Ive always enjoyed the good old windows + L, login screens and bios passwords... whats the need in a harddrive switch when the job is already done for you? I dont get it
connect a switch in series to the power switch... it can be SPST then and you just need to turn the key or press it before (or while) you press the power on button and if it gets turned off while in use, the front panel power switch just won't do anything....
but then it wouldn't be a hd switch anymore, now would it and Etacovda, just like what's been mentioned before, a hardware method is much more secure than a software method (there's tons of ways to get around window's logins). and also, one hd will be windows, the other linux, so i need some way (other than bootloader) to decide which one will boot up
The ultimate way: http://www.wyntec.com.au/rh-10.htm No hard drive in tray, no boot But you said you have no room for a removable tray. So this leaves you with placing a switch to open or close the voltage lines with a key. What are you waiting for? get to work
well, i'm actually about to try out a few things - i've been waiting until i got my new pc built (the shuttle this would go in) and i just put it all together (having a few problems though) so i'm gonna start soon!
I think you need to consider what you're doing more seriously. IDE hard drives are not designed to be hot-swapped, unplugged, or powered down whilst your computer is running, and even if the drive survives this (it's a matter of chance what it happens to be doing when you switch it off) you'll have to restart the computer to use it again. You'll have problems with power spikes when you turn the drive off (when I did a similar thing with just a rheobus flicking the switch sometimes blew the fuse in my PSU and I had to unplug it from the mains for 5 minutes until I could power on again), and the drive won't park its read head when it gets shut down because you haven't done it properly. That could cause severe damage to the drive if, for example, you move the computer (seems reasonably likely at a LAN) before the drive has parked properly. Basically, it's a bad idea that will cause you a lot more bother - and data loss - than simply locking Windows, being responsible with your computer, and trusting people. In my opinion you should either reorganise until you can use a removable HDD rack or just forget about the whole thing, it's just not worth it.
kameleon, multiple times i've said i'm not going to cut power while the pc is on - i'm not that retarded. think of it this way - it's more like a "ghetto" hd rack - instead of actually pulling one hd out and putting another in, you just flip the switch instead. this issue of cutting power while the pc is running has been mentioned 2 or 3 other times, so...
Meh, I did read the thread, honest, just a little too fast But I was asked to comment by RR5 and he mentioned voltage spikes, so I blame him
Yeah blame me for wanting to help Da_BaCon. All right bacon, end of the line for you! Next time I see you, you're going to be on a hamburger! ::evil laugh:: Aside from that, I just wanted to provide as much information to bacon as possible.
Idea bomb. Totally lock the molex connectors in a lockbox installed near the psu. You might even be able to rip apart a broken psu because it has that nifty precut hole for all the wires to come out. sorry for the double post.
Nope, wont work, its too big for the wee lil` shuttle. What you could, and should do bacon, is take a normal hdd rack, and just relocate the switch to a new location. Then if you want to make the drive removable as well, do some custom railings for the drive. You should hvae enough room, unless you ahve a big vid. card, which may prove to be a slight issue.
If you want to use a relay I drew up a schematic in MSPaint that will work. I'm not sure if you mentioned something about two HDDs but the schem shows using two relays. Materials needed: 1 SPDT key switch 2 DPST Relays (coil rating as you like) If you aren't using 2 HDDs just delete one of the relays.. simple and it'll work and if you use two relays you can get a key switch that has 3 positions. on/off/on. Then you can shut off all HDDs or select the one you want..
no accidental turn off protection though.... perhaps buy a key switch that allows removal in any of the positions so you keep it out the case all the time the pc is on... hey, you could always hook up the mains to the back of the switch so if the pc is booted and you insert the key you get shocked
sub, thanks - that's what i've been thinking of doing, just haven't gotten around to making a schematic myself a shocking system, eh? maybe i should have a flip switch in the back to turn that kind of thing on/off and have it set to on, leave the key in, and wait for someone to try to touch it
hehe - i could get a semi-decent case, put things like "Radeon 9800 pro inside" etc to make it sound uber, all the while it's just empty, save for lots of electrical shocking-goodness
