DonationCoder.com Forum
Main Area and Open Discussion => Living Room => Topic started by: superboyac on September 16, 2010, 04:56 PM
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Hi everyone, I'm attempting to create a special external hard disk enclosure. What makes it special is it's universal versatility in every sense of the word. Firstly, I want to be able to take any full size SATA hard drive and slip it in/out of the enclosure. Bare. I don't want to screw the drive in, nor do I want to use a tray of any kind. So, just like this:
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Now, that drive caddy pictured above can fit into any 5.25" standard slot. So I'm assuming I can find an enclosure that is meant for a normal optical drive (cd/dvd/bluray) and instead of sticking in an optical drive, I slip in that thing above which will then allow me to slide in a Sata drive in and out without any extra screwing or trays. Pretty cool, right?
So then I thought, why not just use one of these universal hard drive adapter cable thingies? See below:
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And I already have one of those, and they are great. However, there's something about having a bare hard drive hanging off of a cable that I find uncomfortable. So that's why i want an enclosure...but a very flexible one.
The problem I am running into is the enclosure itself. I want one that can not only support that hard drive sliding device, but I also want one that has connectors for USB, firewire, and esata all available. So finding something with all these requirements is proving rather difficult.
Any thoughts?
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what you are asking for is readily available everywhere and we've talked about it in the past plenty of times.
for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007705%20600006253&IsNodeId=1&name=5.25%22
just make sure it has an open front for optical drives and it will hold those rack systems fine. i've used one for many of years and like it a lot.
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Or if you're only interested in being able to quickly swap HDDs and you don't care about other things (Optical Drives), you can get a "Toaster (http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1002&bih=770&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=Hard+drive+dock&aq=f&aqi=g2g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=)."
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what you are asking for is readily available everywhere and we've talked about it in the past plenty of times.
for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007705%20600006253&IsNodeId=1&name=5.25%22
just make sure it has an open front for optical drives and it will hold those rack systems fine. i've used one for many of years and like it a lot.
-mouser
Thanks! Actually, the more helpful part is knowing that you've been using this happily. I wasn't sure if there was some thing about it I was missing that would make it frustrating to use.
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only words of advice i would give is to make sure you get a rack which doesnt use a special inner tray.
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On a related note, I recently purchased the Coolmax 3.5" HDD external enclosure (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=T13-5026), and have been using it in conjunction with Microsoft SyncToy (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52&displaylang=en) to backup my laptop.
Inexpensive, and works great.
But I'm getting ready to get a new desktop PC and I'm glad I read this thread. I think having a hot-swappable bay for hard drives is the way to go. Will definitely keep this in mind!
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Or if you're only interested in being able to quickly swap HDDs and you don't care about other things (Optical Drives), you can get a "Toaster (http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1002&bih=770&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&sa=1&q=Hard+drive+dock&aq=f&aqi=g2g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=)."
(see attachment in previous post (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=24007.msg217892#msg217892))
-Deozaan
I have a couple of the ones pictured, one with eSata, and they work REALLY well. So well that I haven't had any problem with the drives over heating due to being plugged in and powered up all the time. Can't say the same for a traditional enclosure (I've had plenty of those drives fail, I think, due to poor air circulation).