Case Rails?

[PawsForThought]

I am installing an optical drive and my computer case uses those rails to hold
the drive in the bay. Unfortunately I do not know who makes this case and I
can't find any indication on the case itself. I went to the computer store to
buy the rails and they told me each brand of case uses specific rails. Does
anyone know if this is true or not?

Second question: On my primary IDE channel I have my HDD. On the second IDE
channel I have a CD writer as master and a DVD-Rom as slave. I want to add a
third optical drive, a DVD writer. What would be my best option as to setting
these 3 optical drives and the HDD on the IDE channels?

Thanks much.

 

[John McGaw]

I am installing an optical drive and my computer case uses those rails to hold
the drive in the bay. Unfortunately I do not know who makes this case and I
can't find any indication on the case itself. I went to the computer store to
buy the rails and they told me each brand of case uses specific rails. Does
anyone know if this is true or not? snip...
Thanks much.

I don't know that "every" brand of case uses specific rails but I can say
that of the four cases I've owned that used them each was different and
incompatible. When upgrading a system for a friend I need rails which he
didn't have any more. Being a woodworker I did the right thing and
fabricated some out of hard maple modeled on the existing ones and they
worked perfectly. Not suggesting that you do that if you aren't a
woodworker, just trying to make the point that there is usually nothing all
that special about the rails themselves and almost anything sufficiently
strong (plastic, wood, metal) can probably be turned into a replacement with
a bit of effort.
--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]

Return address will not work. Please
reply in group or through my website:
http://johnmcgaw.com

 

[PawsForThought]

From: "John McGaw" (e-mail address removed)

I don't know that "every" brand of case uses specific rails but I can say
that of the four cases I've owned that used them each was different and
incompatible. When upgrading a system for a friend I need rails which he
didn't have any more. Being a woodworker I did the right thing and
fabricated some out of hard maple modeled on the existing ones and they
worked perfectly. Not suggesting that you do that if you aren't a
woodworker, just trying to make the point that there is usually nothing all
that special about the rails themselves and almost anything sufficiently
strong (plastic, wood, metal) can probably be turned into a replacement with
a bit of effort.

Thanks for your reply, John. I definitely am no woodworker, but at least I
know I need specific rails. Maybe in the meantime, I'll just pull the DVD
reader out and just put the DVD writer in instead. You would think the case
would have a brand name on it somewhere. Maybe inside? I'll have to check it
out again.

 

[kony]

Thanks for your reply, John. I definitely am no woodworker, but at least I
know I need specific rails. Maybe in the meantime, I'll just pull the DVD
reader out and just put the DVD writer in instead. You would think the case
would have a brand name on it somewhere. Maybe inside? I'll have to check it
out again.

If you can take a picture or scan the rails, or find a good picture
online, we might be able to ID them or find a compatible make or
source for purchase. (picture posted to a server & linked, not a
newsgroup attachment).

 

[Cerridwen]

Thanks for your reply, John. I definitely am no woodworker, but at
least I know I need specific rails. Maybe in the meantime, I'll just
pull the DVD reader out and just put the DVD writer in instead. You
would think the case would have a brand name on it somewhere. Maybe
inside? I'll have to check it out again.

Here's a thought - did the case come with its own PSU? Most of the major
brands (Coolermaster, Antec, Chieftec, Enermax) make their own PSUs and
there will be a label on the side with the maker's name.

Just a thought....

 

[DaveW]

Pairing an optical drive on the same shared IDE channel with the harddrive
is going to REALLY slowww the harddrive's data transfer rate down. I would
lose the DVD-ROM drive.

 

[kony]

Pairing an optical drive on the same shared IDE channel with the harddrive
is going to REALLY slowww the harddrive's data transfer rate down. I would
lose the DVD-ROM drive.

LOL... where's ~misfit~?...

 

[MrB]

I'm sure you probably already looked, but the rails in my case are stamped
with the name of the case (Chieftec). It is not than obvious, so worth a
look.

 

[PawsForThought]

rom: "DaveW" (e-mail address removed)

Pairing an optical drive on the same shared IDE channel with the harddrive
is going to REALLY slowww the harddrive's data transfer rate down. I would
lose the DVD-ROM drive.

I sure don't want to slow down my harddrive. Thanks for the tip!

 

[PawsForThought]

rom: kony (e-mail address removed)

If you can take a picture or scan the rails, or find a good picture
online, we might be able to ID them or find a compatible make or
source for purchase. (picture posted to a server & linked, not a
newsgroup attachment).

Hey that's a really good idea. I'm going to try to scan it first, then if that
doesn't come out good, I'll try to get a good pic. Thanks!

 

[PawsForThought]

From: "Cerridwen" (e-mail address removed)

Here's a thought - did the case come with its own PSU? Most of the major
brands (Coolermaster, Antec, Chieftec, Enermax) make their own PSUs and
there will be a label on the side with the maker's name.

Here's a thought - did the case come with its own PSU? Most of the major
brands (Coolermaster, Antec, Chieftec, Enermax) make their own PSUs and
there will be a label on the side with the maker's name.

I recently got a new PSU, but funny thing is I kept the old one. It says AGI
on it. Does that mean anything?

 

[PawsForThought]

I just found the receipt from my computer and it says the case is an Enwin
midtower. Anyone ever heard of this brand?

 

[kony]

I just found the receipt from my computer and it says the case is an Enwin
midtower. Anyone ever heard of this brand?

It's either a generic knock-off of an INWIN case, or they just misspelled
Inwin.

Here is the first pic I found of _one_ type of Inwin rails:
http://rolis.ru/catalog/case/inwin/101054.html

 

[kony]

I sure don't want to slow down my harddrive. Thanks for the tip!

Unfortuately, (or rather, fortunately) it's not true.

 

[~misfit~]

Unfortuately, (or rather, fortunately) it's not true.

Kony's right Paws, I'm yet to see him give innaccurate information (and
doubt it's gonna happen). Take everything you read here with a pinch of
salt. If you read long enough you'll soon see who the people are who
actually *know* what they are talking about.

The only time having a DVD-ROM and a HDD on the same channel would cause any
slow-down is when both are being accessed at the same time. Even that
wouldn't slow it down much, if any. Like if you were copying from the DVD to
the HDD, the HDD is that much faster than the DVD that it would be spending
most of it's time waiting for data anyway.

 

[* * Chas]

I just found the receipt from my computer and it says the case is an Enwin
midtower. Anyone ever heard of this brand?

There's a brand called InWin that makes pretty reasonable
cases. They started using rails with their S-500 cases. You
have to snap the front of the case off to get to the rails
to release them from the case.

Their webs site www.in-win.com seems to be down. You might
try calling one of the big online dealers to see if they can
get you InWin's info or supply you with the rails.

These cases used 2 sizes of rails - for the 3 1/2" bays and
the 5 1/4" bays. Also in some cases there were bays that
took standard screws.

 

[Trent©]

I am installing an optical drive and my computer case uses those rails to hold
the drive in the bay. Unfortunately I do not know who makes this case and I
can't find any indication on the case itself. I went to the computer store to
buy the rails and they told me each brand of case uses specific rails. Does
anyone know if this is true or not?

Be creative! A little bit of velcro and some plastic ties make for
perfect rails.

Second question: On my primary IDE channel I have my HDD. On the second IDE
channel I have a CD writer as master and a DVD-Rom as slave. I want to add a
third optical drive, a DVD writer. What would be my best option as to setting
these 3 optical drives and the HDD on the IDE channels?

Put the writer in place of the DVD-Rom. If you really must have all
of them, put the DVD-Rom as a slave on the primary.


Have a nice week...

Trent

Follow Joan Rivers' example --- get pre-embalmed!

 

[~misfit~]

Be creative! A little bit of velcro and some plastic ties make for
perfect rails.


Put the writer in place of the DVD-Rom. If you really must have all
of them, put the DVD-Rom as a slave on the primary.

I agree with Trent.

 

[PawsForThought]

From: kony (e-mail address removed)

It's either a generic knock-off of an INWIN case, or they just misspelled
Inwin.

Here is the first pic I found of _one_ type of Inwin rails:
http://rolis.ru/catalog/case/inwin/101054.html

Thanks for looking this up. Unfortunately, mine don't look like these. The
maybe good news is that a client of ours at work says he has a drawer full of
case rails and he's going to bring some by to hopefully match mine up close
enough to work.

 

[PawsForThought]

From: "* * Chas" (e-mail address removed)

There's a brand called InWin that makes pretty reasonable
cases. They started using rails with their S-500 cases. You
have to snap the front of the case off to get to the rails
to release them from the case.

That's how mine is I think.

Their webs site www.in-win.com seems to be down. You might
try calling one of the big online dealers to see if they can
get you InWin's info or supply you with the rails.

Thanks so much. Their site is back up and I was able to get their phone
number.

These cases used 2 sizes of rails - for the 3 1/2" bays and
the 5 1/4" bays. Also in some cases there were bays that
took standard screws.

I know the top 2 bays take the rails for sure. Not sure about the third bay
though. I did find a set of rails but unfortunately they're for the 3 1/2 inch
bay.