OurSafety.net | RSafety.net: Snap! Server Pro Disassembly

(Article ID: 001141)

Step-by-step instructions

	This is a Snap! Server Pro. This particular model was made back when the Snap! server line was owned by Meridian. When I received this unit it was in pretty poor shape. It powered on okay, but was unable to locate any SCSI drives. While disassembling the unit it became apparent that one of its previous owners attempted to disassemble it, but had no idea what he/she was doing. In the process of disassembly/reassembly several plastic pieces were broken and some of the metal pieces were badly bent. I also found that several screws were missing.
	Open the bay door to expose the six SCSI drive trays. Remove the six drives by swinging the tray latch handle out and to the right and sliding the drive tray out of the drive bay. Remove the screw just inside the sixth drive bay. This screw is one of three screws that secure the right half of the server case to the chassis.


	Turn the server on its side so that the side with the power switch is facing up. Unscrew the two screws located at the rear of the server.
	Release the three flanges at the bottom with a straight-blade screwdriver and pull up slightly on this side of the server and then pull away towards the bottom of the server. Don't pull up too far though because it is secured at the top of the server by two plastic loops and the server LEDs are still attached.

	Bend the retaining clip back slightly and lift the LED board out of its slot.
	Remove the two screws at the top that hold the chassis to the remaining half of the server case. In this picture the screws have already been removed.
	Release this half of the case by carefully releasing the flanges on the bottom of the server. I found that it is easier to do this if the server is turned over with the power switch side down. I also found it easier to start with the flange towards the back of the server and work forward. After lifting up slightly at the bottom, rotate the case counter clockwise slightly while lifting case.
	To remove the door from the chassis case remove six screws (two for each hinge).
	Remove six more screws to detach the hinges from the door (two screws per hinge).
	Remove three screws and remove the metal shield on the inside of the door. NOTE: When reassembling the door make sure that the three little index pins that are molded in the plastic match the three small holes that are slightly below where the hinges mount.

	Remove two screws and remove the cover for the latch mechanism.
	There is a shaft that runs from the door handle to both of the door latches. The handle pulls against the bend in the shaft causing it to turn. There is a small bend that pushes against each of the spring loaded latches as the shaft turns. To remove the shaft, push in slightly on each of the latches while carefully lifting the shaft out of the channel in the latch system. After removing the shaft, remove each latch by carefully lifting them out of the door. Keep a finger over the latch so as not to lose the spring. The last three pictures show the shaft removed (I have also removed the latches at this point) and the parts of the door arranged more or less in the order of removal.





	Remove the Faraday shield from the top of the server.
	To release the motherboard remove the two screws at the bottom and the single screw at the top just inside of the door.

	Start at the top of the motherboard and detach the following cables: 10 pin Front Panel cable 20 pin SCSI LED cable 10 pin SCSI Status cable 10 pin COM1 Serial cable Power cable SCSI data ribbon cable


	I found it easier to detach the Ethernet patch cable from the port located on the back of the server first before detaching it from the motherboard.
	This is the motherboard of a Snap! Server Pro. As you can see it is very much like the motherboard found in a typical Snap! 2000 with a few differences. The first notable difference is the addition of a SCSI data connector as well as SCSI status ports and the SCSI controller chip. To remove the motherboard from the motherboard bracket, remove six screws and lift the motherboard from the bracket. I am including a picture of the motherboard bracket, motherboard, and RAM (a 64MB PC100 DIMM) in a separated state. I am also including a link to the picture of the motherboard from the Snap! 2000 disassembly article. The last picture is of the server chassis without the motherboard tray attached. The cables that are remaining are the 10 pin serial cable, SCSI data cable, 10 pin SCSI status cable and 20 pin SCSI LED cable.




	The server has two power supply modules that connect to a power distribution board. To remove the power supply modules unscrew the thumbscrews at the top and slide the modules out of the chassis.


	The half of the chassis that holds the power supplies and power distribution board can be released from the main part of the chassis by removing a screw next to the SCSI backplane's SCSI Status connector and another screw under the power input on the back of the server. When both of those screws have been removed this part of the chassis can be slid backwards about an inch and lifted away from the main chassis. The third picture shows the flanges that help secure this portion of the chassis. A little force may be required as this unit plugs in to a power socket on the back of the SCSI backplane. NOTE: Don't go too far with this part of the chassis. It is still connected to the power switch. Carefully move this part of the chassis aside and disconnect the leads from the power switch. Make sure to note which leads connect to which legs on the switch.


	To remove the backplane from the server first disconnect the 10 pin SCSI Status cable from the backplane. Disconnect the SCSI data ribbon cable from the front of the backplane (towards the bottom). Remove 14 screws and lift the backplane away from the server chassis. These 14 screws also secure a Faraday shield to the back of the backplane to shield the SCSI bus from noise generated by the power supplies. The third picture is a picture of the power socket that connects the power distribution board to the backplane.


	When removing the SCSI LED panel disconnect the 20 pin SCSI LED ribbon cable from the PCB first. Then remove the three screws that fasten the board to the chassis. This board is also the board that has the hardware reset button for the server.


	To remove the interface card from the back of the server, first you'll need to disconnect the 10 pin serial cable from the board. Then remove three screws to release board from the chassis.
	The part of the chassis that houses the power system also houses the six fans to cool this server's components. There are four fans for the motherboard, backplane, and SCSI array. There are also two more fans mounted on the other side of this section of the chassis to provide cross ventilation for the power system. Each fan is held in place with two screws. To remove a fan first you should carefully cut the zip-ties that hold all of the fan power leads together. After releasing the fan's power leads, trace the leads down to the power distribution board. Disconnect the power lead and then remove the two mounting screws that hold the fan in place. I did not disassemble the server past this point as I could not see a good reason to continue. As you can see I stopped at separating the power chassis from the main chassis. The only components that are still on the chassis are the fans and the power distribution board. The power distribution board is held in place by five screws. Turn the part of the chassis that houses the power system upside down to gain access to these screws. One more thing I forgot to mention was how to remove the hard drives from the drive trays. The hard drives are secured in the trays using four screws (two on each side of the drive). Remove the screws and slide the drive out of the tray.