Help! Old PC Case only has 2 Drive Bays (I have 4 HDDs)

[TheCroShow]

Hello,

I picked up 4 Western Digital Red (4TB) SATA Hard Drives for my server, but my computer case only has 2 3.5" bays! Very frustrating! This is the case I''m using Corsair Carbide 275R I want to build my server as safe and sturdy as possible. I looked into external enclosures but it sounds like that adds a potential failure point so I'd prefer to avoid that. This article also has some better pictures inside the case. I'm not much of a hardware guy. Would love any advice short of buying a new case ='(

[agame7]

How many SATA ports are on your Mobo?

[agame7]

21 minutes ago, TheCroShow said:

Hello,

I picked up 4 Western Digital Red (4TB) SATA Hard Drives for my server, but my computer case only has 2 3.5" bays! Very frustrating! This is the case I''m using Corsair Carbide 275R I want to build my server as safe and sturdy as possible. I looked into external enclosures but it sounds like that adds a potential failure point so I'd prefer to avoid that. This article also has some better pictures inside the case. I'm not much of a hardware guy. Would love any advice short of buying a new case ='(

if possible there might be some space near the PSU where you could zip tie those drives in it.

[TheCroShow]

This is my mobo, think I saw like 6-8 slots in there? 

[TheCroShow]

I snapped a few photos of what I’m working with

[agame7]

10 minutes ago, TheCroShow said:

I snapped a few photos of what I’m working with

 

It is possible to sneak a drive underneath your drives and to the left-hand side of them, but if you have a backplate on it, it should be secure enough. if you cannot fit it under the drives 2 should fit next to each other on the left-hand side

At least from what I see.

Edited December 4, 2024 by agame7
reclarification

[TheCroShow]

I showed a friend my situation and they're getting a 3D printer later this month, said I should setup my server with 3 HDDS (double sided tape/command strip for my 3rd HDD) then they'll print some brackets for my case so I can secure my other 2 HDDs. Hopefully setting up today! yay!

[Syko]

Hdd caddy or as above, 3d print one if you know someone,  have a look on etsy  iv seen a few on the UK site ( not sure where your from ) 

 

That's what I had to do in my make shift nas box 

A 2 bay caddy could be mounted under the gpu towards the front of the case 🤔 

And use the two underneath for the other 2 drivers.

Edited December 4, 2024 by syko

[ysuissa]

as mentioned, a steel or 3d printed caddy is the only real viable solution ("letting it hang loose" in your case would cause the drive to die pretty fast since its a spinning disk).

if you're getting it 3d printed, i suggest first seeing how you can mount it in your case. you can also search thangs.com to see if someone already made a HDD caddy for your case

[jdserv]

On 12/4/2024 at 7:36 AM, agame7 said:

How many SATA ports are on your Mobo?

That is a great place to start. I have a Dell Precision Tower 5810. It was a dumpster dive but has many cores and threads so it works great as a free server. This tower only has two places for 3.5 drives. The motherboard has 6 SATA ports. So I wedged in 6 drives carefully and tied them in place as best as I could. No, It is not the most ideal thing but it works for me, just strap them down as well as possible. The tower doesn't get disturbed much, so I'm okay with it. Works great and my saved older drives are put to good use.