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OptiPlex Tower Plus 7020 Owner's Manual

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Removing the system board

CAUTION:The information in this removal section is intended for authorized service technicians only.

Prerequisites

  1. Follow the procedure in Before working inside your computer.
  2. Remove the side cover.
  3. Remove the front bezel.
  4. Remove the memory module.
  5. Remove the M.2 2230 solid-state drive or the M.2 2280 solid-state drive, whichever is applicable.
  6. Remove the external puck antenna, if applicable.
  7. Remove the wireless card.
  8. Remove the graphics card or the powered graphics card, whichever is applicable.
  9. Remove the media-card reader, if applicable.
  10. Remove the 3.5-inch hard drive or the secondary 3.5-inch hard drive, whichever is applicable.
  11. Remove the expansion card, if applicable.
  12. Remove the power button.
  13. Remove the external SMA antenna module, if applicable.
  14. Remove the processor fan and heat-sink assembly (for 65 W processors) or the processor fan and heat-sink assembly (for 125 W processors), whichever is applicable.
  15. Remove the system fan.
  16. Remove the processor.
  17. Remove the voltage-regulator heat sink.
  18. Remove the optional I/O modules, if applicable.

About this task

NOTE:The Service Tag of your computer is stored in the system board. You must enter the Service Tag in the BIOS setup program after you replace the system board.
NOTE:Replacing the system board removes any changes that you have made to the BIOS using the BIOS setup program. You must make the appropriate changes again after you replace the system board.
NOTE:Before disconnecting the cables from the system board, note the location of the connectors so that you can reconnect the cables correctly after you replace the system board.

The following image indicates the connectors on your system board.

Figure 1. System board connectors
System board connectors of OptiPlex Tower Plus 7020
  1. Power-supply unit cable connector (ATX CPU1)
  2. Power-supply unit cable connector (ATX CPU2)
  3. Memory module connectors (DIMM3, DIMM1, DIMM4, DIMM2)
  4. Power-button cable connector (PWR SW)
  5. Media-card reader connector (SD CARD)
  6. M.2 2230/2280 solid-state drive connector (M.2 PCIe SSD-1)
  7. M.2 2230 solid-state drive connector (M.2 PCIe SSD-2)
  8. Hard-drive data cable connector (SATA0)
  9. Hard drive/Slim optical drive power cable connector (SATA1 and SATA2)
  10. Slim optical drive data cable connector (SATA3)
  11. SATA power cable connector (SATA PWR)
  12. Wireless card connector (M.2 WLAN)
  13. Power-supply unit cable connector (ATX SYS)
  14. Internal-speaker cable connector (INT SPKR)
  15. Coin-cell battery connector (RTC)
  16. Thunderbolt card connector (TBT)
  17. PCIe x4 card connector (SLOT4)
  18. PCI card connector (SLOT3)
  19. PCIe x16 card connector (SLOT2)
  20. PCIe x1 card connector (SLOT1)
  21. System-fan cable connector (FAN SYS)
  22. Intrusion-switch cable connector (INTRUSION)
  23. USB Type-C port connector (TYPE-C)
  24. M.2 2230/2280 solid-state drive connector (M.2 PCIe SSD-0)
  25. Processor socket (CPU)
  26. Optional video port connector (VIDEO)
  27. Optional serial port connector (KB MS SERIAL)

The following images indicate the location of the system board and provide a visual representation of the removal procedure.

Figure 2. Removing the system board
Image of removing the I/O bracket

Steps

  1. Remove the screw (#6-32) that secures the front I/O-bracket to the chassis.
  2. Slide and remove the front I/O-bracket from the chassis.
  3. Disconnect the following cables from the respective connectors on the system board and remove them from the retention clips on the chassis, if applicable:
    1. Power-supply unit cables (ATX CPU1, ATX CPU2 and ATX SYS)
    2. Slim optical drive cable (SATA3)
    3. Hard drive cables (SATA0 and SATA PWR)
    4. Internal-speaker cable (INT SPKR)
    5. Intrusion-switch cable (INTRUSION)
    Figure 3. Removing the system board
    Image of disconnecting the cables from the system board
  4. Lift the pull tab on the PCIe door outwards to open the PCIe door.
  5. Remove the seven screws (#6-32) that secure the system board to the chassis.
  6. Remove the two M.2 solid-state drive standoff nuts (M2) that secure the system board to the chassis.
    Figure 4. Removing the system board
    Image of removing the screws that secure the system board
  7. Lift the system board at an angle and remove the system board from the chassis.
    Figure 5. Removing the system board
    Image of removing the system board

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