DIY Storage

[skkler]

I hate this multi topic post but not much you can do about it. I am wanting to make external storage device, and I have a 4 drive cage from and old pc that I am gonna make an enclosure for, but before I do I was curious how would go about making a program to access that hard drives view either eithernet or usb? and how would I go about applying power to all the hard drive? I have a pico psu but as far as how to wire it with a button im lost.

[xyameax]

What you can do is if the old case has an Operating System already on it, you can share each of the connected drives as a windows computer on My Network Places.

 

Are the drives already connected inside or are they outside of the enclosure.

[skkler]

Just now, xyameax said:

What you can do is if the old case has an Operating System already on it, you can share each of the connected drives as a windows computer on My Network Places.

well the parts in case didn't work anymore so its literally just the case.

[xyameax]

You can use a cheap motherboard, cpu, and ram and put it in the computer, then connect the drives that way. What is your budget on the project?

[skkler]

1 minute ago, xyameax said:

You can use a cheap motherboard, cpu, and ram and put it in the computer, then connect the drives that way. What is your budget on the project?

cheap as possible, was thinking maybe use a raspberry pi?

 

[xyameax]

You could use one. But then need to use separate HDD adapters for USB, unless there is a way to connect all of them to the IO ports cheaper.

[Mikensan]

How cheap is cheap? You'll need some board to handle the disks in one way or another, so you'll be spending money. 

 

You say the parts don't work - there are a lot of parts. Was there flood damage or something that guarantees everything doesn't work? If the RAM is DDR3 and the power supply still works - you can be back in action for about $100-$110. The Intel G-series processors are pretty badass and very cheap. Coupled with a $50 motherboard you're good to go.

 

You could also buy a used Core 2 quad or older i7 920 (preferred) for $150ish if you spend enough time on ebay/CL.

 

I don't know how exactly you'd connect 4x SATA disks to a Pi. Adapters to go from SATA > USB would quickly add up... Not to mention you would not be happy. Better off putting the disks in your personal computer and just using FlexRAID.

[JohnMLTX]

You may have some decent luck checking local corporations. A lot of older server gear (5-6 years old) that's in working order with Xeons and i7s are being scrapped for upgrades. Some is literally being thrown out. Saw a dual Xeon Dell server for $50 the other day.