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removable 3.5" drive cage.
I bought a thermaltake bach media center case for a pvr/gaming pc. This
was my first experience with building my own system, but, after reasonably few hiccups I got the unit assembled and functioning. I've spent the past few weeks just playing around with it. Unfortunately, there's an issue with the case design and how my particular motherboard fits in. Specifically, if any hard drives are mounted into the interior 3-slot 3.5" floppy/hard drive cage, the ends overlap over the plug on the motherboard for the main motherboard power (the 24-pin plug). Effectively, this means if I put hard drives into the 3.5" cage and mount it correctly, I can't plug in the power to the motherboard. The cage fits into the case so that each drive is next to the other on edge (like CD cases or books on a shelf). If I manually turn the drive on it's "side" (so that the hard drives stack on top of each other, like books in a "pile"), I can put 2 drives in the top 2 slots, leave the 3rd slot empty, and the cable to the power connector "fits". However, if I do this, the cage doesn't 'mount' into the case. There's sliders/flanges along one side of the cage which determines which way it 'fits'. Effectively, it looks like if I could get a different cage with flanges on the correct (for me) side I can continue to use my case with another 2 hard drives. Is this the sort of thing I could buy from some sort of parts reseller (a cage with flanges on a different side)? It looks suspiciously like it's a reasonably 'universal' part, rather than something lovingly custom-manufactured for Thermaltake. Gwen |
#2
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removable 3.5" drive cage.
"Gwen Morse" wrote in message oups.com... I bought a thermaltake bach media center case for a pvr/gaming pc. This was my first experience with building my own system, but, after reasonably few hiccups I got the unit assembled and functioning. I've spent the past few weeks just playing around with it. Unfortunately, there's an issue with the case design and how my particular motherboard fits in. Specifically, if any hard drives are mounted into the interior 3-slot 3.5" floppy/hard drive cage, the ends overlap over the plug on the motherboard for the main motherboard power (the 24-pin plug). Effectively, this means if I put hard drives into the 3.5" cage and mount it correctly, I can't plug in the power to the motherboard. The cage fits into the case so that each drive is next to the other on edge (like CD cases or books on a shelf). If I manually turn the drive on it's "side" (so that the hard drives stack on top of each other, like books in a "pile"), I can put 2 drives in the top 2 slots, leave the 3rd slot empty, and the cable to the power connector "fits". However, if I do this, the cage doesn't 'mount' into the case. There's sliders/flanges along one side of the cage which determines which way it 'fits'. Effectively, it looks like if I could get a different cage with flanges on the correct (for me) side I can continue to use my case with another 2 hard drives. Is this the sort of thing I could buy from some sort of parts reseller (a cage with flanges on a different side)? It looks suspiciously like it's a reasonably 'universal' part, rather than something lovingly custom-manufactured for Thermaltake. Gwen My Lian Li case has the same type of HDD rack for 5 drives. It also mounts right where the main power plug is, but there is just enough room to get it to slide in and put the thumb screws in. It is tight, and I have to plug the power cable in first. My PSU has stainless mesh shielding covering all the power cables and I have to gently bend the cable and then tie-wrap it so that it stays out of the way. Ed |
#3
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removable 3.5" drive cage.
Gwen Morse wrote:
I bought a thermaltake bach media center case for a pvr/gaming pc. This was my first experience with building my own system, but, after reasonably few hiccups I got the unit assembled and functioning. I've spent the past few weeks just playing around with it. Unfortunately, there's an issue with the case design and how my particular motherboard fits in. Specifically, if any hard drives are mounted into the interior 3-slot 3.5" floppy/hard drive cage, the ends overlap over the plug on the motherboard for the main motherboard power (the 24-pin plug). Effectively, this means if I put hard drives into the 3.5" cage and mount it correctly, I can't plug in the power to the motherboard. The cage fits into the case so that each drive is next to the other on edge (like CD cases or books on a shelf). If I manually turn the drive on it's "side" (so that the hard drives stack on top of each other, like books in a "pile"), I can put 2 drives in the top 2 slots, leave the 3rd slot empty, and the cable to the power connector "fits". However, if I do this, the cage doesn't 'mount' into the case. There's sliders/flanges along one side of the cage which determines which way it 'fits'. Effectively, it looks like if I could get a different cage with flanges on the correct (for me) side I can continue to use my case with another 2 hard drives. Is this the sort of thing I could buy from some sort of parts reseller (a cage with flanges on a different side)? It looks suspiciously like it's a reasonably 'universal' part, rather than something lovingly custom-manufactured for Thermaltake. Gwen (VB8000BNS Install manual) http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/suppor..._051226_EN.zip There is room for drives under the support bar. So you could put some there. You can also get U-channel adapters to convert 3.5" drives to fit in 5.25" drive enclosures, so you could put 3.5" devices underneath the CD/DVD. Such adapters used to come with Maxtor "retail" drive packaging (and that is not very popular these days, with many hard drive vendors selling the OEM version which is devoid of accessories). Trying to find them for sale separately is a chore. In general I would not expect to find a RAID cage that "just fits" the box. Every metal banging enclosure maker has their own way of suspending stuff, and the odds of something fitting are pretty low. I note that the 3.5" (middle) drive bay, has some openings in the front panel. Does that allow a drive to slide forward a bit ? Maybe the 3.5" drive can be secured in one of two positions (forward or back), assuming there is enough room in the front panel area to move the drive forward a bit. You can drill new holes for the retention screws (a piece of metal with a hole already in it, clamped to the cage surface, will prevent the drill bit from chattering or sliding around). Unless you are really stuck for drive positions, I'd use the room for drives on the support arm. Paul |
#4
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removable 3.5" drive cage.
Gwen Morse wrote: On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:16:39 GMT, Paul wrote: http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/suppor..._051226_EN.zip There is room for drives under the support bar. So you could put some there. You can also get U-channel adapters to convert 3.5" drives to fit in 5.25" drive enclosures, so you could put 3.5" devices underneath the CD/DVD. Such adapters used to come with Maxtor "retail" drive packaging (and that is not very popular these days, with many hard drive vendors selling the OEM version which is devoid of accessories). Trying to find them for sale separately is a chore. I did actually look for drive rails and I couldn't find them. If you (or anyone else) have(has) a source, I'd be glad to go in that direction. Also, I'm already using the two slots under the support arm. I have 2 sata drives in there. I'd like to put in 1-2 IDE drives in the cage. In general I would not expect to find a RAID cage that "just fits" the box. Every metal banging enclosure maker has their own way of suspending stuff, and the odds of something fitting are pretty low. Rats. I had sort of thought they were bought from Cage Widgets, Inc, and I'd just have to look up the part number. I note that the 3.5" (middle) drive bay, has some openings in the front panel. Does that allow a drive to slide forward a bit ? Maybe the 3.5" drive can be secured in one of two positions I'll check that again. Or, maybe I could try something with tie wraps and the existing cage. Gwen -- Gwen Morse =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." -- Matt Groening -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com There is a rail kit here. But normally you'd just use the two pieces on the side. The U shaped space filling metal pieces should also come with screws, total four piece, as you need to bolt the U shaped metal to the drive, and then the U shaped metal needs to be bolted to the sliders that slide into the bay. The computer enclosure likely came with four screws, but you'd need four more that come with the rails, to finish the job. http://www.dcdrives.com/itemdesc.asp...RACKET&eq=&Tp= This one is some kinda deluxe version, likely looking good in a Lian Li all aluminum case. http://svcompucycle.stores.yahoo.net/mf-515a-47.html OK, I think I've found the right one now. This is a 10 pack for $17 and is enough to do 10 disk drives :-) Startech.com should have the original pictures and info. http://www.arsenalpc.com/Details.asp?Res=2&ItemID=9757 Another example he http://www.startech.com/Product/Item...d=BRACKET&c=CA Paul |
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