All done.
Well, it’s done. I’ve mounted the hard drive and DVD. All that remains is to get a new switch, as the one I’m using now is a huge switch block from one of my old cases, and I have to use the reset switch. That should be really easy, but Radio Shack is closed right now. Maybe I can get some LEDs too, and put the through the case somewhere. Anyway, here are the final pictures:
First, proof that the box does indeed close, even while the computer is running.
And second, the final inside of the case. Note that much of the wire snarl in the upper left comes from the various wires attached to the switch block, and so will not be there when I’ve gotten a new button.
All in all, this mod was quite fun. Seeing as this was my first mod ever, I’m quite pleased with how it came out. I didn’t manage to screw up and destroy the box.
In addition, the mod was cheap. The box was under $20, and the only other thing I had to buy was an adaptor to connect the laptop DVD-ROM to a normal IDE chain, and that was much cheaper than buying a new CD/DVD-ROM for the project. Of course, a full size CD-ROM wouldn’t have fit, but…
This was definitely fun. For my next project, I’d like to mod a small form-factor (mini-atx) case into the case from my old stereo to make a media PC for the stereo stack. Unfortunately, this involves all new hardware, probably in the neighborhood of $300-400 worth, so it might be a while.
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