this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2026
679 points (99.0% liked)

Selfhosted

62003 readers
913 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

Detailed Rules Post

  1. Be civil.

  2. No spam.

  3. Posts are to be related to self-hosting.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or readme if you're providing a link.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title.

  6. No trolling.

  7. Promotion posts require active participation, with an account that is at least 30 days old. F/LOSS without a paywall has exceptions, with requirements. See the rules link for details. Tags [CBH] or [AIP] are required, see the links in Rule 8 for details.

  8. AI-related discussions and AI-involved promotional posts have additional requirements for tagging, as noted in Rule 7 and the AI & Promotional Post Expanded Rules post, and find example disclosures here.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
ruud@lemmy.world
Loki@lemmy.world
CannaVet@lemmy.world
devve@lemmy.world
ayyy@sh.itjust.works
curbstickle@anarchist.nexus
curbstickle_lw@lemmy.world
679
Expanding my laptops HDD capacity (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 1 week ago by BarHocker@discuss.tchncs.de to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
80 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/66988984

What I have

I have an old Acer Aspire A515-51G and I also have a desire to have a home server. In combination this creates a need for the laptop to carry more HDDs than it can from factory. Usually it can take one M.2 SSD and one 2.5" SATA drive.

What I want

I want to make the laptop able to run at least 4 HDDs in RAID 5 for storage and have one SSD as boot drive.

What I did

The buying phase

  • 4 HDDs
  • M.2 to SATA adapter
  • 12V/5V SATA power converter
  • 12V 10A power supply

The designing phase

I needed space to hold the HDDs, so I designed a 3D printed a cage to attach to the bottom of my laptop. Two 80mm fans can be attach to it. You can see it on printables. Also I remixed a tray (here is the original) so the HDDs can slide in and out of the cage.

.

The assembly phase

A cutout at the bottom of the laptop was needed to give access to the SATA ports of the adapter.

I put a 2.5" SSD into the already present place for it in the laptop.

Then the cage was attached to the laptop, the HDDs were put in their trays, the trays inside the cage and the cables attached to the adapter and HDDs.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Aqivex@fedinsfw.app 60 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This post is cursed.

Not because of the insane jank, of course. That's on brand for self host and I love it.

It is cursed because it has awakened something in me, and I can feel every old laptop in my vicinity trembling in fear.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

I can feel every old laptop in my vicinity trembling in fear.

Don't deny them that last chance to live a life of purpose.

[–] kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 45 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (4 children)

The fact that there exists an m.2 x6 port SATA adapter is the wildest part to me.

[–] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 6 days ago

There’s a NINE PORT ONE! That’s bonkers!

[–] BarHocker@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 6 days ago

I was also very happy to find out they exist, otherwise this whole thing would've been a no-starter.

[–] Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 2 points 6 days ago

There is an adapter for everthing

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago

This is the type of stuff I love to see the most when it comes to PCs. This to me is far more impressive then someone with a standard case, with standard RGB fans, standard AIO RGB cooler...

This reminds me of stuff I did in college.

[–] qaz@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

This is the kind of posts I love

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 20 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I would love to watch a short documentary following you trying to take this on a plane

[–] PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

waves hard drives with loose cables around
It's just a hard drive! What's the problem?!
gets shot

[–] horus_son_of_isis@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Next step is to free the acer from it's physical bonds and screw the motherboard to the 3D printed stand.

[–] kestrel7_7@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (2 children)

One could frame it and put it on the wall

[–] horus_son_of_isis@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

if you wire up some blinky LEDs to the power supply, then yes. I NEEDS THEM BLINKYS

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] nullspace@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

It's handy having the service screen though.

[–] OR3X@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago

That's janky as hell, I love it.

[–] fabse@feddit.org 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

❌ Fat Client

✅ Fattest Client

[–] ulterno@programming.dev 2 points 6 days ago

~~Client~~ Server

[–] nullspace@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

This is some proper cyberpunk. Great job.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

so what kind of looks did you get when you booted that up in the public library? how long before either (a) the cool librarian asked you how you did it or (b) the jerk librarian asked you not to burn down the library

[–] Ooops@feddit.org 8 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

I'm more irritated than I'd like to admit by the fact that there is no 12V to 6x SATA power converter going with that M.2 to 6x SATA adapter.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I like it. The OCD in me is screaming why you didn't use a dremel tool to cut the slot for the USB ports instead of using a rusty, dull, steak knife from the junk drawer, but that's just me. LOL

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] kSPvhmTOlwvMd7Y7E@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

i know a Bourgeois when i see one

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 7 points 6 days ago

Because they can afford hard disks? Lol

[–] mirshafie@europe.pub 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

This is really neat and I love it, but I am a bit worried about the power supply. Are you drawing power directly from the laptop? I'd just assume that spinning all four drives at once might cause spikes that I'm unsure if the built-in PSU is equipped for?

[–] BarHocker@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The HDDs have their own 12V 10A PSU.

[–] ThunderLegend@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

How are powering them up.. Do you have a PSU behind the HDDs ?

Edit: never mind just saw the whole post

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

Lol, cause who wants to use a single USB to interface with the laptop? That's crazy.

[–] inari@piefed.zip 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Maximum jank

[–] some_random_nick@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

As the selfhosting gods intended

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Is the laptop cooling ok with the lid closed? Or do you crack it open when actually in use?

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] antsu@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 6 days ago

Maximum respect!

[–] jobbies@lemmy.zip 4 points 6 days ago

Modern problems require modern solutions.

[–] suff@piefed.social 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Apropos! Has anyone extended their laptops memory by replacing its DVD drive?

My attempt failed when I bought a misgendered micro sata cable..

[–] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 days ago

I ripped out my old MacBook pro’s DVD burner and installed an SSD, now it has a 512GB SSD and a 1TB HDD!

I should install Linux on it…

[–] architect@thelemmy.club 3 points 6 days ago

Hot

load more comments
view more: next ›