Hard Drive Racks

If you're into building your own computers, you've probably done a few too many hard drive swaps. No matter how good the case, getting a hard drive out of a PC usually means opening up the side of the case, unscrewing a bunch of screws, disconnecting a bunch of cables, and a performing a few other thoroughly annoying tasks before get actually get the drive out. If you're interested in making this whole process a lot easier, get yourself a hard drive rack.

Hard Drive Racks Make Swapping Drives a Cinch

Hard drive racks are designed specifically for people who need to change drives quickly and easily. They do this by taking all the cables, connections and screws out of your hands and allowing you to remove your drive with a simple click and pull. Sounds too good to be true, right?

The mechanism behind a hard drive rack is actually surprisingly simple. The rack consists of a metal or plastic box that is mounted inside one of your computer's 3.5 or 5.25 inch bays (depending on the rack you choose). You plug an IDE cable into the back of the rack, as well as a power cable. The rack translates these connections into a special male connection that makes it easy to plug the hard drive in and out.

Next, you just screw your hard drive into the removable box that fits inside the rack. This box has a connector that translates your hard drive's pin connection into a female connection that plugs right into the rack's male connection. Since all the cables have been run through this snap connection, all you have to do to remove your drive is pull! (Just be sure you turn the computer off first.)