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Leg Humper Joined: 01 Jun 2004 Posts: 4702 Location: Utah

Has anyone ever done this? I saw a show on TechTV today where someone showed you how to make a window in a CD-ROM drive, but he said to use a Dremel, which I would, if I had one, and being 14, I can't dish out $50 - $80 for a new one Laughing

... How can I cut through the metal without a Dremel?

I'll be doing this on a 6 year old 8x CD-ROM drive that came with a very old Dell, so if I bork the window, no big loss.

If anyone has a CD-ROM drive with a window, could you post pics?

One last question for the CD-ROM drive: does epoxy resin work on metal? Could I glue the plexi-glass to the metal with resin?

Now, about the hard drive:

My dad says I shouldn't try this because even a tiny amount of dust can ruin a hard drive, is that true? Has anyone successfully done this? Pics? Tips?

Thanks in advance, just wanted to know what I'm doing, at least a little, before tearing apart my CD-ROM drive, even if it is older than dirt (and probobly worth less than dirt, as well).

Doomhammer wrote:
My dad says I shouldn't try this because even a tiny amount of dust can ruin a hard drive, is that true?

If it isn't, then assembling them in clean rooms is a HUGE waste of time and money.

http://www.bit-tech.net/article/66/

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:24 pm Post subject:

I remember somewhere along the line seeing a harddrive that had a window... here Not sure where he got it though.

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:27 pm Post subject:

Dypheron wrote:
I remember somewhere along the line seeing a harddrive that had a window... here Not sure where he got it though.

He made it himself, and even wrote a guide for how he did it. That's what the link in my previous post goes to. Wink Smile

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 8:21 am Post subject:

d'oh!

Leg Humper Joined: 16 Jan 2002 Posts: 5412

do you have a n electric drill ?
if so, just buy a rotary blade drill bit and go to town.

Big Dog Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 3448 Location: KERNOW

I wouldn't reccomend it, mainly because if you do manage to pull it off, a working, windowed hard drive, I mean, in most cases, you can't even see it.

Leg Humper Joined: 01 Jun 2004 Posts: 4702 Location: Utah

tom wrote:

I wouldn't reccomend it, mainly because if you do manage to pull it off, a working, windowed hard drive, I mean, in most cases, you can't even see it.

True, unless you build it a clear external enclousure out of plexiglass, sort of like a box, and then you cut a hole in the back for the power and data cables, and then cut a round hole in the top to mount a fan for cooling. Anyway, something like that. Or, if you cut a window in an external hard drive, that would be cool.

My idea was to get a big bag thing and somehow nail it to a frame so it'd hold its shape and then use a vacuum, creating a vacuum chamber (which I'd work on the hard drive in, using some latex gloves glued/attatched to the out side, so I could reach in without opening it.

Only one thing about the hard drive: the crappiest and oldest one I have is a Maxtor 80GB that's about a year or so old... Wouldn't want to ruin that! It has FreeBSD on it! Very Happy

I think I'm going to try and cut a window in the CD-ROM drive instead of the hard drive (for the time being at least Twisted Evil

)...

quijbe wrote:

do you have a n electric drill ?
if so, just buy a rotary blade drill bit and go to town.

I have a normal drill that you'd plug in to the wall, but that'd work right? The rotary bits are standard, and would fit into most any normal hand-held drill, right? If so, then yes, I AM IN BUISINESS! Twisted Evil

I'll see how much those rotary bits cost and then I might try it, assuming my dad doesn't mind me doing that to a 7-year old CD-ROM drive (its an 8x speed drive, barely usable)... Confused

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:23 pm Post subject:

Doomhammer wrote:
My idea was to get a big bag thing and somehow nail it to a frame so it'd hold its shape and then use a vacuum, creating a vacuum chamber (which I'd work on the hard drive in, using some latex gloves glued/attatched to the out side, so I could reach in without opening it.

But unless you got the airflow right, the vacuum would most likely stretch out, if not tear a hole in, the bag. All you'd really need is a clean area to work without dust in the air (like around an air purifier). And wearing a shower cap to prevent stray hairs, dust, etc from falling from your head would help, too (or you could just go for the bald look). Shocking Smile

Doomhammer wrote:
quijbe wrote:

do you have a n electric drill ?
if so, just buy a rotary blade drill bit and go to town.

I have a normal drill that you'd plug in to the wall

Then I'm pretty sure it qualifies as an electric drill. Wink Smile

Big Dog Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 3448 Location: KERNOW

spelltrap wrote:
Then I'm pretty sure it qualifies as an electric drill.

I had a quite nice steam drill, once. You just needed to stoke it up before drilling a big hole.

EEps · Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2004 8:59 pm Post subject:

Doomhammer wrote:
I think I'm going to try and cut a window in the CD-ROM drive instead of the hard drive (for the time being at least )...

There are tons of mods out there that will walk you through doing this project. I would also find a few dead CDROMs to experiment on so you can get the hang of it without destroying something of value...but then again you would have to buy more better gear if you screw up... Big Smile

Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2004 10:00 pm Post subject:

BamZipPow wrote:
I would also find a few dead CDROMs to experiment on so you can get the hang of it without destroying something of value

But then how would he know if he can do it without ruining the CDROM if it's already broken?

I say get some of those tempermental CDROMs that still technically work, but have some major undesirable quirks. That way you can at least tell if you can do it without rendering the hardware unusable.

EEps · Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2004 11:23 pm Post subject:

Well...we all have to start somewhere. Wink Smile

With a dead CDROM, all he would be doing it cutting the case up. That would be enough to learn from...especially when he can experiment on how he wants to see what he wants to show off... Big Smile

Stray Dog Joined: 13 Jul 2004 Posts: 20

Can you not take the case from both the HD and the CD-ROM?
I know the outr case of a CD Drive is esaily removed, as i've done it before, but looking at the HD you'll probably need a screwdriver with a head like this > * < to open it.

Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2004 10:47 am Post subject:

i saw a computer that had windows in the tops and bottoms of all of the drives and the top of the case. he then put a light shining up through all of the drives. granted all of the internals blocked most of the light but it still looked neat. could this cause problems with the cd-roms though? i mean having more light reflected off of the bottom of the disk.. could it interfer with the laser sensor somehow?

Lycander wrote:

Doomhammer wrote:

DSTG_II wrote:

Dypheron wrote:

DSTG_II wrote:

tom wrote:

quijbe wrote:

Lycander wrote:

Doomhammer wrote:

Doomhammer wrote:

quijbe wrote:

spelltrap wrote:

Doomhammer wrote:

BamZipPow wrote: