Internal HD Enclosure?

July 24, 2006 6:44 AM

Internal HD enclosure/bay suggestions? I've got a Dell 5150 with a Serial ATA primary drive. I'm trying to install a second hard drive which requires an older IDE connection. Because of the 5150's case design, the best place to put this IDE drive is in the second "slot" just below the CD drive. However, just placing the HD in that spot isn't a great option, because a) the drive is smaller than the slot, so I can't secure the drive against the case, and therefore it might slide around if the case is bumped and b) I'm concerned that the drive might overheat if it is placed directly on top of the solid-metal shelf which protects the floppy drive beneath it. Therefore, I'm looking to buy online a bay or enclosure which will solve these two problems.

First, is my concern about heat valid? I don't really know. Second, where can I buy an "internal" enclosure or bay which will protect this drive and secure it to the case? The drive is a 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200, and the space it's currently occupying is designed to hold a second CD drive, so that's how wide it is. Is there a way of securing this drive in the existing space?

Thanks in advance for your help. These may be basic questions, but I've been working on this problem for several weeks now, without much success.

posted by gd779 to technology (3 comments total)

Very simply, you want something like this.
posted by knave at 7:02 AM on July 24, 2006

knave has what looks to be a good solution for you if the drive has to be mounted internally. Are you certain that there is an IDE drive interface inside the case as well?

I suggest you get an external USB 2.0 enclosure instead -- in my own setup, I like the fact that my weekly backups are all on an external drive I can easily grab if the house is burning down! These people have the best prices I have seen on generic external enclosures (make sure the enclosure you buy has a fan).
posted by omnidrew at 8:12 AM on July 24, 2006

These are commonly called mounting rails and you should be able to find them all over the place for about five bucks.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:10 AM on July 24, 2006