IBM Netvista faceplate won't come off.

So, I am working on an IBM Netvista M tower. I have determined that the vertical HDD has lost its will to live, and needs to be removed. Unfortunately, all of the plastic bits in the case have become so brittle that they either break with minimal torque or have lost elasticity. As far as I can tell, the front plate is released when you press on a purple tab in the back. This is not workings, and the HDD needs the front plate removed to pull out the drive.

Almost all of this information is just what I managed to dig up, and maybe incorrect. I am looking for solutions to get the hard drive out with little to no damage to the system. (It isn't mine, or I would have pried the plate off and replaced it with something else.)