DIY Front Panel Hard drive on/off switch for at least 5 HDD's?

[siopao1984]

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An idea I've been mulling over...

Let's say I would like to have six (6) internal hard drives of 2 TB each on my desktop (I currently have 5 drive for this purpose and another drive for Operating System) that I can switch completely off when not in use.

I realized I would have to shut down the system when turning it off and removing the power cable connecting to the hard drive but I'd like to be able to have files there

The five (5) hard drives are used as storage on my downloaded movies, mp3s, files, p*rn, tv series, pc software and games, documents, pictures, installers... and i'm not really into burning it on a dvd-r. Now I was wondering, since I'm not going to use it much (Maybe twice a week), and I don't have a removable drive bay, i don't have the convenience of opening up the chassis most of the time and removing the power cable to the hard drive so that it could not be detected the next time I power on the system, and I'm not also interested in hot swap.

Could I set it up so that I can hook up like 5 switches on my front panel that i would set what hard drive to turn on / off before I completely turn on my system so that I can decrease the wear & tear on the drive as well as well i could conserve some electricity? I would like to prolong the life of the hard drives and with the switch off if not in use, the head and internal parts will not have any unnecessary wear especially if the computer is idle and you are using it for internet.

Of course I know that I can only switch ON/OFF the hard drives when I power off the system, as this is to prevent data loss/corruption, but if there's another circuit that would disable the ON/OFF functionality if the system is currently ON then mas nice pa jud.

If there were only two wires involved, I wouldn't ask but, dealing with 6 hard drives, I figured I would run less risk by asking for guidance. What type of switch should I look for and how would I wire it ? Is it available at a local electronic store? or an auto supply store, or is it something that I would have to get from an online source or do it manually? I think I have all of the tools required to solder, wire and mount it in the case.

I would prefer it not be a toggle or push button that could get easily bumped and fry something. Maybe a rocker, slide or rotary type.



example
HDD1 - Operating System and extra space for temporary torrent downloads (always ON and no need to wired on the circuit)
HDD2 - PC Games / Installers
HDD3 - Mp3's
HDD4 - Movies
HDD5 - TV Series
HDD6 - P*rn

mood yesterday, watch movies, so HDD1 and HDD4 are ON and the rest are off

mood for today, watch p*rn, so HDD1 and HDD6 are ON and the rest are off

mood for tomorrow, watch tv series while downloading torrent, so HDD 1 and HDD5 are ON and the rest are off



this is also applicable if let's say you want a triple boot OS, each drive having a different operating system and neither drive needing to communicate with the other.

example
HDD1 - Windows7
HDD2 - Ubuntu Linux
HDD3 - MacOSX

mood yesterday, use Windows 7, so HDD1 ON and the rest are off

mood for today, tinker with Ubuntu, so HDD2 ON and the rest are off

mood for tomorrow, tinker with MacOSX, so HDD3 ON and the rest are off




This is actually what I am referring to, but this is designed only for 2 hard drives and what I want is to wire a total of 6 hard drives (1 for OS and the rest for storage)

MITRON Duplus HDD Selector

[KH0UJ]

bro di ko kakita sa imong mga pics pero naa koy akong kaugalingong idea about ana simple power switches ra imong kinahanglan ana, kadyut ha mag drawing sa ko sa paint about sa wirings

[siopao1984]

master KH0UJ

here's the link para makita mo ang pix

[M] MITRON Duplus HDD Selector Review

[KH0UJ]

naa ra master that`s the idea bro i-times na lang na nimo ug 6 relays nya ibutang sa PCB ang mga relays nya i- custom mount ang 6 swictches sa front panel, ang naka nindut ani kay pwede nimo madungan or mapalung independently ang 1-6 HDD`s, pwede ang 1 ug six ra or 2 ug 4 and so on so forth, assuming nga naa gyud kay ipaboot nga OS nga isa.

Ex. HDD 1 OS 1- 2-3-4-5-6 pwede ma ON independently (2,3,4,5,6)
HDD 2 OS 2- 1-3-4-5-6 pwede sad ma ON independently (1,3,4,5,6)

kinahanglan gyud ang light indicator boss para mahibaw-an nimo kung asa dapit ang ga ON nga HDD

mag drawing sa kog front panel ha pati PCB with relays

[KH0UJ]

Naa ra ang Custom Front Panel bro hehehe

Kana bro D.I.Y. gyud na nga HDD independent Switcher

Daghana di-ay nimog HDD boss nuh?

About sa push button switch bro, kato nang inig tuplok nimo nga mu on pirmanente ha, nya inig tuplok balik mu OFF, katong tag 25 PHp sa advance ba, kay naa raba say N.O. (normally OPEN) switch lang ana, katong inig tuplok nimo mu ON nya inig buhi mu OFF ra sad.

[KH0UJ]

master KH0UJ

here's the link para makita mo ang pix

[M] MITRON Duplus HDD Selector Review

Same principle ra ni sa akong gidrawing bro, the only difference is that they use a complex selector switch (manual or mechanical selector) nya limited ra sad ilang HDD selection, kaysa relay type, maski 6-10 Pcs. HDD`s pa imong i-select, RAID 0 nya naay RAID 5 nya naa pa gyuy RAID 1 iha ra dayon ang mga logical drives hehehe just joking

[KH0UJ]

Here`s a simpler version master using only a see saw (Toggle, Slide or Rocker basta DPDT) switch available at ACE hardware or lowe`s kung na nga store diha

[COMCAM]

very nice sir, ang ako lang, di ba kaha kuwangon ang power supply ani if all hard disk are running. For me, 1x12v rail can only accommodate 2 hard disks. So I think sa 6 hard disk controller, there should be 3x 12v rail.

ang akong gusto ani is not for booting but for storage kai kalas kuryente if all are running and are not being used

this link is also a diagram but with virus protection
http://circuitzoo.com/2010/12/13/ele...t-board-design

[gamemailxxx]

mao pud unta ni ako plano buhaton nigawas na jud diay.

himo pud nya ko akoa version.

mas nindot jud kung ingon ani ang wire connector ang gamiton.

[COMCAM]

This is from lian li - mahal of course hehehe