[SOLVED] [solved] HDD bay width confusion.

[chuffedas]

Am I being thick?
Another simple question again.

I thought 3.5" HDD drives were 3.5" because you get 3.5" bays.
But you also get slightly bigger bays?
(Not the 5.25" bays (which I have never measured before and was surprised to see that the CD ROM measures 14.5cm (nearly 5 3/4"))
Are the numbers based on the size of the actual disks?

Here is my confusion.

I have an older Aero cool 500 case.
Second hand.
It was missing one of the 3.5" bay trays, so I just ordered some cheap rails and thought nothing of it.
(Oh, and a cheap 2.5-3.5" adapter tray for my new SSD.)
But they don't fit, they just fall through.
So, I measured the HDD 10cm. (4").
The trays it comes with measure 4.5".

So, these trays are proprietary are they?
Or is it a different standard size?

My question is, what do I need to search for please?
Thanks

 

[DSzymborski]

The widths are standard: the 3.5" hard drive is actually 4" wide and a 2.5" hard drive is actually 2.75" wide. They're simply called 3.5" hard drives because the bay size was originally used for drives that used 3.5" floppies, it's not referring to the width of the housing.

The widths are standardized and every aftermarket case follows the standards. Either the adapter is defective, the wrong kind of adapter, or you're doing something wrong. While I wish I could be more specific as to what's going wrong, but all I know is your case and your telling us that something's not working.

Note that the mounting solutions in the hard drive cages are not standardized. One case's hard drive trays are not necessarily going to work the same as another case's. But again, it's hard to be specific without knowing what you bought or how you're trying to do it.

 

[chuffedas]

Smashing, thanks.
That's what I thought.

I didn't think it was possible to get it wrong.
Maybe the rails are just a bit slim or something.
Serves me right perhaps for going to aliexpress. I thought, "how could they get that wrong?"

You can just about balance it in the bay with the rails on, but as soon as you nudge it, it drops through.
(This just the HDD with rails)

The trays it comes with are about 2/3rds the way down this page.
https://www.lelong.com.my/aerocool-...w-black-castleit-187794069-2017-01-Sale-P.htm
I searched and searched for the same but got lost.
I asked the manufacturer (in case they were proprietary but got no reply (unsurprisingly)
So, thought rails would be standard.

There isn't all that much difference.
The tray measures 11.5cm, the HDD with the rails comes in at 11cm.
I shall pack them out with something I guess.

Actually, I might give up.
Working out new cabling might be easier.

 

[DSzymborski]

Yeah, the little trays are not standard. I'd try to contact customer service again and see what they'd charge you for replacement trays.

 

[chuffedas]

Ah, ok, thanks.
At least I know which one is wrong.
Thanks for that.

I won't hold my breath on them coming back to me, eh?

Like I say, I might just stick them in other bays.
I will just need to work out the cabling.
That brings up a whole new selection of basic questions

 

[chuffedas]

Also, I tried editing the drop down to 'solved' instead of 'question', but it doesn't seem to have it. Is that a moderator role?
I put [solved] in the title, when it has been answered.
Is that what we do?

 

[DSzymborski]

You can close a thread as solved by clicking on the trophy on the left side of the answer that most helped you.