Problems Mounting HD in A1200 Cradle

[bubba]

I pulled a 2GB 2.5" HD from an old laptop and was hoping to install it in an A1200 I am restoring.  I quickly discover that the screw holes on the drive do not align with the holes on the cradle.

Is this a common problem with newer 2.5" drives?  And, is there an easy way to mount the drive with out having to drill new holes?  I can get two in, but the drive flops around and does not rest square on the cradle.

 Also, the bottom of the drive's circuit board comes in contact with the cradle.  Do I need a spacer between the drive and the cradle.  If so, any ideas on what to use?

Thanks!

[adz]

Is this a common problem with newer 2.5" drives? And, is there an easy way to mount the drive with out having to drill new holes? I can get two in, but the drive flops around and does not rest square on the cradle.

Hmmm, can't say I've ever seen that before, generally all HDD's are manufactured to a standard.

Also, the bottom of the drive's circuit board comes in contact with the cradle. Do I need a spacer between the drive and the cradle. If so, any ideas on what to use?

To solve this problem myself, I used fine thread motherboard risers, worked a treat.

[Brian]

I've seen this before, a hasty fix on my part was to put the drive in an antistatic bag and then tape it to the cradle. I do not recomend this though, it's messy and the drive gets hotter than usual. You could add a plastic sheet between the drive and the cradle and use plastic "stripps" to secure it to the cradle, with 2 addisional screws in place the drive should go nowhere.

[Doppie1200]

This is what I did to fix the problem:

Put some black paint around the screwholes on the harddisk.
Push the harddisk on the cradle (do not push the top of the harddisk).

Since the paint was still wet the harddisk will leave a print on the cradle where the screwholes are supposed to be.

Take a piece of wood that fits under the cradle so it will not stand on its own legs.

Take a hammer and nail and make a small dent in the center of the marked spots on the cradle. (if the cradle would be standing on it's own legs it would bend during this action)

Take a drill (4mm IIRC) and drill the screwholes using the dents for centering.

Get rid off all excess metal around the holes.

You are done. The harddisk should fit now.

[amiga1260]

Or drill holes in the cradle to fit the harddisk.

[Doppie1200]

amiga1260 wrote:
Or drill holes in the cradle to fit the harddisk.

Or you read my post below and see that is exactly what I explained  :lol: