Problems mounting third HD in bay

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inquiringmind555

I have a Micron PC with two Western Digital SATA hard drives in a Raid
0 config. I wanted to mount a third drive to create a Raid 0 + 1 dual
boot system. I bought another WD SATA, but on closer inspection the
hard drive cage has two slots for the two current drive drives and
then a differently shaped third slot marked HD/FD. On the third slot
(which is above the other two) there are matching screwholes for the
right hand side, but on the left side there are curved cutouts that do
not align. I have no idea what they are for.

Is there anything I can do to install this third drive or am I just
out of luck?

Thanks,

Melissa
 
(e-mail address removed) wrote in (e-mail address removed):
I have a Micron PC with two Western Digital SATA hard drives in a Raid
0 config. I wanted to mount a third drive to create a Raid 0 + 1 dual
boot system. I bought another WD SATA, but on closer inspection the
hard drive cage has two slots for the two current drive drives and
then a differently shaped third slot marked HD/FD. On the third slot
(which is above the other two) there are matching screwholes for the
right hand side, but on the left side there are curved cutouts that do
not align. I have no idea what they are for.

Is there anything I can do to install this third drive or am I just
out of luck?

Thanks,

Melissa
Click to expand...

Maybe you could buy a 5.25 to 3.5 internal adaptor?
 
[email protected] said:
I have a Micron PC with two Western Digital SATA hard drives in a Raid
0 config. I wanted to mount a third drive to create a Raid 0 + 1 dual
boot system. I bought another WD SATA, but on closer inspection the
hard drive cage has two slots for the two current drive drives and
then a differently shaped third slot marked HD/FD. On the third slot
(which is above the other two) there are matching screwholes for the
right hand side, but on the left side there are curved cutouts that do
not align. I have no idea what they are for.

Is there anything I can do to install this third drive or am I just
out of luck?

Thanks,

Melissa
Click to expand...

As long as you can get the drive in there, screw mountings are far
from critical, drives can be restrained with ties etc.

If it wont fit in there at all, mount it elsewhere in the case. It
aint
rocket science, and while screw mounting drives by the air intake
is best practice, its far from a necessity.


NT
 
On Mon, 3 Dec 2007 16:16:05 -0800 (PST),
I have a Micron PC with two Western Digital SATA hard drives in a Raid
0 config. I wanted to mount a third drive to create a Raid 0 + 1 dual
boot system. I bought another WD SATA, but on closer inspection the
hard drive cage has two slots for the two current drive drives and
then a differently shaped third slot marked HD/FD. On the third slot
(which is above the other two) there are matching screwholes for the
right hand side, but on the left side there are curved cutouts that do
not align. I have no idea what they are for.

Is there anything I can do to install this third drive or am I just
out of luck?

Thanks,

Melissa
Click to expand...

Is there some indented metal, or an insert piece that is
springy-flexible on the side w/o matching screwholes such
that the pressure applied would keep the drive stationary
while only one side was screwed down? You might put the
drive in and see if it is fixed in place well enough with
only one side screwed down, as often that is the situation.

Otherwise, you write that there are curved cutouts but
exactly where? If these cutouts are over the area where the
drive screw holes are, try putting a washer on the screw so
it catches on the edges of the curved cutout. You might
need longer screws, if that is the case a hardware store
would typically sell these 6-32 sized, but be sure to get
some short enough as many drives have their PCB unprotected
from behind the tapped screwholes so screwing in a screw
that is too long could damage it.

I don't know what lengths you are prepared to go to to solve
this, if a new screw were too long you can put a nut on it,
then grind it down to the right length, then uncrewing the
nut will help to true the ends of the screw thread so it can
be started into the hole.

If the left side of the drive cage does not have curved or
other holes where the mounting screws need to go, the other
option is to drill new screw holes after carefully
measuring where they need to go. If the measurement is off
and you can't get the screw in after drilling, you may then
need to redrill the hole to a larger diameter then as
mentioned previously, put a washer on the screw.

The other option is as another poster mentioned, put the
drive in an empty 5-1/4" bay if you have one, using adapter
brackets like these,
http://www.bestbyteinc.com/CAS-CHW-HDM.html
 
If it wont fit in there at all, mount it elsewhere in the case. It
aint
rocket science, and while screw mounting drives by the air intake
is best practice, its far from a necessity.
Click to expand...


That depends on the specific drive and how well the chassis
is otherwise ventilated, how high the ambient temp. In some
situations it really is necessary to have some airflow past
the drive, otherwise the longevity of the drive is at risk
or it may lock up with logical errors during use.
Fortunately in the latter case the data is usually still
intact except for anything written when it locks up, but
that's hardly a consolation for *permanent* use.

Since most systems have at least 2, 5-1/4" bays, it would be
better to mount the drive there so it at least has more open
area around it, then take the front case faceplace and
replace it with a filter panel as a passive intake or a fan
panel (though these are often fairly noisey due to the high
RPM their small fans run at, which also leads to shorter fan
lifespan).
 
The curved cutouts (indented metal) on the left do not align with the
screwholes on the left side, so it cannot be screwmounted there
regardless of the length of the screw. Putting a screw in the
lefthand side of the hard drive means that the drive cannot be pushed
sufficiently forward so as to screw it into the righthand side. While
I suppose it won't rattle free if attached only on the right hand
side, it lists at 30-40 degree angle without lefthand side support,
and that can't be good.

I do have a free bay above in the box that holds the DVD drive, so let
me check into the 5.25 to 3.5 adaptor.

Thanks!

Melissa
 
I have a Micron PC with two Western Digital SATA hard drives in a Raid
0 config. I wanted to mount a third drive to create a Raid 0 + 1 dual
boot system. I bought another WD SATA, but on closer inspection the
hard drive cage has two slots for the two current drive drives and
then a differently shaped third slot marked HD/FD. On the third slot
(which is above the other two) there are matching screwholes for the
right hand side, but on the left side there are curved cutouts that do
not align. I have no idea what they are for.

Is there anything I can do to install this third drive or am I just
out of luck?
Click to expand...

Two screws on one side should be fine for mounting the hard drive.

BTW, does the other side have "curved" sheet metal? Many cases only have
screws on one side and the other side provides a friction fit.
 
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