DELL OPTIPLEX GX620 Ultra Compact Hard Drive Caddy

G

Grumpy

I have a DELL OPTIPLEX GX620 Ultra Compact, and the SATA hard drive
and its caddy had been removed. I have tried to get another caddy,
and bought a metal one at
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310403778483&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

but alas I could not make it fit. I have googled the subject, but
have not found a caddy that seems would work.

Does anyone happen to have this model desktop? Do you know what
caddy- model # I should seek?

Thanks in advance.

Grumpy
 
P

Paul

I have a DELL OPTIPLEX GX620 Ultra Compact, and the SATA hard drive
and its caddy had been removed. I have tried to get another caddy,
and bought a metal one at
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310403778483&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

but alas I could not make it fit. I have googled the subject, but
have not found a caddy that seems would work.

Does anyone happen to have this model desktop? Do you know what
caddy- model # I should seek?

Thanks in advance.

Grumpy

Says here, it ships with either a CD/DVD drive in the hole, or
an "Airbay", which would be some kind of blank that prevents
cooling air from coming out the wrong hole.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/usffmod0.htm#wp1136008

My guess would be, if an adapter was for sale, it would have the
same outer dimensions as the optical drive. That's my guess,
just looking at the size of the hole in a picture on Ebay.

You could look in the bay, and see if a standard sized
15 pin SATA power + 7 pin SATA data connector is in there.
The SATA connector was designed for storage backplanes, where
you "slide" a drive into the connector hot (system powered).
That was the SATA committee's intent when they designed it.
In other word, the connector was designed for slide entry,
making it easier to "home brew" a solution.

You could even look into running an extension cable out
of the box, and resting a laptop drive on the desktop surface.
The SATA cabling shouldn't be too long though.

http://www.miniinthebox.com/15-7-pin-sata-male-to-female-m-f-data-power-cable-cord-50cm_p177683.html

So if you look in the hole, and that's the connector type, you
might be able to align a 2.5" laptop drive to fit the connector.
Then the remaining problem, is making a piece of sheet metal
strong enough to properly support it. At my hardware store,
I can get 22 ga steel for auto body work, that might be suitable
for making your own adapter. (It's hard to cut. Sometimes, I
saw it, for a clean edge. Other times, I can get enough strength
into my shears.) But this idea is only feasible, if the connector
situation is something you can solve. Using aluminum would
be nicer, but I can't get the right gauge of metal for that.

And if you can gain access to the bay area, from inside the USFF,
then all the better while securing the drive.

Some drive mountings like that, there is an intermediary
adapter, something with "blades", that fits between a drive
standard connector, and the connector inside the computer.
Based on the appearance of such schemes, it looks like they
wanted to allow some mechanical "float", in case something
gets flexed. If the drive connector was allowed to
connect directly, the drive connector would break if it was
bent. And so some kind of strain relief connector, fits
in between. If it's something like that, then you'll need
the "real mccoy" adapter, to get it all to work.

*******

Also, if you're not the original owner of this machine, and
you recently acquired it from Ebay, you should review the
failure statistics for your computer. Some Dells have had
up to 90% failure rate, due to leaking capacitors. And in
a quick check, I see "power supply" mentioned with respect
to that model. But perhaps just one particular batch of
power supplies, rather than all of them. Before buying
"attractively priced" Dells, there's a reason the price
is so low. In some cases, the failure situation is so bad,
you can't even trust "originally boxed replacement motherboards"
because they're all bad too. For the ones with a 90%
motherboard failure rate, only the "re-capped" ones would
be safe to own for any period of time. I would check
that out first, before becoming too attached to
the machine if it's a used one.

*******

If money is no object, you can purchase an SSD drive (as a
type of hard drive), and some people suspend those inside
a computer using nylon ties. They're shock resistant, and
lightweight enough that nylon ties will do the job. Then
run SATA cabling from the SSD to the motherboard, for
power and data. Entry level SSD drives, start at around $100
(they don't have enough capacity though, except as boot drives).
If you need a lot of bulk storage, SSDs are too expensive for
that sort of thing.

Just a guess,
Paul
 
G

Grumpy

Says here, it ships with either a CD/DVD drive in the hole, or
an "Airbay", which would be some kind of blank that prevents
cooling air from coming out the wrong hole.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/usffmod0.htm#wp1136008

My guess would be, if an adapter was for sale, it would have the
same outer dimensions as the optical drive. That's my guess,
just looking at the size of the hole in a picture on Ebay.

You could look in the bay, and see if a standard sized
15 pin SATA power + 7 pin SATA data connector is in there.
The SATA connector was designed for storage backplanes, where
you "slide" a drive into the connector hot (system powered).
That was the SATA committee's intent when they designed it.
In other word, the connector was designed for slide entry,
making it easier to "home brew" a solution.

You could even look into running an extension cable out
of the box, and resting a laptop drive on the desktop surface.
The SATA cabling shouldn't be too long though.

http://www.miniinthebox.com/15-7-pin-sata-male-to-female-m-f-data-power-cable-cord-50cm_p177683.html

So if you look in the hole, and that's the connector type, you
might be able to align a 2.5" laptop drive to fit the connector.
Then the remaining problem, is making a piece of sheet metal
strong enough to properly support it. At my hardware store,
I can get 22 ga steel for auto body work, that might be suitable
for making your own adapter. (It's hard to cut. Sometimes, I
saw it, for a clean edge. Other times, I can get enough strength
into my shears.) But this idea is only feasible, if the connector
situation is something you can solve. Using aluminum would
be nicer, but I can't get the right gauge of metal for that.

And if you can gain access to the bay area, from inside the USFF,
then all the better while securing the drive.

Some drive mountings like that, there is an intermediary
adapter, something with "blades", that fits between a drive
standard connector, and the connector inside the computer.
Based on the appearance of such schemes, it looks like they
wanted to allow some mechanical "float", in case something
gets flexed. If the drive connector was allowed to
connect directly, the drive connector would break if it was
bent. And so some kind of strain relief connector, fits
in between. If it's something like that, then you'll need
the "real mccoy" adapter, to get it all to work.

*******

Also, if you're not the original owner of this machine, and
you recently acquired it from Ebay, you should review the
failure statistics for your computer. Some Dells have had
up to 90% failure rate, due to leaking capacitors. And in
a quick check, I see "power supply" mentioned with respect
to that model. But perhaps just one particular batch of
power supplies, rather than all of them. Before buying
"attractively priced" Dells, there's a reason the price
is so low. In some cases, the failure situation is so bad,
you can't even trust "originally boxed replacement motherboards"
because they're all bad too. For the ones with a 90%
motherboard failure rate, only the "re-capped" ones would
be safe to own for any period of time. I would check
that out first, before becoming too attached to
the machine if it's a used one.

*******

If money is no object, you can purchase an SSD drive (as a
type of hard drive), and some people suspend those inside
a computer using nylon ties. They're shock resistant, and
lightweight enough that nylon ties will do the job. Then
run SATA cabling from the SSD to the motherboard, for
power and data. Entry level SSD drives, start at around $100
(they don't have enough capacity though, except as boot drives).
If you need a lot of bulk storage, SSDs are too expensive for
that sort of thing.

Just a guess,
Paul

Hi again Paul -

I don't know if these pics will post, but here are two shots of the
caddy I bought which I see no way to hook up to my Optiplex GX620
chassis.
 
G

Grumpy

Here are 4 shots of my Optiplex GX620 chassis.
As U can see the innards do seem different from referenced ones
I hope the pics post. Sometimes they don't.
Thanks
Grumpy
 
H

Harold

I have a DELL OPTIPLEX GX620 Ultra Compact, and the SATA hard drive
and its caddy had been removed. I have tried to get another caddy,
and bought a metal one at
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310403778483&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

but alas I could not make it fit. I have googled the subject, but
have not found a caddy that seems would work.

Does anyone happen to have this model desktop? Do you know what
caddy- model # I should seek?

Thanks in advance.

Grumpy
Does this look like what you need?

<http://www.redplanettrading.com/Del...-GX620-Hard-Drive-Caddy-Bracket-SATA-SFF.html>


Harold
 
P

Paul

Harold said:

In this example, the item plugged into the hole in the gx620 usff, looks
to be the same kind of optical drive as is used in a D/bay. And a
laptop optical drive, isn't very tall. The adapters I'm finding on
Ebay, are much taller, implying they're the adapter that
fits inside the box, for the main hard drive.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/usffmod4.jpg

( http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/usffmod0.htm#wp1136008 )

Paul
 
G

Grumpy



You know, it might. I have seen the plastic caddy on Ebay, but
mistakenly opted for the metal one, which I can't make fit. Here are
four shots of my Optiplex chassis:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/tv5pd
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/om3wx
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/niufz
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/mb24u

I don't see how the plastic ones would attach either. I find it
bothersome that I cannot find any guidance from Dell on this.
Thanks
Grumpy
 
G

Grumpy

In this example, the item plugged into the hole in the gx620 usff, looks
to be the same kind of optical drive as is used in a D/bay. And a
laptop optical drive, isn't very tall. The adapters I'm finding on
Ebay, are much taller, implying they're the adapter that
fits inside the box, for the main hard drive.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/usffmod4.jpg

( http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/usffmod0.htm#wp1136008 )

Paul


My Optiplex has a thin optical drive in it, and it works, and it fits
nicely pretty-much like the documentations. The hard drive seems a
different thing, but I just assumed it was a full-sized drive, not
laptop size. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the caddy was for
full-sized SATA drive. I know the Optiplex came with SATA cabling,
just no caddy/drive.

Thanks again

Grumpy
 
P

Paul

You know, it might. I have seen the plastic caddy on Ebay, but
mistakenly opted for the metal one, which I can't make fit. Here are
four shots of my Optiplex chassis:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/tv5pd
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/om3wx
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/niufz
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/mb24u

I don't see how the plastic ones would attach either. I find it
bothersome that I cannot find any guidance from Dell on this.
Thanks
Grumpy

OK.

In your original post, you said you had an USFF.

It's actually an SFF, the next size up.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/sffdrvs0.htm#wp1136008

The Flex Bay, is the fat rectangle on the front.
It's underneath the optical drive.

The hard drive is in the back in the pictures there.

This looks like the tray that holds the drive in the back. Correlate the
powder blue colored bits, with the other picture below.

http://www.txcesssurplus.com/servlet/the-4532/Dell-Optiplex-GX520-GX620/Detail

And this picture, shows a GX620 SFF from Japan. It has a
memory card reader in the Flex bay, an optical drive in the front,
and you can see the powder blue plastic of the drive tray
fittings in the back. I had to do a screen capture to get the image.

You have to cable up the drive, before fitting it into place, stuffing
the cables out of the way. So there are also cables required to
finish the job. If some scum bag stole the cables, that'll be
another thing to look for. The SATA data cable is likely
relatively conventional (SATA cables come in "straight", "right angle",
and "Left angle", but at least the combinations are limited).
But knowing Dell, the power cable may be "different" on the motherboard end.
So let's hope the cables are still there.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4152/gx620sffjapan.png

Paul
 
G

Grumpy

OK.

In your original post, you said you had an USFF.

It's actually an SFF, the next size up.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/sffdrvs0.htm#wp1136008

The Flex Bay, is the fat rectangle on the front.
It's underneath the optical drive.

The hard drive is in the back in the pictures there.

This looks like the tray that holds the drive in the back. Correlate the
powder blue colored bits, with the other picture below.

http://www.txcesssurplus.com/servlet/the-4532/Dell-Optiplex-GX520-GX620/Detail

And this picture, shows a GX620 SFF from Japan. It has a
memory card reader in the Flex bay, an optical drive in the front,
and you can see the powder blue plastic of the drive tray
fittings in the back. I had to do a screen capture to get the image.

You have to cable up the drive, before fitting it into place, stuffing
the cables out of the way. So there are also cables required to
finish the job. If some scum bag stole the cables, that'll be
another thing to look for. The SATA data cable is likely
relatively conventional (SATA cables come in "straight", "right angle",
and "Left angle", but at least the combinations are limited).
But knowing Dell, the power cable may be "different" on the motherboard end.
So let's hope the cables are still there.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4152/gx620sffjapan.png

Paul


Hi Paul

Thanks for your response (again).

Sorry for delayed reply - I have had company for past few days, and
have not had computer on.

You are dead right - My machine is the GX620 SFF, not the smaller
USFF. I was mis-lead in my hasty research. I don't know why I did
not come up with your URLs, but I didn't. It is now clear what I have
and what I need to do - I think. Your last png image is a good image
of what mine would have looked like before the hard drive and its
caddy were removed. I can see how the caddy will mount in the case I
think. The SATA power and data cables are still present, which is
good. I do have experience with those though, so I could have dealt
with that. I wasn't aware of the 'flex bay'. Maybe I can put that to
use.

I am going to buy the caddy you cited, and when I get it, and try it
in a week or two, I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks

Grumpy
 
G

Grumpy

This looks like the tray that holds the drive in the back. Correlate the
powder blue colored bits, with the other picture below.

http://www.txcesssurplus.com/servlet/the-4532/Dell-Optiplex-GX520-GX620/Detail


Hi Paul.

The drive caddy (tray) arrived today. It fits the Optiplex SFF like a
glove except that it arrived broken. One of the blue tabs that work
together with the 'tits' to hold the drive in place is missing, and in
fact is broken off. That leaves only 3 'tits' to hold the drive. I
maybe can make it work okay if I have to. I'll see what the vendor
has to say Monday.

If only I could be lucky - once in a while.

Thanks again

Grumpy
 
G

Grumpy

If that's the condition of the guy's hard drive tray, imagine
what shape the rest of the machine must be in :)

Paul

True True

I probably will end up making this tray do. That 'S okay.




B is where the broken tit and blue tab should be. Like A.

Cya
Grumpy
 
G

Grumpy

If that's the condition of the guy's hard drive tray, imagine
what shape the rest of the machine must be in :)

Paul


The vendor emailed me this AM and apologized for broken part and said
he would send another.

:<)

Grumpy
 

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