(click for larger pics)
I had this Mac plus for a while now, waiting for me to do something to it. First I thought I would make it an Ipod jukebox but I never really got around to it. The rectangular holes in the side you see were going to be for the speakers.
Since then I acquired a Compaq Brio slow as anything, but it worked. So last night I decided to make a home file server. The motherboard was a tight fit but I used my rotary tool to grind some grooves to slide it in.
It took me some hours to grind 2 grooves deep enough to fit the motherboard. I finally got it fitted and marked out the spot that I had to cut out so the ports were exposed in the back. I then super-glued the mother board in place and mounted the cd drive and hard drive on the bottom of the case with aluminum tape (its what I had on hand).
The Brio had a small 90 watt PSU and since this was only going to be a file server I thought what the heck, It’ll be plenty. To save space I used a whole tube of super glue to mount it to the back.
As you can see I put the wires through the existing holes. The big bunch is going to the motherboard; the smaller bunch going underneath the wireless card is going to the cd and hard drive.
Next I cut some plexi-glass to fit the side window.
I used that aluminum tape to mount them, so I could remove them later for painting the case. Next I mounted the front window
The used gum like substance in the corners is construction glue. It took a while to harden but it seems sturdy enough.
The panel now fitted
Finally it was time to power it up and see if I had fried something. I plugged everything in and all was ready and I went to turn it on…only to find that I had neglected to hook up a power switch (I had to laugh). I striped out the switch from the Brio’s old case and glued it onto the back.
Now it booted up and I proceeded to install windows 2000. I decided not to use XP because the comp is so old. During the install it asked me to name the computer and I, joking with my friend called it UBER PWNGE my friend “pointed out” that my spelling was..lacking… So I said: “forget that!”, and proceeded to call it UBER PRAWN (like a shrimp). Hence the name of the project. I then proceded to find a nice prawn desktop pic. Its now file serving like a charm.
Next I plan to paint the box either neon green or purple. Jury is still out. Any-way I plan to mount a 80mm green led fan on the top (see above pic, the space to the left of the power switch). For the front window I would like a decal of a shrimp (or prawn).
This: Clicky
**UPDATE**
Got some paint at Wal-Mart this week, white Kryon Fusion, and (very) purple regular spray paint. If you don’t already know, Kryon Fusion is paint that bonds with plastic. I masked prawn up and primed it with the white. It was dry surprisingly fast; I then lightly sanded it with fine grit sandpaper so the purple would stick better. Applying the purple I overdid it a bit…I’m currently waiting for this coat to dry so I can sand down some runs and put some more on. I’m also about to order from newegg.com a green led fan and Duel 4in. green cathode kit. So far it’s looking good.
primer:
purple #1
**Update march 12th**
Typical, of my projects I screwed up the paint. I had to pant, sand down and repaint the front panel several times.
Bit of a pain, and it still has some flaws but I had to stop some ware. While I was doing that I found a DVD drive and hard drive enclosure. Painted them up a bit, purple and gold respectively. They look quite hansom.
to left is my cat (-:
Next weekend: strip off 90w PSU and mount 500w PSU inside. I also want to mount the DVD drive so it opens out the back. The fan, lights, and other goodies should have arrived as well.
**Update march 17th**
Well as you can see, I am THE MAN! Muhahahahah! In other words I’m done. It turned out better then I ever expected! I decided to use the wire mesh instead of the plexy as to allow better ventilation. I had to paint it gold naturally. The PSU is working fine, this thing booted up right away! The fan is very quiet as well.
The pictures, sadly, don’t de it justice. The lights illuminate the case much, much better than they appear in the photos. Its sweet.
All comments are welcome!
mac classic classics 