Hard Drive stuck in bay

[Xernicus]

This evening, I decided to pull out my old space-heater PowerMac G5 (which still remains one of my favorite computers to date), and I couldn't get the drive out of the bay.

So... how should one go about fixing this? I'll show you:

The drive was clicking, and needed to be replaced anyway.

 

[Shadow!]

There is a pair of locks on either side of the drive slots that close after the overmold screws on the side of the drive as it goes past. What you need to do is use a small flat-blade screwdriver or stick to push them aside (it is possible to get them to latch in the 'open' position by pushing up on the tabs after getting them pushed away from the drive so that they 'catch' on the main assembly) and keep them out of the way.

Then carefully grasp the front of the drive and try to get it moving out.

Once you have it moving making sure it does not get caught on any ribbon connectors as it slides out.

The top drive comes out pretty easily, but the back overmold screws will slide down to the middle track, which is how they should go back.

Also some others mention the tracks are not straight more of a zigzag so you have to remove bay 1 before taking out bay 2 to give more clearance.

 

Hope that helps looks like you've done a number on that drive trying to pry it out lol

[Xernicus]

Unfortunately, the drive was stuck before the screws could reach those tabs. Had the drive actually been functioning (see the spoiler ), I probably would have removed the drive bay (secured by three screws attached to the plate that makes the second thermal zone), and used a suction cup to pull the drive out, or simply pushed it onto a foam tray. The drive in Slot A (the top drive) came out like a charm... so I'm thinking someone used some aftermarket (judging that they were too large, for a Mac Pro perhaps?) screws instead of the ones that were supplied.

If you're a PPC afficinado, hit me up! I always love to talk about the platform, and its uses today (I got said G5 to play 1080p H.264 HD video without a skip earlier today ). If not, and you're talking from a AASP point of view, or you simply browsed the web for some tips to remove a drive in these machines, thanks for your help! Sometimes I have missed something that's in my repair manual (which I often don't read xD), or I'll scan through a forum, but not actually be paying attention to the small details.

[Raskin]

take a short wood 1x2 and tap it out w a hammer....just an idea

[Shadow!]

Yea I figured you had covered all those bases as your very tech-savvy but sometimes small things can be overlooked. Not a PPC aficionado prefer Wintel systems. Wish I was Apple Certified only have CompTIA A+ and Network+ Certs which are baby certs in the large scheme of things lol.

[SneakyCr0w]

What you want to do is make sure that the device is turned on, cover the device in soap and water, and then the drive bay should slip right out