Modding project: monolith. window and lights added. pics. 1/29

the other day i was here at work browsing the bit-tech mod articles trying to think of a first mod to do to my case. i read through a guide on cd stealthing and sighed, as everyone and their mother (and their dog) stealths their optical drives the same way. i was trying to come up with something new. rather than come up with something entirely new and revolutionary, i figured it would be best to elaborate an existing idea. i had read practically every single page on zap's website and was motivated by his outside the box thinking. then it struck me. my computer sits on the floor. loading a disk from the front requires leaning back, and i'm pretty lazy. why not top load my floppy disks/cds? why stop there? top mounted usb ports would be cool, too.

having the cd tray pop out of the top of the pc could get in the way and i don't wanna go and buy a slot load drive just yet. my plan for now includes some minor modding to the inside of my case and very little to the outside. i'll try to explain this as best i can.

my case has four 5-1/4 slots. my aim is to remove 3 of those and create a small chamber in their space. by vertically mounting the cd-rom to the front inside of the case, i can relocate the eject button to the front and have the cd-tray slide open into the area created by removing the 5-1/4 plates. i want to stealth the face of the cd-rom with a mirror and create 4 more walls in the area it opens into. imagine a space as tall as three of the 5-1/4 drives, 5-1/4 wide, and as deep as the faceplate of the cd-rom. all this done in mirrors. when the tray opened you would load the cd vertically so you could see the label. with a graphic on the back mirror and some LEDs hooked up to the busy light on the drive, i think a pretty impressive result could be achieved.

the cd-rom would end up covering where the floppy drive is. i plan on reattaching the 3-1/2 drive cage to the top of my case facing up. cutting a hole for the button and a slot for the disk, i'd also have a top mounted floppy drive. i intend to start work this evening.

if a mod could move this into the project log area after i start showing some progress, i would appreciate it. this thread won't qualify as a project log until then. sometimes my plans don't work out.

 

i'm pretty sure i understand your idea, and it sounds awesome

get to work right away!

 

i was thinking and i'd prefer not to make cuts into my case just yet. i can work just fine without a floppy (i don't think i've ever used it) and i can probably just get a usb floppy drive. that won't be too hard to integrate internally. i'll start butchering as soon as i get home. that should be in 4 hours.

 

I've thought of that idea a few times, but I'm too lazy to try it out . The problem with my trayloading drive is that the disc doesn't clip in or anything, it just lays right in there. If I mounted it vertically, the disc would fall out. But even if I did have a drive that let the discs clip in so they don't fall out, it would be kinda annoying to have to push it to lock rather than just popping it in and out real quick

Also, for some reason, I think that mounting a tray drive vertically messes something up, the laser or something maybe? I'm not sure though. Zap should be able to answer your questions seeing as he has done a lot of drive modding.

 

i'm not too worried. it won't require any cutting with the way my case is built and i'll be using double sided tape to secure the drive in place. my drive has tabs to hold the disc in place, but if it didn't, it'd be easy to add them.

worst case, things don't work and i put my drive cages back in and i have some extra mirrors. those'll go to use somewhere else anyway.

 

Sounds good.

There are guides in the guides forum for relocating the LEDs and buttons on a DVD.

Slot DVD's are pretty cheap from newegg.com ($40 for a Pioneer 120S)

But your idea sounds cool also.

 

no idea what you mean, but it sounds cool

may i suggest some plans, if only done in paint?

 

I'd be very interested to see what this looks like.

I take it your CD tray has retention brackets that will hold the CD to the tray at that angle?

You might be able to get a nice effect if you backlit the CD with a LED (as per Zapwizard's site) - or somehow mirrored the CD tray itself.

Hope it works.

 

lots of mirrors and LEDs, oh yes. i'm gonna have some pics later this evening of what i'm doing, so there won't be much in the way of plans. if i draw something i'll do it in SolidWorks. my cd-rom does have retention brackets, but i'm using it as a test piece since my computer is a bit of a frankenstein (most of the parts were donated. 1800+, 512mb corsair, geforce 4 mx440, 2.38gb hdd, 10gb hdd, 30gb hdd, 8x cd-rom. i know, i'm getting better drives). i may get some of the aluminum sheeting stuff used in the plastic into metal guide for the tray itself, but that'll come later on a better drive. i'm renaming my computer monolith and i'm gonna get a logo to frost onto the rear mirror to light up. i may decide to use acrylic walls and then put them mirrors behind them for a nice effect with the LEDs. it's all in planning right now though. more updates/ideas as i get 'em.

 

Someone donated you 512MB of corsair? I need friends like yours.



(I'm thinking you probably meant 'donated' from other systems of yours, but I'm gonna leave my comment anyway)

 

no, the memory i purchased for $65 last summer. i spent $5 on the 10gb drive. i bought the keyboard ($20), mouse ($20 because i got it at walmart), case ($35, no psu), modem ($25 emergency purchase), and monitor ($230 19" flat CRT). everything else (software included) was free. graduation presents (albatron kx400+ pro, athlon 1800+xp), donations (2.38gb hdd, cd-rom, NIC), the side of the road (300w PSU and my first case , which was nothing but a skeleton), trading for newer parts at a place (which shall remain nameless ) where performance doesn't matter much (geforce 4 mx440 64mb), and a shipping error (30gb hdd) are how i got my free parts.

 

update!

before i say anything, i feel i owe a huge thank you to Hamlesh for his image hosting. it's fast, it's free, it's an easy interface. all the thanks i have goes out to you. now, on with the project.

ok, this is turning into a progress log now. project: monolith is underway. first of all, here's my computer, ripe for the modding. techtv and "you are parked illegally" stickers make this thing go twice as fast, i swear.


inside the case. lots of metal on the front getting in the way, no? time for some removal.


here's the floppy and one of the hard drives from the far side of the case. those will have to come out so i can fit the cd-rom. notice there are some rivets that will need to be drilled out.


my big hard drive. it says 60gb, but it's only 30gb. phooey.


here's the front of the case with the floppy cage removed. there was also an 80mm fan clipped into place, but there won't be room for it here unless i do a bit more modding, but there's not much space for intake. maybe at a later time.


the next step was to remove the bottom 5-1/4 drive slot. only one and they felt they had to hold it in with rivets. more rivets. stupid rivets. drill drill, brush brush, pull pull.


only one more rivet holding that bottom slot in place. time to use the drill again and off it comes.


now it's time to put the panel back on. i originally put the screws in the wrong place, but that was fixed easy enough. i should pay more attention when i take stuff apart. wide open beauty, now.


i had planned to put the drive cover on the top slot instead of the bottom, but things would've fit weird and i would've needed to move a hard drive cage forward, which would've involved drilling more holes than i wanted to. i was going for as little destruction as possible. the drive is held in place with double sided tape.


here i ran into a cabling problem. the cd-rom and 30gb hdd are on the same cable. but where am i gonna put the 30gb drive? if i put it in the bottom (empty) slot in the hard drive cage, the cables won't reach properly.


but wait... remember those hard drive rails? <cue superman music> vertical hard drive!


here's everything in its final resting place. yes, my cables are a mess, but that's another project for another day. let's just see how this thing works out.


here's a happy cd-rom vertically loading a cd. success! needs some tweaking and i'll probably cut out some of the front so i can pull the drive further forward. it sits a little far back to be convenient yet. but in time. oh yes, we will make beautiful moddage...


~fin~

a word of caution to anyone who tries this. it's not enough that your drive has retention brackets on it. you'll need to make sure you actually pull them out to hold the cd before you use it. how do i know this? well, 20 minutes (worst cd-rom assembly EVER) and one scratched-to-feces driver cd later, i could actually use the drive. the other issue i have with this is that with this being an old 8x cd-rom constructed hastily, the weight of the drive tray is enough to make it collapse back in on itself. i have to hold it in place to change cds after ejecting it. newer/better drives don't have this problem. it will be replaced in the near future.

if a mod could move this to the project log forum and rename it "project: monolith" it would be greatly appreciated by the author.

 

Good job

 

thank you. last night i ordered a window kit, round IDE cables (i could do them myself, but i'd have to get electrical tape and such... they were on sale at svc.com for $2.10, too), and dual red cathodes. not blue, RED! too much blue imo. i also got a mudflap girl applique which i may or may not use on my window (could look good on the far side of the case. only experimentation will tell).

tonight i'm going out and getting some tools. a padsaw, some sandpaper, a soldering iron, spray paint, and some files. there aren't enough tools at my house and my dad throws a fit whenever i use them, but i'm financially capable of getting my own. i'm borrowing a metal nibbler from a friend for my window, but i'm gonna play around in the area inside where i need to cut the window for the best results.

since i'm gonna be cutting inside my case but i still want a working computer, i have only one solution... remember the case i mentioned earlier in this post that i found on the side of the road with no panels or bezel? you better believe i'm using it.

 

Very cool idea.

 

Lookin' good. Although I agree that the tray needs to come forward quite a bit. Unless you mout the CDROM such that the tray opens out of the top of the case, you're probably in for more destruction.

Nice work.

 

thanks for all the support. i had originally planned for the cd to eject through the top of the case, but it would be in the way if i wanted to put anything on top (camera, drink, shoes, etc). i'm considering putting blowholes in the top from all the fans i have to move around. i have a blower that sits over my cards that looks fugly. i'll be moving it once i get my window. this will leave me with 3 spare 80mm fans. i'm planning on putting one or two on the top and one in front. if i only put one on top instead of two, i'm gonna try to avoid drilling a blowhole in my window as i have neither the tools nor the skills. maybe i could mod the back of the case a bit, but it's not meant to take anything bigger than a 60mm on the back panel. but i bet that's never stopped any of you before, eh?

my power button is the same size as the hub on an 80mm. if i front mount, i can mount my power button to the center of the grill. i can replace the single power LED with multiple LEDs and light up the fan with the power button.

 

tools of the trade

i bought some tools tonight. everything cost me about $30. this is convenient because i got home to find a $30 rebate check from a stack of 100 blank cds i bought a while back. the blue tube is a piece of conduit i got for about $2. it's 10' long (3m for the rest of the world) and will be vinyl dyed and placed over my power cables inside my case. it's not too flexible in short spaces, so i'll either have to be careful how i use it or file down the inside of short lengths. no time for modding tonight as i just got home and it's now 1:40 am and i have to be up for work in a few hours. tomorrow i'll be moving my system into an old case and i'll start the chopping on it.

 

That is definitely and idea I will have to steal. Keep us posted.

 

in tonight's episode of Project: Monolith we'll see a complete body transplant, a new face, and the new spring colors!

tonight's episode of Project: Monolith was brought to you by instant rice, with idea proceeds from Naked Dave. sit back and enjoy the naked.


i still need my computer working, so it's getting put in this baby. i found it on the side of the road in a puddle. that's the entire thing, too. no panels, just skeleton. i've also scribbled a problem from my math homework on the front.


after completely dismantling the monolith case, i was able to move everything over to *ghetto fabulous*


now that the internals are stored safely (assuming nothing gets near any of the massive openings), i can start the operation. i used my cd-rom as a guide to find where i would need to cut the front panel down to. this may need to be adjusted when i get the final optical drive, as not all are the same length. i'll be cutting down to the blue line.


i cut down one side of the panel with my keyhole saw. next would be the bottom cut, as i was planning to fold over the last side for an easier guide. necessary because the cut would end up being flush with the motherboard tray. i couldn't get a good angle with the keyhole saw with me being right handed, so i flipped the blade around, as seen in the picture.


here's where we learn that preparation is important. i was looking for some clamps to make the cut easier. it took me about 20 minutes to make one of the three cuts in the panel, and it was hell on my eardrums. my hand was almost blistered and i was pretty tired. and why is it important to look for resources first? so we avoid doing things the hard way


the last cut was kinda rough because the blade was pressed sideways against the motherboard tray. i was using the keyhole saw because i didn't want the jigsaw blade to get caught in a hole in the motherboard tray that was right next to where i was cutting. i decided i'd just cut over a little farther and file down. but hand filing sucks. "use the dremel!" you might suggest. if there's anything you'll all learn from me is there's the hard way, the smart way, the stupid way, and the instant rice way, which is actually a combination of all three. hard because i use ghetto methods, smart because i worked around the problem, and stupid when you realize how easy it would be for me to hurt myself or my workpiece. exhibit A:

i don't need no stinkin dremel.

i wanted to make the paint stick without primer. i wanted to see if there was a protective layer over my case to keep it from collecting dirt/rust/scratches. indeed there was, which i discovered with my wire wheel. for those of you who don't own one, i highly recommend purchasing one. although not great for large areas, they work wonders eating away at the protective layer over the bare aluminum. this gives you a good point to start working the steel wool from. i left the layer on the bottom of the case as i'd prefer not to paint it. if i scratched a table edge, i'd leave a paint mark. also, if anything started rusting/corroding through for whatever reason, i wouldn't notice until it was too late. here's a pic of what the wire wheel can do for your finish. compare this to one of the earlier pictures.


now that the protective layer has been stripped and there are aluminum shavings all over the place, it's time to clean them out. i've heard recommendations for rubbing alcohol, a soapy rag, a vacuum, and other such nonsense. it's bath time for my (soon to be) beautiful case. on the way out of the basement, i passed my parents. after a good 2 hours of grinding, cutting, and other strange noises, they're starting to get a bit worried. especially when they see me walk by with no pants on carrying a computer case. imagine the looks i got when they saw this:
lather
rinse


talking to a computer is normal. talking sexy to a computer is a little weird. naming the computer means you're starting to show some mental deficiency. but BATHING with the computer... that's just... i am such a loser. i decided not to prime the case because i was running low on primer. i also don't need a great paint job on the inside, though i would like it to look sorta. i think stripping the protective covering helped, as will having a clean surface. if there are any problems i can redo the paint later. i'm not too worried about drips as most of the inside won't be seen because of the mobo, drives, etc. any drips i can sand off and patch up. once again, the inside doesn't need to be great quality.

the first coat is still wet, and i'll probably add a touch up, then some clear coat to prevent chipping. someone here had mentioned that with spraypaint, you get what you pay for. tonight proved that for me. i used some $2 paint on my monitor that was the reddest i could find. it looks pretty good. then you compare it to the rustoleum i used on my chassis. it's the color of blood, i love it. it also applied easier and smoother than the kind i used on my monitor. i leave you with these pics to demonstrate.