Bought wrong computer, need more drive bays

Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime

Getting the hang of it
Sep 29, 2014
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I meant to by a HP SFF…accidentally bought a MicroTower (HP ProDesk 600 G4 MT). It is a perfectly good machine, but it’s too big for the space I intended for it to live.

Since I’m stuck with it, I want to put a couple of extra hard drives in it. I can put one in the 5.25" ODD slot, but there is so much space in the case, I’m wondering if anyone has one of these and found a way to swap out the drive cage or mount additional drives inside?

The existing cage holds a 3.5" and a 2.5" drive, but with the way it is designed, the 2.5" space has a metal rail welded/riveted where a 3.5" could actually fit. The OS drive is a gum stick, so the 2.5" space is wasted.

Thoughts? Anyone have one of these already and figured out how to make it work with more drives?
 
It looks like the 5.25 bay can hold another hard drive with the bay adapter. Most newer systems have a M.2 slot for an SSD card also, but depending on the motherboard it may use up one of the sata ports. Note that the video below is for a G3, but assume it is the same internally.

 
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@concord Thanks. Yes, I can add one to the 5.25” bay. I’m hoping to find a way to add another 3.5” in the space for the 2,5” drive, or another cage.
 
Ok, didn't know if you notice the 5.25 area. Looks like the only way is to modd the cage by removing the 2.5 rail...that is if there is enough space length wise to fit two 3.5 drives; also you most likely need L shaped power and SATA connectors. The drive will just be lying in the cage, unless you can secure the drive somehow.

Maybe there is an alternative drive cage, doesn't say MT though:
 
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That’s looks like the MT to me. In the video that empty space next to the 3.5” drive caN hold another 3.5” drive. In my box, there is a welded/riveted piece of metal for the 2.5” drive that can’t be removed. If I could find the cage in that video it would fit my need.

Attached is what my cage looks like.
 

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@Barboots thank you for your feedback. Do you have a suggestion on how to install generic drive cages from junk towers into a proprietary micro tower?
 
I replaced a 5.25 drive cage with a 3.5 cage in my home server a few years ago.

I just stripped the machine to bare bones, so everything out and back to a metal cage. Then drilled through the rivers holding the current cage and then drilled new fixing holes for the new cage.

Really does depend on the machine itself, in my case I had to make sure the cage was mounted perfectly as it would be accessed from the front of the machine.
 
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@IAmATeaf Thanks. Were you using standard cases? Or proprietary Dell/HP cases? The smaller proprietary cases are different sizing than the aftermarket towers and rack mount cases. If your server case was 4U or a large PC case, that makes things much easier even if it it is proprietary.

It would be great if I could find a supplier with the purpose built cages for this machine. I can’t even find part numbers for my series using Google Fu.
 
Before you go to crazy, have you checked how many spare SATA connectors are on that motherboard? Those DELL systems etc tend to have very limited additional ports (mainly because they are built to handle a certain array of configurations), so I'd first make sure you have enough SATA ports to hook up additional drives, and probably even test that you can get them to work before going on the DIY hard drive installation process.

You could just consider a much larger 1-2 drives, so you don't need space for as many. Otherwise, if you can't get it to fit IN the case, I wouldn't even sweat screwing them right to the case lid (inside preferred if you have the clearances, else outside) and running the cables to them. The good news is if you had bought the SFF, you would even have a bigger problem than you do currently.
 
@crw030 it has several open SATA headers on the board. My intention was to use it as my BI computer. Now instead, I’ll swap it with my wife’s SFF. I need to SFF so it fits in its intended home. I need the number of drives to support the back up regime for mine and my wife’s boxes (not the BI box). Two 2.5” drives inside the box and then a hot swap in the 5.25” optical bay as a removable drive to take the offsite storage.

@IAmATeaf unfortunately, that would work in a typical consumer case, but not in a proprietary case.

I have seen drive cages that might work in other HP ProDesk MT models but I can’t find the part numbers with my Google-fu. It really needs to be an HP specific part for the ProDesk MT series.
 
@Optimus Prime - I was going to suggest a cut your losses strategy by selling the MT on ebay and buying an SFF instead, but this new plan works okay too. What type of SFF does your wife have? CPU? Win 10P?
 
@windguy Cutting losses is a consideration. She has an i5-6500. It’s plenty of machine for my BI needs. But before I go through the hassle of moving her to a new box I’m hopeful I can find an appropriate drive cage.
 
@Optimus Prime I doubt you'll have any luck unless someone happens to make a custom cage for this model. Checking the Quick Specs () it clearly lists the drive capabilities as:

4. Configuration options will be (1) 5.25” internal half-height drive bay or (2) 2.5” internal storage drive bays, (1) 3.5” internal storage drive bay, (1) 9.5mm internal optical drive bay

You probably have the 3.5" drives, but something hot-swap for 2.5 could cram a bunch of drives in that 5.25 spot. ( StarTech.com 4-Bay Mobile Rack Backplane for 2.5in SATA/SAS Drives 5-15mm) --check your clearances as you might only have half-height space so you might need something smaller than this one.
 
Yeah, it would be a hassle swapping out your wife's setup.
Do you have an i5-8500 in your PD G4?
How many cameras do you plan to operate, what type of load?

A third option is a 3-way swap out. Upgrade your wife's i5-6500 with that new ProDesk and sell her i5-6500 on ebay. That way she has an upgraded machine.
Then you get a used SFF G4 on ebay for your BI host with a better CPU. Just a thought if finding a different drive cage gets to be too much of a bother.
If you're going for a newer model, check out the Elitedesk instead. If I recall correctly, the G3 or G4 ProDesk SFF is smaller than the G1 or G2 PD version with space for only 1 3.5" HDD. The PD G1 and G2 used to be the same size as the G1-G4 Elitedesk SFF, but it was revised to a more compact size case for G3 and G4.
 
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