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- Z840 with 2.5in HDD/SSD 2-in-1 Optical Bay Bracket (K4T74AA)

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10-31-2020 12:47 PM - edited 10-31-2020 12:58 PM
Hi everyone,
I've recently bought a lovely refurb z840 and it had one 2.5" tray filled with a boot SSD and one tray free. However, the proximity of one of the CPU heatsinks is such that I cannot physically insert the other tray. Is there a way to do this I'm missing? I can't find any info in the service and maintenance manual, and I can't find any install information for the part which looks like K4T74AA.
https://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=K4T74AA&opt=&sel=DEF
There's a picture below. Any wisdom would be gratefully received, many thanks in advance!
Ollie
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11-03-2020 03:38 AM - edited 11-03-2020 03:54 AM
Happy to help....
You'll want this manual for reference: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04823811
You have the edge of that big lever plate in your picture. Here's a picture:
You can only see the pics in the forum here when a moderator releases them shortly. Meanwhile take a look at the next generation's iteration on this. They all work the same. There are 4 pins on each side that get lifted out of the holes built into the sides of the adapters or full size optical drives when you lift out on that end with the green stripe in yours. It is blue in this next generation video:
Some of the earlier Z workstations are easier to work on the front bay adapters if you remove the front bezel through which the adapters have to slide. I bet you won't need to do that in your Z840...
11-02-2020 09:38 PM - edited 11-02-2020 10:06 PM
HP for years has had a variety of 5.25" adapters that can slide in and out and add significant versitility to those "5.25" slots"... the Z840 has two such slots. One adapter is 5.25" form factor with a single 3.5" HDD internal mounting site. Another I've used quite often is a 5.25" adapter with a 3.5" rectangular front opening for mounting 3.5" devices in that area, allowing external access to them. For example, those are handy for mounting multiple 2.5" SSDs into the Icy Dock carriers/single receiver system so I can use multiple one-at-a-time boot drives in the same workstations for high level experimentations with our key OS and software packages. The various HP 5.25" adapters from years ago still fit perfectly in the newest workstations.
Take a look at this, HERE , which I think you have in place. eBay is an excellent source for the different adapters if you know their part numbers:
https://www.provantage.com/hp-k4t74aa~7HEWS51W.htm
That one is a 5.25" HP adapter for mounting two 2.5" form factor SSDs or 2.5" HDDs into a single 5.25" space. Guess what? Those adapters all slip in/out from the front as do all 5.25" optical drives. You unlock the securing pins by pulling out on the big side lever plate and then you can slide things out or into the correct position, release the lever plate, and the pins lock the devices in place. Nice engineering that locks on both sides... You can add in a single M.3 screw to further lock each adapter/optical drive in place even more securely. That threaded screw hole access is only on the side that is open when you remove the left main side case cover.
It is quite easy to do, and if you really need to slide out (forward) your dual 2.5" drive carrier adapter that would happen rarely. After you add a second 2.5" drive and slide the adapter back in there will be more than enough space to let you attach your SATA data/power cables from inside the case.
11-02-2020 10:42 PM - edited 11-02-2020 10:44 PM
There are several part numbers.... you need both the larger metal adapter and the two small black slide-in 2.5" form factor drive carriers you can see in the eBay ad HERE :
11-03-2020 01:33 AM - edited 11-03-2020 01:40 AM
Thank you so much SDH! That must be it, I do have K4T74AA installed already, I just need to pull it forward to allow the 2nd drive to go in. So you said...
"Those adapters all slip in/out from the front as do all 5.25" optical drives. You unlock the securing pins by pulling out on the big side lever plate and then you can slide things out or into the correct position, release the lever plate, and the pins lock the devices in place. "
But what does the side lever plate look like exactly? There is green tabbed pull thing on the side but it seems to slide off completely, but maybe that's what you meant...
Ollie
11-03-2020 03:38 AM - edited 11-03-2020 03:54 AM
Happy to help....
You'll want this manual for reference: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04823811
You have the edge of that big lever plate in your picture. Here's a picture:
You can only see the pics in the forum here when a moderator releases them shortly. Meanwhile take a look at the next generation's iteration on this. They all work the same. There are 4 pins on each side that get lifted out of the holes built into the sides of the adapters or full size optical drives when you lift out on that end with the green stripe in yours. It is blue in this next generation video:
Some of the earlier Z workstations are easier to work on the front bay adapters if you remove the front bezel through which the adapters have to slide. I bet you won't need to do that in your Z840...