This mod was performed at http://homepage.mac.com/tracer302/bluecube/PhotoAlbum32.html and shows how to install a superdrive into a cube.
Superdrive working on Cube Mod
by Rich C
Final Release
Revised 2/16/03
Getting a superdrive into a cube is probably one of the "Holy
Grail" quests for many cube owners. There are a couple possibilities
out there such as MCE technologies but none have yet to come through(there
is debate as to wether a slot loading superdrive drive can operate
properly and reliably in a vertical position), even the combo
drive quest has been elusive from Fastmac.com the last time a
read (this issue may have been resolved, click on link to the
right to read the forum posts, click
here).
So, instead of pursuing the slot loading DVD-R venture or even
the Combo drive venture, I decided to use an external Pioneer
DVR-105(the lastest, greatest, and fastest model as of this writing).
There are quite a few advantages to using this method:
1. It's a whole lot cheaper, I picked up my Cendyne branded
Pioneer DVR-105 from OfficeMax for $190 after rebate, you just
can't beat that price for a 4x burner, it is less than half the
price of the MCE slot loading drive which retails for a whopping
$499.00, no thanks for a drive that will burn at half the speed
of 2x(although the thought did cross my mind to put it into my
TiBook).
2. When a faster external drive comes along, all that is necessary
is to swap it out with the new one in no time, those drives will
also be available faster and be cheaper than any slot loading
drive.
3. The best reason of all, iDVD working on our Cube's of coarse!!!
Because the drive is being hooked into the internal IDE cable
the drive will be recognized by iDVD as an internally mounted
Superdrive, which of coarse it is not. It will be mounted, if
you like, in an external enclosure, even that's not necessary
but it makes it look more asthetic.
4. Once the cables and been modified and run the possibilities
are endless. I recently plugged an internal HD(be sure to set
it to slave) into the cables I ran and used it as a second HD
for backing up!
So, enough with the plenty of reasons. Lets get on with the
mod!
Disclaimer/Warning: Informational/reference purposes only.
I am not responsible for any
damage to yourself or your computer.
Tools and Parts:
- Plug Connector to Plug Connector IDE
6" cable extension from Digi-Key part number: M3KKK-4006J
- Round IDE single cable
- Y-Splitter adaptor of power or a drive
power extender cable
- 16-18 Guage bulk wire to extend power
cable
- Soldering iron, solder, shrinkwrap
or electrical tape if using soldering to exend power cable if
not use butt connectors
- Torx-10 screwdriver
- Hacksaw blade
- Needle nose pliers
Remove the cube from its enclosure and place as shown
Remove four corner screws indicated by red
arrows
All screws are Torx-10 for this project
Turn cube as shown and remove the side top cover screws on both
sides , see red arrows and note
Carefully lift off top cover while removing the power switch connector,
see red circle and next picture
Note the orientation of the connector when putting the top cover
back on
Remove two side posts as indicated by red
arrows by pulling up as shown by green
arrows Do the same for the optical drive cover
Here's what you get with side posts and drive cover removed
Remove both optical drive screws from both sides, see red
arrows
Then carefully remove the drive by sliding upwards
holding it by the corners only
Here's with the optical drive removed
Position the IDE cable as shown
Position the optical drive power cable as shown, note that mine
is different wire color wise
because of Project: BlueCube, normally all wires are black in
color
Re-install the optical drive, note that this step is optional,
I originally did not reinstall my
optical drive, but decided to put it back after the completed
mod. Leaving it out may
improve cooling and provide move space for other mods like ATI-9000
which
require the repositioning of the DC-DC card, just food for thought
:)
Re-install the optical drive cover as shown with the IDE cable
poking out and put the cube all back together
Install the cube back into its enclosure with the power
cable and IDE cable hanging out as shown.
It's a tight fit but it will work, be sure to push
down firmly and make sure the cube is secured
Now it's time to modify the 6" IDE extension cable
that was ordered from Digikey.com
Do not cut the cable like I have it, it is not necessary,
the cable will also be different. Rev 2 of this mod
calls for a plug connector at both ends.
This is a picture of the IDE connector socket end,
notice that pin 20 is not present, this is normal
Here is a picture of the IDE extension cable plug end,
this end will plug into the
Cubes socket end, but it has to be modified as shown
because of pin 20
The two ends will not mate with pin 20 in its normal
location
Here's another angle, I used a hack saw blade to cut
the plastic down to the base of the connector
then I just broke off the piece with pliers, then bent
the pin down and out of the way, you may
have to modify both sides depending on the round IDE
cable you get, it may not have pin 20 blocked
like the one in the Cube's IDE cable end
Here's a nice close up, there may be other ways to
remove pin 20 but this is the one I chose
After modifying the 6" extension cable, plug it
into the Cube's IDE cable and route it under the handle
to keep it up against the Cube's chassis. Note that
this picture is a mock up of how it should look
because I modified my original 6" extension so
it won't fit under the handle anymore. Like I said
Rev 2 mods are usually better
Time to make the power extension cable. I used a Y-Adaptor cable
because that's what I had laying around.
I basically just cut the extra male end off and extended
all four wires to the desired length which will vary
depending on how far you have the superdrive from your
cube. The closer the better, my power cable ended
up being about 26".
Here is the final result
I then put the wires into split wire loom to protect
and make it look better. The split loom is available from
radioshack, part number 278-1624
Now plug the power extension cable into the cubes optical
drive power cable end
Next, plug the round IDE cable into the 6" extension
cable from the previous steps, pictured here is the one I made,
you're better off buying the round IDE from your favorite
computer retailer. I saw some nice cables at CompUSA
they came in 18" and 24" remember is shorter
the better.
Now put the cube where it normally sits and plug all
your cables back in, route the power cable and
the IDE cable to where the superdrive will sit
Speaking of superdrive, here's mine in it's enclosure
along with it's piggybacking buddy, my DSL modem.
Like I said before the length of the cables will depend
on where you put the drive so try to think ahead
Plug the IDE cable and power cables into the superdrive
If anyone is interested, the enclosure I used to house
the superdrive is an old Apple SCSI CD 600e
It's a relic left over from my Powerbook Duo days,
I'm glad I kept it :)
Remember when I said I hooked up an internal drive
to the cables to perform a backup, here it is, my
original Cube HD, noisey little sucker but works great!
No firewire enclosure or taking the Cube apart
needed, you can plug whatever IDE stuff you want in
there
Here's the completed job, notice the IDE cable hanging
down and if you look really hard you can
see the superdrive right behind my display
Here's a better picture of the IDE cable hanging down,
I'm going to fix that one of these days
And here's the power cable hanging down and out
Conclusion
The drive works great with no problems so far. I've used it
with Toast Titanium 5 to burn data cd's, I've used iTunes to burn
music cds, the finder for burning data. I've played DVD's and
audio CDs all without a hitch. And yes I've burned an iDVD 2 project.
Overall I am very happy with the mod, since I don't relocate my
Cube from where it sits the external drive doesn't bother me one
bit.
All this work though didn't come without fustration, I originally
used all flat IDE cables for the project which led to problems.
The drive was recognized but was useless for reading or writing
to any kind of disk. I later found out with the help of some GREAT
people over a cubeowner.com that the maximum cable length allowed
under the IDE specification is 18" total. My original cable
was about 3-4 times that spec, no wonder it didn't work.
I did some google searching and found that if the flat cable
is made round by cutting the individual strands of wire and then
shielding it with foil or wire mesh and putting ferrite cores
every 8 inches that the cable will work, and it did. Before I
figured it all out I got so fustrated I almost gave up.
I had another problem also, originally I also used my external
enclosure's power supply to power the drive instead of using the
Cube's power wire, I thought running less wires out of the Cube
would be better, but after putting the computer to sleep and upon
waking up, the computer became uselessly slow. So if you're wondering
about using that method don't.
Check out the forum post I made over at cubeowner.com/forums:
SuperDrive working on my Cube.
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