the drive into the mounting bracket, label up and align the posts into the screw holes on the drive (See Figure 9)

Figure 9

Drives are mounted into the cage similar to the first four hard drives. The hard drive label should be facing the front panel of the system when mounting (Figure 10)

Figure 10

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8. Installation Video

This installation video refers to the Precision T7910 but the instructions should be the same if not very similar to all the models covered in this article.

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Additional Installation Instructions for 7910 Precision Workstations

Instructions for installing these kits can be found by scanning the QRL Label conveniently located on the top of your chassis, or by following the video linked below:

• Precision Tower 7910
  • Installing four 2.5" HDD/SSDs in the 5.25" bay

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