Mod Attempt: HDD and External DVD Caddy from an Xbox 360 Case

Tonyator

Tonyator

Tonyator

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Ilfracombe, N Devon
Ok... here goes nothing, so this will be my first ever attempt at any kind of modding, and as it'll probably fail miserably I've put it in here for now and not in the project logs.

I'll paint you a word picture...

I currently have an Antec 300 (rig in sig) with 5 HDDs in it...

30nhseq.jpg


As you can see space is quite limited on the HDDs and also inside the case, with only one free 3.5 bay. So I'll need to get a new HDD (Samsung F3 2TB most likely) however my motherboard has no spare SATA ports apart from an eSATA on the I/O panel. So I'll either have to utilise the eSATA port or buy a SATA PCI card. I don't really want to fill up my case with a final HDD... So i was trying to think of an alternate... and happened to glance at my desk and see a couple of dismantled 360s and...
b4dd3k.jpg

...I'll put some of the HDDs in the 360 case, and if I can manage it I'll put a DVD Drive in it too (as the PC being under the desk is annoying to get to the DVD drive, and seeing as this will probably be on my desk anyway it'll be a lot easier to use the CD drive). It will free up space and should help airflow in the case aswell. It's going to be a lot harder/complicated than I'd originally realised, and there are probably much simpler solutions, but to hell with it... I've never tried anything like this before, I'll give it a go!

My plan will hopefully go something like this;

2jaemud.jpg


So, It'll hold 3 HDDs and a DVD drive. I'll use the 360s fans for cooling and add others if I need to after testing temperatures. I'll Need to take SATA, IDE (if I use my current DVD Drive) and power from my PC to the 360...

Hopefully more to come and ongoing pictures of the build...

Watch this space :D
 
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Apologies in advance for the poor Camera Phone Photos.

All images will be put into this tinypic album - Here - As well as being posted in this thread.

I already had a dissembled 360, but it is simple enough to do using a tutorial like this;


The parts I have in front of me now are;
ayokdz.jpg


360 innards, 360 case, DVD Drive and a spare HDD atm for sizing up.


First thing I did was to remove the double fan at the back of the 360;
2cokevl.jpg


To do this I;
1) Pushed out the tabs with a flat head screwdriver.
2) Pull out the top of the fans from under the metal, towards the front of the 360
3) Pull the fan upwards and out, and unclip the wire... and it's out.


I layed out some of the bits on the case to check the sizes;
2h3n95z.jpg


Seems it should fit although having a HDD under the DVD drive might mean a bit of fiddling for it to line up with the 360 drive bay cover.


UPDATE

I bought my self a cheap Dremel rip off, so had a go at massacring the metal case within the plastic case of the 360, as it'll be easier (I think) so connect every thing to that, and no screws will be showing on the outside of the plastic case.

I cut a few bits out so I can use an old USB header PCI backplate, to integrate USB into the unit (with was a tacked on idea);
207vl88.jpg


I also cut away the fan grill at the back to (hopefully) help the airflow;
5jw55l.jpg


And have acquired a few 3.5" drive bays from a couple of old cases to use for the HDDs;
ic92cy.jpg


There's also a few bits I need to purchase, the wiring will go a bit like this;
5btrmc.jpg


This means I need to get (I think);

  • SATA PCI card (as I'm out of spares)
  • SATA - eSATA PCI card
  • eSATA - SATA cable (1m) x3
  • USB extension cable
  • USB - USB header cable
  • Molex extension cable

And a few bits I've got lying around eg. Molex - SATA power.

That's all for now...


UPDATE 2


I finished putting the USB cable in, by drilling a couple of holes and using the screws from the PCI plate;
i6bck7.jpg


In the end I decided it was easier to mount the HDD directly to the metal case using some spare motherboard risers, this is the result;
2rdg5ma.jpg


And finally for now, cut out a bit of the metal case to help the air flow across the HDDs;
258seu1.jpg



UPDATE 3

I took my 2TB HDD out of the PC and joined it to the new 2TB using a couple plate of metal No pics so a diagram will do...
71r6zd.jpg


These two HDDs were then connected to the Metal case using the risers as shown previously

And everything was wired together...

wqyao3.jpg


This is the result

24erp8z.jpg


2yo4o04.jpg


2wq8qbn.jpg


To be continued.
 
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I'm going to try to, although I'll test it to see how the temps/noise level are with them when its a bit more finished. Otherwise I'll try and source some other fans.

Also I've got two dead 360s so a choice of two fans.
 
Yeah the size is a bit annoying... Been fiddling about and the DVD drive is about 1cm taller than the 360s own DVD drive, which means that I think it's only going to be 2 HDDs and the DVD drive. I could get a slimline/laptop DVD drive and fit another HDD, however I think I'm just going to try and do it with what I've got.

I've trimmed down the 360 Drive bay cover to fit my DVD drive, however it sits too close to the drive, so I'm going to have to find a way for it to sit further from the drive. My first idea is this;

25u2xkz.jpg


Seems to be one of the simplest solutions I can think of.
 
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UPDATE 2 (Post 2)

I've updated the second post with a bit more progress. :D

Sorry about the slow speed of any updates/further works, just doing bits and peices of it as and when I can.

Oh and mods, it's going a lot better than planned, and I'm doing regular updates, with pictures so this could be moved into the Project Logs forum.
 
Small update.

I am just about to purchased a few bits I need...

3x 2m eSATA to SATA Cable - Shielded, External Serial ATA
Startech 2 Port Sata To Esata Slot - Plate M/F
4 Port SATA Controller Card and RAID
Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
Akasa USB 40cm Internal to External Cable
Hama Extension Cable, Usb A Plug - Usb A Socket, Grey, 1.8 M

I also need a long molex extension cable, but I can't find a long one for sale anywhere so I may have to fashion one.

Also does anyone know if running 2 HDD's a DVD and the fans off one molex will be ok (PSU in sig)?
 
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Update 3 (Post 2)

Ok I know it's been a while, but I've done a few bits to this, mostly as I purchased a new 2TB HDD and had nowhere to put it in my case :(
 
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Looks good, what are you planning to do about noise? Any 360 ive heard has sounded like a dyson, bit of a headache for hdd/dvd capabilities? Will you be replacing the fans?

Btw, you should mount it to the underside of your desk, now that would be fly.
 
I'm using the standard fans atm, although as they are wired up they're only running at 5V and are quieter than my case fans anyway. Annoyingly there isn't enough room with all the cables in there to mount them where they were in the case originally. So I think they might need to be mounted to the outside of the case.

Hopefully when finished it will sit under my Monitor riser on my desk.
 
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