Making a internal drive external

**867 5309** · 12-06-2001, 07:25 PM

Okay, I am very new at computers, I love them, but am not hip on the lingo yet. I am going to attempt to install a DVD-Rom drive (Pioneer slot load to be exact) somewhere close to my dash while the casing of the cpu is in the trunk. My question was if I am going to run into any problems doing this. One of the problems that come to mind is that I will be losing a bit of voltage and or signal since it has to travel a long distance (about 10-12feet). One other question, have ya'll had luck with the Pioneers? I am mainly concerned about it skipping whenever I hit bumps. Any and all info is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

**Maveric** · 12-06-2001, 10:27 PM

Your best bet would be to get an Internal to external case. They convert the IDE signal to USB or Firewire. Since it is a DVD drive I am not sure how Firewire would hold up, 24 MB/sec should be good enough but may not be. Here is an idea of what to look for. External case

**dos4who?** · 12-06-2001, 11:12 PM

Hey... Love your nickname, "Jenny"

~m

[ 12-06-2001: Message edited by: dos4who? ]

**snackpack** · 12-06-2001, 11:25 PM

Well, the player Obscured in my signature has an external IDE interface I made with a Centronix SCSI cable. It works well, even though I'm stretching the limits of IDE cable length.

You're not going to make it 10-12 feet with IDE. USB should do fine, as it has a longer cable limit then even firewire. It should have the bandwidth you need, too. Firewire can definitely handle the bandwidth, but I believe you may be pushing the cable length limit, and the cable itself may hit you hard in the wallet.

**WakeAndSno** · 12-07-2001, 01:01 AM

FYI, Firewire limit is 15 feet, unless you have repeaters - in which case you can go up to 236.
Jonathan

**SkinnyBoy** · 12-07-2001, 06:36 AM

Or you could try and find yourself a SCSI DVD drive, and then you would have no problems with distance..

**Maveric** · 12-07-2001, 02:32 PM

I don't belive USB can do DVD SnackPack. At less than 1MB a second there won't be enough bandwith. USB 2.0 may be able to handle it though.

**867 5309** · 12-07-2001, 02:52 PM

thanks everyone...

Skinnyboy, your idea sounds the most appealing to me so far, but I was wondering if I need whats called a SCSI expander, or can it run that many feet by itself? also, can you get a SCSI connection on one of the ports on the back of the computer, or do you have to run the ribbon of wires from the inside of the housing? thanks a bunch.

**snackpack** · 12-07-2001, 03:00 PM

You can get a SCSI card which has an external port. However, SCSI cables are also very expensive. You may be paying at least 75 bucks for 10-12 of cable. It's thick cable, too. Not very ideal for hiding away in a car.

SnackPack