How to on HDD Modding?

C

ctu11y

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Messages
71
Can someone point me to a how to put a window in a hdd?

THANKS IN ADVANCE
 
1. Assemble nessisary tools and materials (plexi, HD, bits for opening the drive, caulking, ziplock bag, cutting tool of choice)
2. open the hd
3. put the hd in the zip lock bag for safe keeping
4. cut out the window hole in the top of the drive
5. cut the plexi to fit
6. caulk on the plexi
7. wait
8. put the top back on the hd
9. profit
 
Hard drives are assembled in clean rooms.


That should tell you that opening a hard drive is a very bad idea.


If you decide to go ahead and mod your hard drive, be prepared for it to die without warning.
 
Originally posted by Magic H8 Ball
Hard drives are assembled in clean rooms.


That should tell you that opening a hard drive is a very bad idea.


If you decide to go ahead and mod your hard drive, be prepared for it to die without warning.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
...
3. put the hd in the zip lock bag for safe keeping
...
Click to expand...
for safe keeping? you mean so you dont get dust on it, which unfortunetely happens as soon as you open the drive.

ctu11y dont expect the drive to last very long. if they did im sure ALOT more people would mod their hard drives.

good luck with it though. post your results.
 
I use to see people saying they mod them in the bathroom, after running a hot shower for a few minutes to settle all the dust. (you want to wait so it doesn't get moisture on the drive when you take it off, but you want it to be humid enough to weigh down the dust) That's probably the closest you will get to a clean room.
 
when I put a window in my Maxtor 60gb HD, I did it on my coffee table, no bathroom, just stuffed it in a ziplock baggie. has been running strong for the past 8-9 months
 
I was lucky enough to have an identical drive that died about a month prior, I used the lid from that one, so my working drive was only exposed for about 30 seconds or so. If you are a cheap bastard like I am, just cut up a CD jewel case for the window. The windowed drive has been running nonstop for 3-4 months now.:D
 
Umm, why open it and put in in a bag ? why not open it IN the bag :confused:

I mean, unscrew, put it in a bag, then put that bag in an even larger bag for extra protection, then open the HD and close the ziplock while the ziplock bag is in the bigger bag.
 
Best bet is to buy a failed drive of a junker drive with the EXACT same top plate to use. Mod that plate first, so when you do open your drive it can be a quick swap, and not some 30 min ordeal.

Also, you will want to have on gloves, showercap, and a raincoat to help prevent your own natural debris from falling into your hard drive. A portion of household dust is skin debris.

In truth, I wouldn't do this mod just because it's too risky. But if you want to, go ahead. I might try it on my 6.4gb IBM, since I can't hold squat on it anymore.....even my.....um......."media" folder has exceeded 6GB :eek:

To get back on topic, dust is enemy number one when opening a hard drive. ESD is also a concern since you'll be very close to the heads. grounding equipment is pretty much manditory. It's the dust part that's gonna bite. Paint booths are often dust free, but I doubt any of you will go to a paint booth, plus if you cut the plate in the same room fine metal particles do move farther than you may think.
 
One question I am asking is why? No one is going to see it unless you do like 1 of the 3 three following:

Put everything into a desktop case, make sure the hard drive is on the top or on the side, cut a window there too and then it'll serve a purpose...

If this is a tower case, make sure you have it all the way at the top, by somehow finding a 3.5 - 5.25 adapter, cutting a window in the very top of it, and there's more purpose...

or 3: Either having it on the bottom of the case lying vertical, with a window on the side of the case... Or lying Vertical by the window facing the front, and then cut the front out of your panel... I think that would be the coolest.
 
Only modding I would do to a HDD is to attempt to turn it into an mp3 player which would be hella hard without proper tools and devices... I dont see a use for modding that doesnt make somthing function better or make someone go "HOLY !@#$".
 
This is best done to a older drive, one that you wont be useing critically. Most HDDs over 40gb will fail after 2-3 months. Thats not saying its unavidable, but look at mashie, he had the 2 40s for his Y2KBug die, he explains a little bit of why also, has somehting to do with it getting off balance.
 
You mean years?

Originally posted by Psyker
This is best done to a older drive, one that you wont be useing critically. Most HDDs over 40gb will fail after 2-3 months. Thats not saying its unavidable, but look at mashie, he had the 2 40s for his Y2KBug die, he explains a little bit of why also, has somehting to do with it getting off balance.
Click to expand...
 
Mashies drives died because he didn't reapply the drive shaft screw in the top of the drive. If you look at most large drives (20 gigs on up) they have a screw in the center of the lid. This is for the platters drive shaft, to keep it from wobbling. He removed that screw and didn't replace it in the new clear lid, so the drives wobbled, hit the arms and thats all she wrote.

To avoid that mishap your window design either has to avoid that area of the lid, or have the screw mounted in the window in the exact location it was in originally.

Like everyone else here is saying, its best to use small, low cost drives, unless you like to throw money away.

Its best to remove the stickers on them and polish them to a high shine. Some of the lids can be polished to a mirror like finish. That looks better than a window in my opinion.
 
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