Began work on bent up P390 server chassis

 CABLE ON ORDER TO REPAIR M1000 CARD READER MAGNETIC PICKUP

I won't have the cable to splice onto the pickup until tomorrow, which blocked me from working on the Model 1000 card reader. Further, I have to noodle a bit about the best way to proceed on the interface issues that appear to be induced noise or other challenges from operating close to the server. 

DISASSEMBLED IBM x235 SERVER FROM MY P390 SYSTEM TO STRAIGHTEN CHASSIS

The chassis of the xServer 235 which is the base for my P390 became seriously twisted after it fell over while fully populated, back in California as I was attempting to securely package it for transit. I did fire up the server itself to confirm that the motherboard (planar in IBM-speak) or other components weren't cracked. 

I didn't have the P390 card or other PCI based cards installed because frankly the chassis is so bent that they sit at an uncomfortable angle away from vertical putting stress on the PCI sockets and motherboard (and the cards themselves). I decided to attempt to straighten the chassis at least well enough that the PCI cards can sit safely upright and be supported. 

I believe the reason that the motherboard survived is IBM's design for the server. They mounted the planar on a metal base which is in turn mounted into the chassis. The metal base is so sturdy that it didn't receive any twisting force while the chassis deformed around it. The remaining area of concern on the planar are the PCI sockets and connectivity to the motherboard, but I do see motherboards available on eBay if this one is damaged. 

I did some initial straightening but still have quite a twist in the PCI card area. I will either need to bend this all better, which is difficult because of its interlocking construction, or find a replacement chassis somewhere. 

Planar on its metal base

Bent chassis at top

Badly deformed area for PCI cards