A31 Ultra 2000 Guide Rail problem

[gb_ibmguy]

Since I've now managed to ruin 3 left side Ultra bay 2000 guide rails (FRU 26P9399) I've got to figure I'm doing something wrong or this is a really evil TP.

This unit has been stripped down and rebuild twice now for power jack repairs. After the first rebuild, I slid a zip drive adapter in the slot, everything clicked and felt good. However, when I hit the release button and the slider popped out, the drive was still firmly entrenched, it popped out about 5mm and that was it. Not wanting to rip it apart again, I figured I'd live with it. The side effect was that whenever I brought the TP out of 'sleep', it would wake up, connect network drives and then go back to sleep. Annoying, but livable.

Over the course of several months (and several trips to the floor over tangled power cords) it developed a power problem again necessitating another tear down. During the tear down, I had to physically 'destroy' the guild rail to get the stuck zip drive out. (force the top cover up till one of the plastic 'welds' breaks and wiggle the unit till the darn release lever gives up).

So during the re-re-build, I had acquired an extra guide rail (thanks George!), and after inserting it according to the HWM guide lines, I figured I'd test it before I had the whole unit buttoned up. I inserted an ultra bay battery, just to test. Well, that sucker got stuck too. So, destroy that guide rail to get the drive out. Install another good guide rail and just test the spring action etc. Figuring maybe it only works with all the rest of the parts attached and the machine totally back together, I went ahead and reassembled everything. And guess what? The dang thing is locked again

I know it's not this difficult, something is wrong (do you think???), aside from operator error, I'm wondering if when reinstalling the MB the fussy little mess at that end of the board is causing me this problem? That's the end of MB that has that weird spring clamp and cover for the main MB connectors.

Sorry for the length of this, just wanted to get the details out and to maybe vent a bit

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts, let me know. (if not, if you have any spare Ultrabay 2000 guide rails, let me know )

[RealBlackStuff]

The first time I got my hands on an A31p I had similar problems.
You need to have the drive-release 'sticking out' when you mount the rails, and slide it under the outside rim into the provided opening, otherwise it gets stuck when you assemble the rest.
It's not an obvious thing, until you have done it yourself.
Maybe that's your problem too?

[SMA]

You do not have to use destructive methods to get a stuck drive out of the bay.
The pal holding the drive can be moved from the outside of the bay slot.

I do have an A31p with the same problem.
On mine, I believe, it is becaused some plastic on the chassis bottom are broken off and therefor no longer there
to guide the release lever.

[gb_ibmguy]

Thanks all!

I followed the Guide when installing (and un-installing): lever out, install rail, pull release switch towards you. The drive sets in nice and tidy. Install screws, button up everything else, push lever in till it locks. Pull release switch to unlock lever, insert device, push lever in, it locks, drive works. Pull release switch towards me, lever pops out. Give it a gentle tug, and no go; stuck. Seems the release lever pops out too far and won't allow the drive to be removed. This is driving me nuts

[proaudioguy]

I have taken these apart and put them back together several times. Never had this problem. Let me know if you need another ultrabay.

[Harryc]

I had this problem on the last A31 I took apart. First, there is a way to release the stuck drive. As you look at the drive from the side of the machine with the covers off, on the right side near the front there is a mechanism (a spring loaded button) that locks the drive in. Simply take a small flat bladed screwdriver and pull the spring loaded button away from the cage/drive. At this point the drive will slide out. As far as the drive getting stuck, when you install the cage, you need to have the release lever sticking out, and you need to remove the heatsink/fan assembly adjacent to the Ultrabay in order to give the UB2000 cage enough clearance to be installed correctly. As strange as that sounds try it and it will work for you. If the drives still get stuck, do the same thing again...you will get it. If you've broken the cage by force-ably pulling a stuck drive out, then obviously you need to start over with a new cage.

[gb_ibmguy]

Thanks all.

I did try the small screwdriver routine, couldn't seem to find the right spot, so reverted to brute strength and broke one of the little plastic welds. In any case, I did get it back together, then sold it with out any drive in the ultra bay slot-sold AS IS to a guy at work.
I've got 3 more ultra bay guides on order and I have an A31P in parts that I'll be rebuilding. With luck, this time it will go smooth. Still, very strange. I still suspect it was/is caused by not getting that end of the MB installed 100% correct, this time I know what to watch for.

[Harryc]

It's not the motherboard. It's the angle of the UB2000 cage going into position. The correct angle can't be achieved with the heatsink in place.

[harvester]

After skinning out two to assemble one A31 today, I agree with Harryc. Those cages are flexy and require correct attachment in UN-flexed position to stay straight.

Page 104 in the manual:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 39796.html

Pull the brackets as shown and everything clears, and if you break loose the heatsink from the CPU (the thermal paste will tend to hold it in place even without screws) get some fresh thermal compound and put a SMALL dot centered on the processor after wiping both it and the heatsink clean (paper towels work fine).

Heatsink/fan removal note:
Never pull any connector by the wires. Grab the connector body gently. Small needlenose pliers work well.

If you want a record of what things should look like, take a bunch of digital pics of the teardown. I do this on everything from engines and welders to computers. Let's ya zoom in to get more detail than the naked eye.