Removing a Drive Blank
Remove the drive blank as you would the 2.5-inch hard drive carrier:
1. Remove the front bezel, if attached. See Removing the Front Bezel.
2. Open the drive blank release handle to release the blank. See Figure3-5.
3. Slide the drive blank out until it is free of the drive bay.
Installing a Drive Blank
Install the hard drive blank as you would a 2.5-inch hard drive carrier:
1. Remove the front bezel, if attached. See Removing the Front Bezel.
2. Open the handle on the drive blank.
3. Insert the drive blank into the drive bay until the blank is fully seated.
4. Close the handle to lock the blank in place.
5. Replace the front bezel, if it was removed in step 1.
Removing a Hot-Plug Hard Drive
1. Remove the front bezel, if attached. See Removing the Front Bezel.
2. From the RAID management software, prepare the drive for removal and wait until the hard-drive indicators on the drive carrier signal that the drive can
be removed safely. See your SAS controller documentation for information about hot-plug drive removal.
If the drive has been online, the green activity/fault indicator will flash as the drive is powered down. When both drive indicators are off, the drive is
ready for removal.
3. Open the drive carrier release handle to release the drive. See Figure3-5.
4. Slide the hard drive out until it is free of the drive bay.
5. If you do not replace the hard drive, insert a drive blank in the vacated drive bay. See Installing a Drive Blank.
Installing a Hot-Plug Hard Drive
1. Remove the front bezel, if attached. See Removing the Front Bezel.
2. If a drive blank is present in the bay, remove it. See Removing a Drive Blank.

Figure 3-5. Installing a Hot-Plug Hard Drive

NOTICE: To maintain proper system cooling, all empty hard-drive bays must have drive blanks installed. If you remove a hard-drive carrier from the
system and do not reinstall it, you must replace the carrier with a drive blank.
NOTICE: To maintain proper system cooling, all empty hard-drive bays must have drive blanks installed.
NOTICE: When installing a hard drive, ensure that the adjacent drives are fully installed. Inserting a hard-drive carrier and attempting to lock its handle
next to a partially installed carrier can damage the partially installed carrier's shield spring and make it unusable.
NOTICE: Not all operating systems support hot-plug drive installation. See the documentation supplied with your operating system.