On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 10:24 AM, Tim Nelson <tnel...@rockbochs.com> wrote: > Greetings pfSense list! I do apologize in advance for the OT nature of this > post. Since many of you have great experience with > different hardware platforms, embedded systems, etc I'm hoping someone can > help me out. I have a 1U server for a personal project > with only two hard > drive bays in front. However, I have two PCI-E slots in the back that are > unpopulated and two free SATA ports on > the motherboard. I'd really like to > find PCI slot bracket for mounting a 2.5" laptop HDD or something similar. >
I haven't done anything exactly like this, but my recipe for things of this nature on personal projects is misc. spare metal pieces from old scrap PCs, Dremel to cut up as needed, and JB Weld to slap it all together. I'd take a piece of metal or something that fits the drive, cut up and drill in screw holes as needed, and JB Weld it to a slot cover. For those who haven't heard of JB Weld, this is what I'm talking about: http://jbweld.net/index.php Shockingly they don't mention computer hardware hacking amongst its uses. :) I inadvertently bought a half height PCI-e PRO/1000 card for my home office ESX server (picture showed full height and I didn't read the details). Rather than going through the hassle of returning it and waiting, I chopped off part of the slot with the Dremel, cut up a slot cover to make up the difference, JB Welded the slot cover to the remaining bit of slot cover on the NIC, and voila - full height NIC in no time. :) That's just one example of my hardware hackery with scrap parts, a Dremel, and JB Weld. Some of the gear in my home racks have generic brackets JB Welded to the sides of the equipment rather than paying an exorbitant amount for the "real" brackets, and has been holding considerable weight for years. The stuff is indestructible. Maybe not the prettiest solution, but I personally enjoy hardware hacks like that and they've stood the test of time. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: support-unsubscr...@pfsense.com For additional commands, e-mail: support-h...@pfsense.com Commercial support available - https://portal.pfsense.org
