Hard Drive with Window and LED's inside

e30_droptop · 01-18-2007, 08:33 PM

Well, I figured I would share a project that I worked on quite some time ago. Just for grins!
Its a 4 Gig Western Digital Hard Drive with a window fabbed into the top of the case. There are also 2 Blue LED lights that are mounted on the inside of the drive and they are powered off the 5 volt line of the molex connector on the rear. So when the drive is under power - the LED's light up the spinning platters inside.

Best thing is - This Drive DOES hold data and has not expereienced any issues with data retention since I made this one.

The video is of the drive in action being seen down through the top of one of my tower cases that has a cut out for a top window . So its through a window in the case and then through a window in the hard drive!

Western Digital with thier Raptor X as the first hard drive with a window. I think not!! hahahha

Enjoy! Heres the link
http://home.pacbell.net/channelz/blueCthrough.WMV

v1per · 01-18-2007, 08:43 PM

I did this a while back with a Quantum Fireball. The drive was shot already so I figured I couldn't do any harm. I didn't do LEDs however. I used 1/4" Lexan (really, really great stuff, everybody should have some laying around). The nice thing is that it will spin up without plugging in an IDE cable.

e30_droptop · 01-18-2007, 08:58 PM

I made 4 of them. The first three would spin up of course cause ' all that is needed is just power to the drive. Then on #4 I was sucessful at not getting any hazardous particulant matter inside the drive so it spins up and can be read from and written to!

Its really sweet. Everytime my friends see it they offer me money for it so they can add it to thier case. I tell them its not for sale as it symbolizes my struggle and ability to overcome. They dont get it. I used thinner polycarbonate than that. I used 1/8 " so it barely adds any thickness to the hard drive top case.

v1per · 01-18-2007, 09:09 PM

Yea, I should have used 1/8" but 1/4" was what was on eBay at the time. You could probably find a hard drive that didn't have the screws glued in (this was my problem, I had to drill the screws to get the cover off) and make these pretty easily.

e30_droptop · 01-19-2007, 12:56 AM

Well you can make em , but getting em to actually not be damaged during the process is kinda tough. Any dust or particles in the air automatically corrupt the platters and the drive is worthless. I have 3 to prove it.

2k1Toaster · 01-19-2007, 01:10 AM

I have made a few and the best way to do it that has always worked for me (10 out of 10 drives modified working i.e. spinning, reading, writing, and passing full drive checks) is of course do it in a room that you have not been in all day. Make sure all the dust is settled. No vents in the room to keep circulating air. I always opened it up in the basement bathroom and as soon as the case screws come out into a ziplock baggie it goes. Then to put it back together, again geta still room and put it in. Hasn't failed me yet!

The first one I did was a 540Mb (yup megabyte drive) then a 2Gb drive and I have done a few 80Gb and one 120Gb. Only the 540Mb and 2Gb were for me. They spun up and beeped when you applied power, and of course watching the disk check is awesome. For a while I had it hooked up to a supply that would give it power for 10 seconds and then shut it off and give it power again, so it would constantly be moving the heads and making cool alien beeps! Then it fell off the wall and work again it did not...

I think it may be time for another one!

SnyperBob · 01-19-2007, 01:11 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by e30_droptop

Well you can make em , but getting em to actually not be damaged during the process is kinda tough. Any dust or particles in the air automatically corrupt the platters and the drive is worthless. I have 3 to prove it.

I heard something about using your shower to do this. I think the steam in the air makes all the dirt particles fall. Unassemble the drive, remove the top, and put it in a clean bag in your bathroom and seal it. Then repeat during assembly.

I haven't tried it tho.

e30_droptop · 01-23-2007, 12:29 AM

Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner. The bathroom steam method is the most effective way I have found to make these! It took me a few different tries in various places, but after steaming the small bathroom and waiting till some of it cleared then make the windowed top piece and have it waiting. Then unscrew the top of the hard drive and switch them fast! Re-apply the screws and Viola!

Hey Toaster, you have pictures or video of the ones you made? Would like to see similar efforts.

2k1Toaster · 01-23-2007, 12:34 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by e30_droptop

Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner. The bathroom steam method is the most effective way I have found to make these! It took me a few different tries in various places, but after steaming the small bathroom and waiting till some of it cleared then make the windowed top piece and have it waiting. Then unscrew the top of the hard drive and switch them fast! Re-apply the screws and Viola!

Hey Toaster, you have pictures or video of the ones you made? Would like to see similar efforts.

I might have some old pictures. No video. The digital camera I had back then was just that an only that! No video, no picture playback, just take a picture and hope it got stored.

I'll see if I can dig some up. I know I didn't take too many because I figured I would have them for a long time, but it was not meant to be...