SC846 rails stuck

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trumee

Member
Jan 31, 2016
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Hello,

My SC846 server doesnt go fully in the rack. It gets stuck after most of it has gone in. Here are some pictures, is there anything obvious which i am missing?

Front side

20200705_180854.jpg

Rear side
20200705_181029.jpg
 

Rand__

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2014
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Sometimes one of the little levers get stuck, make sure to slide the back part fully in before sliding the front part -
you might need to pull it out completely, then push back in until it stucks, then press both side levers, make sure the rear part slides further in (or push it in yourself) and then the front part at the end
 

Blinky 42

Active Member
Aug 6, 2015
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Are both sides sticking? If you put the the server on the floor and rail not in the rack, can they slide normally on the rack?
Sometimes the tabs that the rails click into get bent out a little and that can jam up the sliding action, you just need to press them back in closer to the side of the chassis a bit.
 
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kapone

Well-Known Member
May 23, 2015
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No No, I think he has the same issue that was discussed in this thread. (I've dealt with this issue before)


@trumee - Are your rack posts also "U" shaped? i.e. you have square holes on two ends of the U channel? If that's the case, I'm surprised you were even able to install the outer rails in your rack, without some "modifications" (like a Dremel.)

Edit: looking at the picture below, is the middle installation, how you installed your outer rails?

 
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trumee

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Jan 31, 2016
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@kapone Yes, the rack posts are 'U' shaped. Some more picture are here. My installation is like the middle rack in your picture, however there is one difference. In my case the outer rail is attached to the 'outer holes' of the U rack. In your picture you only have the rear end of the rail connected to the outer hole. Also in this rack one half of the 'U' post is slightly offset. The outer part has 28mm width and the inner part has 15mm width.

I remember previously my server used to completely sit flush in the rack. However, i moved houses and had to dismantle the rack. Unfortunately, i dont remember how it was setup before. By the way, i never had to use any dremmel.
 
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DavidRa

Infrastructure Architect
Aug 3, 2015
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I had this happen and the root cause was that the ball bearing slide was catching on the static rail (the one on the server itself). I had someone hold the ball bearing rail forward as I slowly slid the server in, and once it was past the catch point, it slid in correctly.

Not before I bent one of the ball bearing carriers and dropped 243098 ball bearings, though...
 

i386

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2016
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Can you post a picture of the rails from the side with the server fully slid out?
 

Fallen Kell

Member
Mar 10, 2020
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Did you inspect the inner sliding rail part that is holding all the ball bearings in the rail channel? I have seen many issues with rail kits where one of the pieces of metal holding a bearing has become damaged and is bent up which prevents the server from being able to then properly slide over/under it causing it to get stuck.
 

trumee

Member
Jan 31, 2016
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This is what i found at the back of the rack today. Also, there were a bunch of ball bearings next to it. Guess, I need to get a new rail.

20210425_145234.jpg

This video suggests, I should replace my existing blue label rail (MCP-290-00057-0N) with a yellow label rail (MCP-290-00053-0N).
 

Fallen Kell

Member
Mar 10, 2020
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Yeah, I have seen that happen before. Never really fun trying to find the ball bearings so that you don't slip on them later on (or worse case in which they fell into another server and cause a short).

I would say time for a new rack mount kit or rail. Also, the difference between the kits really only matters when 2 conditions are met.
1) You have a deeper server chassis that is longer than 24 inches

And

2) You prefer to work on your server while it has been extended out of the rack on its rail kit.


Personally I never work on a server that is still in a rack while extended out due to possibly tipping the rack (you never know if someone installed the anti tip bracket and it is properly secured, so it is best to treat it as though it is not there). So I always remove a rack mounted server from the rack and take it to a table to work on it. But that is just me and my work experience dealing with larger server rooms and multiple people maintaining equipment, but I just find it easier in many situations to do that (I think the only exception has been with servers that are completely toolless and fully hot swap for many components and I am simply replacing a hot swap fan or other component, but super micro cases typically have a dozen or more screws that you have to deal with to take off the top panel, and that is a task better performed on a work table, not hanging out the front of a rack).
 
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