3.5 (or 2.5) hard drive adapter for Macintosh II

[pfeinauer]

Hey all,

I have a Macintosh II that has a hard drive that Uniserver set me up with (thanks man!). The problem I'm having is I can't wrap my brain around how to mount the drive into the Mac II. The computer originally had a 5.25 full height drive that went bad. Does anyone know of an adapter from 5.25 to 3.5, or even 5.25 to 2.5?

Pics for reference:





Would something like this work or is there a direct solution to this without jerry-rigging it together?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811993004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817990022

I'm open to other solutions, but wanted to see if I could find some brackets first before I head directly to Goop. I was hoping solution that would let me remove the hard drive easily if I wanted. What do you guys think?

-Pat

 

[Gorgonops]

Those brackets you linked to (the first set) are the standard solution for putting a 3.5" HD into a 5.25" bay that doesn't have a front bezel opening. They should do the job fine, and if you really want to go all the way down to 2.5 inch you could stack the two sets, if you don't mind it looking a bit goofy.

It bothers me slightly to think the first time I used a set of brackets basically identical to those was probably over 20 years ago.

 

[uniserver]

maybe you could do something like use screws to mount the drive to rails like what i have here,

then goop the rails to the old hd bracket.

then its removable. I always try to goop the drive to something so the drive is removable.

A little does it, if you use a little goop and wipe off the excess you would never know goop is holding it to the old hd bracket.

i have a couple extra aluminum rails if you need them.



and the drive is getting the extra cooling it needs.

 

[Gorgonops]

Goop is really unnecessary with those brackets. The hole spacing on the bottom of 5 1/4" drives was pretty much standardized just like it is for 3.5"'s, so you should be able to place those brackets right over the two holes on each long side of the horizontal surface of the tray, bolt it on, and bolt your 3.5" drive in between them. It's not rocket science.

Not *that* long ago it wasn't at all usual to get a free set of those brackets in the package whenever you bought a new (boxed) hard drive. If you know anyone with a "PC parts junk box" they probably have a set or two in it. Heck, I hate to think how many of those I've thrown away.

 

[pfeinauer]

Goop is really unnecessary with those brackets. The hole spacing on the bottom of 5 1/4" drives was pretty much standardized just like it is for 3.5"'s, so you should be able to place those brackets right over the two holes on each long side of the horizontal surface of the tray, bolt it on, and bolt your 3.5" drive in between them. It's not rocket science.
Not *that* long ago it wasn't at all usual to get a free set of those brackets in the package whenever you bought a new (boxed) hard drive. If you know anyone with a "PC parts junk box" they probably have a set or two in it. Heck, I hate to think how many of those I've thrown away.

It was a while back, about 15 years I guess? I threw out all of mine also. I wish I would have kept them now.

I ordered the 5.25 to 3.5 adapter, then I'm going to see how that mounts first, then I'll take a look at the 3.5 to 2.5 adapters. I bought a heatsink which I'm going to mount directly on top of the drive, that little sucker gets so hot!

-Pat

 

[uniserver]

Well when all is said and done, it might acutely look kinda cool with all those adaptors

 

[James1095]

The Mac II had a 5.25" half-height drive. The full height 5.25" drives are around 3.5" tall, I still have a Maxtor 1GB SCSI full height, it sounds like a 747 taking off.

You could make a bracket out of some angle stock, or just see if the threaded mounting holes on the bottom of the drive happen to line up with the grid of slots in that metal plate and mount it that way.

 

[volvo242gt]

Got access to an SE or SE/30 hard drive sled? Works perfectly on the floppy drive and hard drive shelf in the Mac II, IIx, and IIfx machines. Later 3.5" Quantum drives have different side hole spacing, so you'll need to notch the holes in the sled to get things bolted up. Currently using a 230MB LPS240S in my IIfx.

-J

 

[pfeinauer]

Got access to an SE or SE/30 hard drive sled? Works perfectly on the floppy drive and hard drive shelf in the Mac II, IIx, and IIfx machines. Later 3.5" Quantum drives have different side hole spacing, so you'll need to notch the holes in the sled to get things bolted up. Currently using a 230MB LPS240S in my IIfx.
-J

Is this what you're talking about?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-APPLE-Macintosh-SE-II-SE-30-Hard-Drive-Bracket-Activity-LED-805-5066-B-/390608275838?pt=US_Vintage_Computing_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5af211497e

I don't have immediate access to one, but if this would work, it could be an option instead of the 5.25 / 3.5 brackets.

-Pat

 

[CC_333]

pfeinauer: I may have a spare SE/30 3.5" drive sled, if you're interested.

PM me if so.

c

 

[volvo242gt]

Yup, that'd be the one. Mounting holes for it are in the shelf that's in the Mac II...

-J

 

[trag]

The Mac II had a 5.25" half-height drive. The full height 5.25" drives are around 3.5" tall, I still have a Maxtor 1GB SCSI full height, it sounds like a 747 taking off.

[nitpick]Full height drives are 3.3" tall. [/nitpick]

Half height is 1.65". 1/3 height was common for a long time and is 1.1".

I too have a full height drive or two around here. The Seagate ST410800. A bunch of these must have been used in servers because they flooded the used market ten or fifteen years ago and many sellers were not careful about mentioning that they were full height 5.25" drives. They do have a 9GB capacity, which, when they were new, was astronomical and at only $500 / GB they were quite the bargain at the time. The next most competitive drive was still $1000 / GB.

When working, it sounds a bit like a washing machine.

As to the OP's issue, as others have stated, 5.25" to 3.5" adapters were common as dirt back when. There was all manner of sleds and rails which would do the job. The trick is finding some still in existence.

3.5" to 2.5" adapters are still easy. You can pick up an IDE 3.5" to 2.5" adapter kit, through away the little IDE circuit board, and keep the rails.

 

[James1095]

I still remember drooling over a 1GB 5.25" SCSI drive back in the day, thinking how great it would be to have such a massive drive. All the space I could ever need. They ran about 1200 bucks at the time, plus a few hundred for a (PC) SCSI card.