[periwinkle]

Thank you, thank you, Samm! But there is no option to add the pictures internally. The only option is to insert pics via URL. I don't have a URL, however I do have an account with Photobucket.com, so I will upload the pictures there and then attach the URL. I just don't know why this doesn't work here. Is there some option on my computer that I have disabled? The only option I have is to Browse and

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Photo #1 What is this? I was told that it was a heat sink. Is that correct?

Computer Photos

Photo #2 My hard drives - See how little space there is between them and the metal case?

Hard Drives

Photo #3 What is this fan covering?

What is this fan covering?

I have absolutely no drive bays available for placing the new hard drive in. My "wonderful" manufacturer made sure that there was only space in the thin metal tube. I think the intent was so that I would have to buy a new computer...

[periwinkle]

Photo #1 What is this? I was told that it was a heat sink. Is that correct?

Computer Photos

Photo #2 My hard drives - See how little space there is between them and the metal case?

Hard Drives

Photo #3 What is this fan covering?

What is this fan covering?

I have absolutely no drive bays available for placing the new hard drive in. My "wonderful" manufacturer made sure that there was only space in the thin metal tube. I think the intent was so that I would have to buy a new computer...

[amw_drizz]

Photo #1 What is this? I was told that it was a heat sink. Is that correct?

Computer Photos

Photo #3 What is this fan covering?

What is this fan covering?

Photo #1 looks like one of the chipset heat sinks, photo#2 looks like that fan is on top of the CPU heatsink keeping it cool,


ya you dont have much room, not enough to install a HD cooler under the drive.

[Samm]

Yeah I agree. photo 1 is almost certainly covering the chipset & photo 3 is the heatsink on top of the cpu.

Out of interest, what make is your computer? It looks like its a Compaq or something similar. Is it in a desktop case (as opposed to a tower)?

[periwinkle]

It's an eMachines tower. I will never never never buy an eMachines again! Their online chat service has been so poor. A chat with them goes something like this: me: "I have x problem." them: "Well, you could try x, or you could format your C: drive." I'm not kidding. That was almost always the suggested fix! One time, it was the first option out of the door. I have never had to format my C: drive yet, thanks to GeekstoGo! What would I have done without y'all?

Thanks, Samm & amw_drizz for all your help & support.

[periwinkle]

I think I'm either going to a) buy the Maxtor 5400 rpm hard drive (250 gb), or b) hook up the SeaGate that I already have (160 gb) & put it in the external case. $114 for the option a, and the hard drive will be inside of my tower with 250 extra gigs, vs. $100 and the hard drive (with 160 extra gigs) will be outside of my tower. I think I would really prefer the internal option.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how hot the Maxtor 5400 rpm hard drive will run inside my computer. Already, with the SeaGate 7200 rpm, it's gotten to critical temp & beyond a couple of times, and it's winter. Last night, the old hard drive reached critical temp, which I don't know if it's ever done that before. All I know is, the chirping has never returned. I'm almost considering returning the hard drives and just going back to the configuration I had before - one hard drive of 5400 rpm.

[Samm]

Certainly placing the Seagate in an external caddy should solve the problem as the Maxtor 5400rpm drive on its own shouldn't get any hotter than the original 5400rpm drive did in this configuration.

There is another alternative you could try first though, and that is to improve the overall cooling inside the case. This involves installing case fans & possibly re-arranging the drive cabling so that it doesn't obstruct the air flow.

Do you have any case fans installed at the moment? If so, where abouts are they mounted & are they blowing air in or out of the case?
Do you have any other places in the case for mounting more fans?

[periwinkle]

The only fan I can see is the one in the picture. It sits on top of that object - I think it was a heat sink for the chip set (no idea what that is). I believe there might be one inside the CPU. Does that sound right? The fan you see in the picture blows air on that object. My computer is fairly quiet, so I think it might be the only fan.

I would gladly install fans, but I'm not sure how or where I'd need to mount them. Certainly if I see holes, that would be a start, but I think I'd need a mounting kit or brackets, or something like that. My first thought was to go get that little Vantec double fan and somehow jimmy it to the outside of the hard drive metal tube. There is a crescent moon shaped hole in, BUT the air would be blowing towards the side of my computer casing, rather than out into the rest of the computer. I think heat might build up there. I just don't want to install the fans in a haphazard manner and have them banging around inside the computer (if I were to move it and forget about handling it delicately) and then break off and destroy the motherboard or some other delicate part. I just know I'm hard on my things, and I'd worry about something not securely bolted down. Any ideas for fan mounts or kits? Would you mount the fan outside the metal tube and point it at the two hard drives facing into the casing?

[periwinkle]

One more thing: the fan is just blowing air around inside and not out of the computer. In summer time and just last night, I have this huge box fan that I turn on to help cool the computer. It seems to help, but it's so loud, I can't even hear the phone ring sometimes.

I have thought about just buying that little Vantec fan and trying to make it work. If only I knew how to solder...

[Samm]

You shouldn't require a mounting kit.
If there is a place to mount a fan on the rear of the case, then it will look like this from the outside :



The fan you can see at the top of the case in the picture, is the power supply fan. Just below it you can see circular rows of holes. This is for a case fan. Have a look to see if your case has one of these on the back.

You may also have a place to mount a fan in the front of the case but to see this you will have to open the case up by taking the side panel off. If there is a place for a fan, it will be in the lower part of the case beneath the drives.

[periwinkle]

I definitely have the circle hole thing going. I see four holes to mount a fan. Yahoo! There is no space between the hard drives, though. Do you mean the hard drives or the drive bays? There's about 6mm of space between the metal tube where the hard drives are and where the motherboard begins. If there is some sort of ultraslim fan, I could put it in there. Is that where you mean - between the hard drives?

I guess all I really need is some sort of small fan to mount on the outside, but won't that blow the hot air around inside? I think that's what I'm already doing with the box fan except it's blowing over the case and whatever air happens to get inside helps some. I know you know what you're talking about. I just wonder why those salesguys at Fry's Electronics didn't mention this option...then again they're not that helpful, either. I wonder if they carry a fan that mounts to the outside? They probably don't, so that's why they didn't suggest it.

[Samm]

The picture below should give you a better idea of what I mean by a fan in the front of the case :



Bear in mind that in this picture, you can actually see the fan from the outside of the case. Most cases however don't look like this. From the outside, they look like the one in the picture below, where no fan is visible. The holes for the fan are cut into the metal chassis of the case but not the plastic front. Thats why you need to look inside the case in order to see it.

[periwinkle]

There are holes in the front of the metal chassis, but if there's a fan inside of those holes, it isn't making much air, but the little one on top of the heatsink chipset isn't creating much air either, for that matter. Are you saying that there could be a fan in the chassis? It would certainly make sense, since there are holes in the chassis. Let me take a picture, upload and include it in next post.

[Samm]

OK, picture would be cool.
I'm not saying there is a fan already in the front of the case, but I am saying you mat be able to install one there.

As for the fan that you have over the processor (the chipset only has a heatsink), you won't feel much air blowing off of this fan because it's blowing the air onto the chip, not away from it.

[periwinkle]

Close up of Front Panel Chassis

Inside of Front Panel Chassis with hard drives