Personal MEdia Drives Frm HP.. EXCLUSIVE OR GLOBAL

isnt there any info on this topic guys...

Hhmmm PLEASE YAAR SOMEONE ANYONE PLS
I cant believe this u guys dont even hav any informationon this topic???????????????

even i want to know tht.

They are just normal 7200 rpm hdd with external usb 2.0 casing to make them portable. Only thing is they have shown in a separate bay in the front of the HP Compaq cabinets in their desktop lineups. In other words, just a fancy name to drive people crazy just like you were.

Check this for more info on them

the drive itself is an ext. usb hdd
comes in a variety like 160, 250 , 300 and 400 gb

the loading mechanism however is exclusive to hp

@THERAVEN...
THT oNLY I WAS WANTING TO ASK???
aBT THE LOADING MECHANISM..
so its exclusive to Hp cabinets only not Normal cabinets...

You'll need to make major changes to the cabinet. You'll need extra brackets and other hardware. You'll need to mount your HD vertically instead of horzontally. And if you have more than 1 Hd, GOD help you. Even after going through all this pain there's a problem...a major one. Once you have set up HD and the drive bay in parallel and arranged vertically you wont be able to access the RAM slots unless you put in a lot of effort. From what I know customers who have a media center PC have to send the unit back to service center even if the RAM needs to be replaced. Are you ready to take up so much pain just for the looks. I wont. Better opt for an external USB HD.

If you dont trust me, then take a look for yourself.
*img397.imageshack.us/img397/3574/mc6oy.th.jpg

@ Zombie ..
Thnx buddy tht was really helpful...
Yup im ready to take the pain...
Just tell me how money i will need to put such kind of loading mechanism in my cabinet...
Also cant this HDD(Personal media drive) be placed verical instead of horizontal.... i mean in the CD rom Rack...

@ zOmbie
I having G300 cabinet...
just check the layout of my cabinet n tell wheter i wuld be able to mount it horizontal or vertical...
*www.kunhar.com/vipcabinets/gaming.html

i doubt if the mechanism is available out of the hp branded computer ...
u can only get the drive .. which is available

after seeing zombie's picture i guess we all can make it . Take a USB connection internally from mobo if you have a extra USB pins.you can cut one end of a USB cable and solder it to a rigid plastic board (you can use the CD drive cover from your cabinet). then you must align the board and the hard disc so that it fits correctly. then you can go to a local welder shop and make a holder for that so that the drive can slide easily in and out . then fix the plastic board and align it to the hard drive's USB port.

here is a rough sketch of that.
*img348.imageshack.us/img348/9119/usb8vy.th.jpg

PS:I was too sleepy when i posted this . so please bear any mistakes

I still doubt abt loading mechanism.....

in only about 2 or 3 months, this type of case will be available from different local cabinet makers, however, as s0urabh said, since these are simply rebadged external HDs, why do u want to use it that way, it's supposed to be external

I understand tht it is for external use...
But i want to demoralize my frnd who is getting Hp media center Pc.....
He was argueing on this topic tht "Hp has got cool Personal media drive".
So said to him even i can put tht in my cabinet
with the same loading mechanism...
Telling u guys truth even i liked the loading mechanism....
So im despo to introduce in my cabinet...
I also understand the advantages n disadvantages of introducing tht

the loading mechanism isnt possible even if u connect it to the USB on mobo
all u get is a place to put ur external drive in ... ull still have to connect a wire to it

the loading mechanism would include an interfacing port for the usb connector on the external hdd
temme how do u plan to replicate that ..
there are ofcourse ways ard it ...but not the exact thing

not till we can see the mechanism properly anywyas .. maybe an engineer can whoop up an alternative . but its not just as easy as plugign in an ext hdd

@ theraven
even im having the same thought tht u had..
Me too feel tht loading mechanism is difficult to be fitted in normal cabinets...
Till we dont see how it works or wht is inside it i can say anything abt tht...
So as u said, me too Waiting for an "engineer"
If any guys hav knowledge abt this loading mech then please help....!!!!!!!!!

I dont mean to discourage anyone here. So please be patient. I may not be the ENGINEER that you guys are looking for, but I can tell you one thing for sure. The brackets that hold the whole rig are bloody complicated to fabricate. The MECHANISM that we are talking about is not as complicated though. In fact there is no ejection mechanism as such if you meant that. You have to push the drive in and pull it back. No ejection here. Its just like a free slot. Thats about it. And the connector is not the normal USB connector, its like a small square with each side measuring 1/4 inch. I'll try to click a picture and send it to you.

yes that would help a lot
besides if its simply push and pull that makes the job easier
and yeah ofcourse its not gonna be a nromal usb connector ...
but it may still be using the usb port ... the square connector may still be usb
anyways doesnt really matter now

Back into this project .... Any new ideas Guys....

Just a small update. From what I gather, if an HP customer has a problem with RAM and its need to be reseated/replaced HP calls in the comptuer for repair since its bloody tough to access RAM modules.

i heard tht some unknown cabinet makers will introduce tht technique
is tht true??????????
also i guess if HDD is inserted horizontally(not vertically) like CD in the CD rom spaces in cabinet..
I dont think there wont be any problem in removing ram then....
Only thing is tht loading mechanism...
Its very hard to do tht...

Hey.... that is... just a normal external HDD.The only thin different about this is that the USB connector is inside the cabinet and the other connector is in the body of the drive so when u push the drive in,there is a connection and it works like a normal HDD.
\]

Do u want 1??well....u do get ready made external HDD but I recommend u Make 1 on u r own...Yes...u can .....Get a new PATA HDD (IDE) of u r choice 40 gig/80 gig etc ....what....ever...Now get a external HDD cansing which will ship your HDD and will change the PATA interface to USB 2.0 and also give your external HDD a sleek look .......................Well I bought 1 for Rs 400...........................Just connect the IDE cable to the cable in the casing...... make sure there is driver CD with the casing------------------------------------If your mobo supports firewire then u get a firewire case.......... Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!

@samrulez
Thnx for ur efforts.....
but here we r discussing onloading mechanism.....
even i was knowing wht u told......
but here we r behind to crack the loading mechanism of HP....
this mechanism is 'Push to work ' type....
also introducing a PATA over here will be hecic....
Since the IDE cable n power supply both will have to be connected n ejected with the push of button....
Hope ur clear with my idesa n only Usb HDD will be suitable over here
Anyways THNX for ur efforts

just thinking out of the box...
why dont u mount the drive into a loading mech built over the top of the cabinet. cut a small hole and pass thru the power/usb cables.
this will be easier to construct too

@ rollercoaster
seriously i didnt get u....
please try u send u ideas via pictures

No u can make a external HDD with a 2.5" Hdd.In that u don't need any power cables it is powered by the USB port...But still making push michanism is a little tough....U have to allign the sockets very carefully .......And has a disadvantage.>>>>>>u cannot use it with ur frenz computers.......Its better to have a simple USB connector to transfer DATA from 1 comp 2 another...

here is the image of my idea........

i am not sure about the insides as i dont know what usb drives looklike .. if u can post a few images of the drive then i can try and design the insides...

it took me 1/2 an hour to designthis in mspaint...my fav alternate for 3d max

hey nobody responded from this thread to my desing...i put in some effort to make those in paintbrush... atleast ack...

thnx for ur efforts RC

But we r going against our plan if ur idea is taken into consideration.....
then too it was a good idea.....
Keep it up....


Can anybody thing about mechanism of loading n ejecting......