"Piggybacking" a hard drive

[Turner]

Does anyone know if it's possible to get spare mounts so that I can 'piggyback' a hard drive? I've got a friend who wants to mount to hard drives in a computer with one internal drive bay. Or could I use a 5 1/4" bay and get the adapter to make it a 3 1/2"?

 

[CrackedCrystal]

If you have a spare 5 14 bay, you can just buy some rails to make it fit.

Or if you want to go a little more extreme, buy a hard drive cooling bay, or removable bay.

removable bay: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=43&manufactory=1849&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

 

[Turner]

Thanks. That look interesting, might be what she's looking for.

 

[CrackedCrystal]

Removable trays are a little more expensive, but I like them. I have a computer I switch between Linux and Windows by just swapping hard drives. It works well (but your BIOS needs to be able to autodetect hard drives). No need to worry about them interfering with each other, or taking up hard drive space from each other.

I could not find rails for sale on newegg, but they would be cheaper (about $6-$8). You can get them at any computer store.

 

[Turner]

I think rails are the way to go. There's an open 5 1/4" bay, I may find an adapter for that. I looked in the computer a while ago, but I don't remember if it has the cabling for something like that. But rails right underneath shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Thanks for your help.

 

[CrackedCrystal]

No problem, it sounds to me that is probabl the right choice. I founds some online for sale (link below), but for that price, I would just drive to a computer shop. You'll spend more on shipping than you save.

http://www.geishapc.com/harddriverails.html

 

[JoeP]

it doesn't matter, really. as long as the hdd doesn't move, it'll operate upsidedown, on, it's side, inside-out...scratch that last one.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Originally posted by JoeP
it doesn't matter, really. as long as the hdd doesn't move, it'll operate upsidedown, on, it's side, inside-out...scratch that last one.

Not a good idea to let a hard drive run at an angle. If the heads have a changing velocity, it can mess them up over the long term. Stick to vertical or - best - standard horizontal.

As for mounting, I use plastic 5.25 inch trays designed to put 3.5 inch floppy drives into the bigger size. OK, they have a hole at the front, but that's easily fixed with a standard blanking plate... and plastic trays are very, very cheap.