How to install a laptop optical drive in a 5.25 inch bay

Question

For no reason other then awesome factor, I want to install a slot-loading optical drive in my new computer.

Now, a lot of searching has proved that slot-loading optical drives don't come in 5.25 inch form factor; they're only for laptops.

So, how would you go about mounting a laptop-size optical drive into a 5.25 inch bay?

My ideas involve making some custom brackets, and then modifying the blanking plug in the case to allow for the different size of the drive. This is a last resort, however, as I would much rather use an off the shelf product if one exists.

This looks ideal, but it's only available in the United States, which is no good for me. I live in the UK, so it would need to be available from an EU supplier.

Any solutions, no matter how crazy, are welcome.

Answer 1

Some of the (UK) companies that specialise in small form factor systems do slim drive mounting brackets - for example:

Slim CD/DVD + 3.5" HDD Drive Bay - 5.25"

This Bezel Kit solution allows a slimline optical drive and a 3.5" HDD to be installed in 5.25” optical drive bays found on desktops and servers. Slimline form factor optical drives – CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-Ray included – are usually designed for laptop and portable computer systems. Because of their form factor, other desktop and server-type users are likely to find useful applications for slim drives in their systems. This unique bezel solution allows you to use a single slim optical drive for 5.25” drive bays.

http://linitx.com/product/12680

See also:

Dual Slim CD Drive Bay - 5.25"

Custom DUAL slim-line bezel, which allows for two CD/DVD drives to sit in the form factor of one 5.25" bay.

http://linitx.com/product/11216

Answer 2

As you've mentioned that you live in the UK, Maplins sell a 3.5" >< 5.25in bracket set, basically two pieces of "U" shaped metal than can be used to fix a hard disk in the space of a CD/DVD drive slot. I would think that this would work, although I have never mounted a laptop "slimline" drive outside of a laptop, so see if this would be OK.

Answer 3

I have engineered my own wire frame to load up 3 "laptop" optical drives into one 5.25" bay how ever it needs two things [1] A neat little bezel to cover the two opening left exposed [2] adapters to convert the interface from slim to standard PATA

I tried the SATA and they worked like a charm so now I'm gonna get my craftsman to make the bezel. The only problem I have now is 3 slim PATA 8x DVD Writers sitting on a shelf with nothing to do :( so I am back to square 1 I still got 3 perfectly working drives sitting on a shelf:(