HomeMade External HDDs

Iv noticed that a few lanners are buildin there own external HDDs, and im just wonderin, was it very difficult and wat would i need to do it myself

good thinkin, they look pretty cool. also to add, how do we go about settin the hdds up to our comp (esata?)

they are like $15 on ebay to buy.. unless you need to make a box for all your p0rn

p0rnbox, the revolutionary way to store all your hardcore sh!t, now your parents wont find the magazines under your bed! lol

actually, i cant find any on ebay, ur sure this is the multiple drive boxes with the checkered plate look?

That would probably be The Master's portable storage box that he put together. You'd have to ask him how, but I don't think he checks Morb that often.
Try a google search, there's bound to be others that people made.

That would probably be The Master's portable storage box that he put together. You'd have to ask him how, but I don't think he checks Morb that often.
Try a google search, there's bound to be others that people made.

he used like 5 SATA/IDE to USBs into a hub i think, i wouldn't think it would be that hard. maybe the cooling might be a prob tho. :D

with cooling i belive that one one end is 2 x 80mm fans and on the other is a 120mm fan so therfore cooling shouldnt be a problem as long as the fans are going the same way.

air flowing over the hdd then out other side of the box

There are tons of different ways you can build one, it all depends on how much you want to spend, and what you want it to achieve.

As said before, buy a few cheap usb-sata cases, steal the internals, and connect them all up to a hub is one way to do it.

Or if you want to go the next level, get a ITX PC and use it as the controller, then you can even get it to manage downloads for you.
An old laptop would even be a option...

I've seen people hack wireless routers to handle storage for them (a bit more technical, and requires some soldering)
Some new models even have USB support on the back for it :P

You need to think about how you want to connect it too.
USB?
eSata?
Firewire?
Firewire800? < What I use, 3.2gb/s ;)

Or you can just go buy a full blown NAS and be done with it.

ive tried google, and no luck, all sayin buy an external casing. all im after is schematics for a box with sata hdds and esata or usb comin out its ass or somethin

You mean something like the TOP HIT in google?
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/upgrade/1926952.html

Or for those who can't read, this was also on the 1st Google results page, a Metacafe Howto Video:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/830090/ups_hack_hide/

Keep in mind that they are aiming to hide the drive in the video, hence the electronics work.


Basically, once you have the circuit board out of the cheap-ass case, if you can't see what to do with it, you shouldn't be anywhere near it in the first place. And a USB Hub to connect more than one of the boards, is rather self explanitory.

good idea i should check that..........................

how do we go about settin the hdds up to our comp (esata?)

portmultiplier

this is what i found on the net yes a little pricey but gives you an idea of what realy out there, link below is what the PM's are all about how they work

BTW found one of these on ebay worth about US$ 330, with postage on top of that, but you prob looking at lest AU$100 to get it here

hope this might help a few people out

http://www.sata-io.org/portmultiplier.asp

looking at doing something like this soon, but i dont like that setup that donkey and master have, looks a little poxy for my likings.

what i was more looking for was an alluminium briefcase and load the drives in flat on one level, unlike having them stacked 2 high like the others have.

what i'm mainly asking is, has anyone tried this, even if you've tried to casemod a briefcase and if you had much grief in doing so?

why not just get another case and fill it up with hdd will have to case mod a little tho, eg get hdd bays out of old computers

dont want to go that big, was looking for portability moreso.

you're actually onto an idea there, even finding an old shuttle case floating around and mod it up a little bit with some more HDD bays.

i know my dad got a case laying round here that is one of those realy small ones eg mb psu vid card and prob max two hdd fit in them thats bout it if you got one of those a few fans mod a little might work.

i was looking at making one in a tool box prob i had is i was going to go too small eg the tool box could just fit a 120mm fan on the end i worked out that it could fit two hdd in it with enough space between them for air flow

this is what i used for the data USB to SATA/IDE Adapter (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3581) i know it would be slow but it a starter, used along side a usb hub only thing i was having probs with fitting in a small case is an old psu

that would be no prob in an old computer cae or a bigger tool box tho

hope this may have helped little or given a few ideas to how to sort a few minor probs out

$210 for 1TB Sata Drive
~$45 for basic USB2 enclosure

Starting to see a lack of need to diy. How often do you need all your data accessible at the same time anyway?


I'm about to replace the router in teh house that supports USB mass storage devices (and multi via hubs) as a NAS feature, so even then, anything I don't want to have on my desk will be on 802.11n.

i think the main reason why people are starting to do it there self is because i havent seen any usb hdd that are over 1tb yet but i know that the tool box hdd have 3+ tb with room to get bigger as well

so unless they want to take 3+ external hdd every where in a way got no choice until the places that sell the external hdd catch up and also keep the price low at the same time

i think the main reason why people are starting to do it there self is because i havent seen any usb hdd that are over 1tb yet but i know that the tool box hdd have 3+ tb with room to get bigger as well

so unless they want to take 3+ external hdd every where in a way got no choice until the places that sell the external hdd catch up and also keep the price low at the same timeWorst reasoning ever.

Skullshot has had a 2TB external drive for.. what, 2 years now? Lacie make a case that holds 4 HDDs in it. If you want space, chuck 4 x 1TB drives in that thing.

yeah 1tbs have been around for resonable price for a few years now, i'm thinking Gem has a point though, maybe forget the storage array and stick with a simple job, at leas i know it'll work.

would have loved to rock up at the next morb with my bright pink aluminium hard disk case.

you still can go out and buy a can of spray paint lol

i could get some UV paint!! it'll be like a rave!

I really fail to see the need to carry anything that size with you at any one time.

The only time you need that sort of portability is for lanning, now with the average event what a month apart atm. It's not that awkward really.

I very rarely carry an enclosure with me, the only time I do is when I need the scratch disk for capturing HD Video (Firewire800 - 3.2GB/s) or I need to image a PC. I'd be lucky to move it once a month, and once every 2 months it leaves the house.

99% of the time, I just leave a single dual-bay enclosure on my desk, for when I want to transfer off videos or backup something important. Any data that's older than that is very very rarely used, and in some cases, gets relegated to a old drive that lives in the cupboard. How often do I really need to re-watch the last 8 seasons of Stargate? If I need it, I just pop the side of the encl, and plugin.

You could extend on that, and get a http://www.scorptec.com.au/product/27432 then if you really really need that file fast, click, that drive is at hand.

If you're considering USB, then obviously it's only data and not a highspeed scratch disk. Yes it's nice dragging 4TB to a mates house for a movie nite, but can you watch that much in a sitting?

Reinventing the wheel can be fun, but with the ideas I've seen, you're not gunna get the thruput you can with a proper-built unit.

And if this is for business use, then I'm just gunna cringe...

actually it comes in handy for me, being out of town and working on a new Mayo makes it hard when transferring files from Donkey's PC to mine over the network, plus that means draggin my pc down every time i come back. Hard drives would really come in handy for this sort of thing, but i think i'll just stick with getting a decent sized external.

I really fail to see the need to carry anything that size with you at any one time.

The only time you need that sort of portability is for lanning, now with the average event what a month apart atm. It's not that awkward really.
Things are a little different when you've got a laptop involved as well... :)

I really fail to see the need to carry anything that size with you at any one time.

The only time you need that sort of portability is for lanning, now with the average event what a month apart atm. It's not that awkward really.
Things are a little different when you've got a laptop involved as well... :)

True, but afaik there isn't any terrabyte laptops floating around yet...

...yet.

it'd be pretty simple, i'm sure they have 2.5" 1tb drives, simple replace!

wait, you have a mac, maybe not as simple.

you have a mac, maybe not as simple.

Walk into shop, place laptop on counter, add large sum of cash to store's cash register, come back a hour later. Simple. lol

Actually it's easier, Apple give you the ghosting tools you need when you buy it.

On a side note, is anyone here making use of Cloud computing yet?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

I'm just starting to make regular use of it somewhat, combined with a Metaframe for business stuffs.

you have a mac, maybe not as simple.

Walk into shop, place laptop on counter, add large sum of cash to store's cash register, come back a hour later. Simple. lol

Actually it's easier, Apple give you the ghosting tools you need when you buy it.

On a side note, is anyone here making use of Cloud computing yet?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

I'm just starting to make regular use of it somewhat, combined with a Metaframe for business stuffs.

sorry, forgot about people not knowing sarcasm on the net. we do mac upgrades and installs, etc here at work so i know how simple it really is.

emo-ticons ftw ;) lol
Ahh sarcasm, i wouldn't survive this office without it...