How to install internal card reader in Solo case?

[jandrade]

Hi,

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I'm putting together my first new build and I can't figure this one out. I've bought a Linkskey internal card reader (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820300901) and I'm having a hard time physically installing it in my new Antec Solo case. The problem is that the card reader is about 4 inches deep so when I install it on the 5.25" to 3.5" drive adapter that comes with the Antec Solo case the drive is basically too far inside (about 0.5") so that the front of the drive is not flush with the front of the case. I've tried moving the drive rails and installing the drive to bring it forward as much as possible, but this is as far as I can go. Is there some kind of adapter or something to make the drive deeper or somehow bring it forward so it's flush with the front of the case? Thanks!

 

[Lord Evermore]

I don't know what the adapter looks like, Newegg doesn't have any pictures of it with the Solo case (and they don't list that card reader less than a day later). If it's just like a normal set of 3.5 to 5.25 mounts, you can flip them over and move them around enough usually to put a drive in any position you want really, although getting them to fit with drive rails might be a problem. More than likely you could also mount the card reader using only two screws, rather than trying to mount it with 4 screws, so that you could move it to mount only in the front part of the adapter. With it sitting inside the bay supported by the bay covers it'll probably be stable enough.

 

[jandrade]

I've fixed the link above (for some reason it included the last parenthesis in the link so it would not work). I've already mounted the reader using only two screws so it's as far forward as it can be. I can try to post pictures later today if it helps.

 

[Lord Evermore]

I see that one person in the reviews did mention problems fitting it into some cases. I've usually found that it's possible to arrange adapters so that they can be slid back enough on a drive to make it stick out, even to make a hard drive protrude from the bay opening. Pictures of the adapters you got might help. If you can't get this drive which is supposed to be sized like a floppy to fit with the adapters, then it would make those adapters useless for anything that's supposed to be floppy sized.

 

[corkyg]

If you have a front bezel, you can try a generic 5.25-3.5 set of box rails. As the Lord says - they can be made to project a protrusion of a drive such as LS-120, etc, in a 5.25" bay.

Is this the case? Solo

Anyway, I have many adapters - all different types - this is a sample, and it was used to adapt a LS-120 drive to a 5.25 bay, It is very adjustable. There are also box rails with separate front bezels. If you have a used computer store in your town, you can probably find stuff like this.

Adapter

 

[jandrade]

Here are a couple of pictures of the card reader mounted on the 5.25 to 3.5 adapter that comes with the Solo case.

With the rail on: http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/9493/img2408gn4.jpg
With the rail off, so you can see that it's only mounted with 1 pair of screws towards the back of the reader: http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/8371/img2409lj3.jpg

You can see that I cannot bring the reader forward any more, or move the rail backwards either. My only option right now would be to drill new holes on the adapter to move the rail back. Is this something that sometimes has to be done to install these 3.5 inch drives? I'd rather not drill new holes if there are other better options out there. Thanks!

 

[eplebnista]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Adapter

I just used one of those last week for a zip drive! :thumbsup:

 

[JohnAn2112]

Originally posted by: eplebnista

Originally posted by: corkyg

Adapter

I just used one of those last week for a zip drive! :thumbsup:

Zip drive? :Q

 

[eplebnista]

Originally posted by: JohnAn2112

Originally posted by: eplebnista

Originally posted by: corkyg

Adapter

I just used one of those last week for a zip drive! :thumbsup:

Zip drive? :Q

Yes, a relative of mine was still using a ZIP100 to backup some files until a month ago, when I installed a DVD burner, and convinced them to start using DVD-RAM. I did an upgrade for them and installed a new mobo, cpu, and a card reader, and moved the zip drive to right below the DVD burner. They wouldn't let me remove the zip altogether because they haven't gotten around to saving all of the info they have on zip disks to DVD-R yet.

 

[jandrade]

Originally posted by: eplebnista

Originally posted by: JohnAn2112

Originally posted by: eplebnista

Originally posted by: corkyg

Adapter

I just used one of those last week for a zip drive! :thumbsup:

Zip drive? :Q

Yes, a relative of mine was still using a ZIP100 to backup some files until a month ago, when I installed a DVD burner, and convinced them to start using DVD-RAM. I did an upgrade for them and installed a new mobo, cpu, and a card reader, and moved the zip drive to right below the DVD burner. They wouldn't let me remove the zip altogether because they haven't gotten around to saving all of the info they have on zip disks to DVD-R yet.

To me that looks like a 5.25 to 3.5 inch adapter, right? That's basically what I'm using as you can see in the pictures, except that the adapter already comes with the case. The problem is that the holes used for mounting the drive and the rails are in such a way that the drive ends up to far inside the case. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Yeah that adapter appears to be made solely for mounting floppy drives, which actually have two sets of holes an inch or so apart along with the ones farther toward the front, so those two holes on the adapter would fit perfectly.

Could you not drill a new hole in the internal part of the adapter, where the screw into the reader goes, rather than trying to adjust the position of the rails? In order to move the rails, you'd have to tap new threads into the holes you make.

At least you didn't get this one. There aren't any adjustments at ALL there.

The alternative would be something like this, which is just a standard bracket set. You might be able to use those to mount the floppy to the rails. I haven't got a spare set handy (after having 2 spares for the last several years then suddenly needing them BOTH) so I can't check the actual spacing.

 

[Lord Evermore]

I actually did find another set of rails here, hooray, and after looking at them and test mounting them, I think that in fact you will NOT be able to use a set of those. They run into the same problem that your Solo's mount box does: they need to have the two close-set rear screwholes on a floppy drive in order to be able to push a drive far enough forward to protrude from the case. They can't be place in such a way as to bridge between the farther screwholes on a floppy drive while still exposing out of the bay. (It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I'm guessing that the screwholes on the card reader are spaced the same as the front and middle holes on a floppy drive.)

Adapter rails are generally intended for mounting floppy drives specifically, or at least devices that have the same dimensions and screw holes as a floppy drive. They're just not long enough or have holes positioned in such a way to accomodate anything else.

I would suggest drilling new holes into the adapter on the inner part that touches the card reader, in order to allow you to put screws in there to hold the reader, while mounting the rails in the normal places.

 

[jandrade]

Yeah, I know what you mean about drilling the holes on the inner part, where you screw in the drive itself, but the problem is that I don't have the space or the angle to get the drill bit in there. Do you know what I mean? If you look at the second picture, it seems like the only way to reach the inner wall would be to put the drill bit through the long horizontal opening on the side of the adapter. The problem is that that horizontal opening does not go far enough to the front of the adapter to be able to drill a hole far enough forward as I need it to be. I hope that makes sense I guess I could start drilling holes through the outside and into the inner wall, but I guess I'd rather keep the drilling to a minimum, hehehe. I still think that moving the rails backwards would work though. You mentioned that I would have to tap new threads into those holes, but I'm not sure that would be necessary, as long as the hole is the right size, the rail will be pretty tight. What do you think?

 

[Lord Evermore]

The metal of the frame is probably thick enough that it's not a "single thread" width, so you would not be able to get a screw through it without tapping threads, unless it's also soft enough that a normal screw can just bite through it. When you're putting the rails on, you have to have some thread to put the screws into.

Keep in mind, if you move the rails back, that's not just going to push the card reader forward, it's going to push that entire mounting assembly forward, which may prevent you from putting the drive bay cover on.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Lord Evermore

Keep in mind, if you move the rails back, that's not just going to push the card reader forward, it's going to push that entire mounting assembly forward, which may prevent you from putting the drive bay cover on.

That shouldn't be a problem because you won't use the drive bay cover. You will use a front bezel that allows the slotted device to be exposed for use.

 

[Lord Evermore]

The bezel is still nothing but a drive bay cover with a hole in it, it still has to clip into the same place the cover did. If the metal of the mounting frame sticks out so far that it would interfere with a bay cover, it'll interfere with the bezel.

 

[corkyg]

Yeah . . . right!

 

[Zepper]

Here is an alternative bracket:
http://www.cables4computer.com/newproduct/Prod_Individual3.aspx?groupcode=I0639

Worse to worse, you could tack the card reader in place where it needs to be with some hot glue or foam moundting tape. It's not like it's a weighty piece of gear...

.bh.