Mounting G4 horizontally

[Sweep]

Due to space restrictions it would be beneficial to mount my G4 on its side as opposed to the normal vertical tower position.
As you will all know, the case sides have a gentle convex bow which prevents me from just tipping over the case on its side as it just sits on the crown and is completely unstable.
Having unscrewed the 4-off countersunk screws on the case sides they appear to be M5 thread and have found some nifty little feet on ebay which look like they will just screw in.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARTICULATED-FOOT-Series-10-PA-20mm-Thread-M5x40/282358786958?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

I may have to shorten the threads of the feet, as I just need to keep the case crown from touching down, as they look a little long.
Anyway, my question is can anyone think of any reason why this arrangement wont work besides the difficulty of loading a CD in the tray which would be vertical?

Thanks ...Sweep

[GaryN]

Nifty little feet! Your method should work just fine.
The CD drive thing IS a concern though. The disc should be clamped down pretty tight once it actually gets in, but it's going to be difficult to keep in in the tray properly on the way in and out. Then again, maybe not.
I suggest you just try with a blank or junk CD and see what happens. Maybe you'll develop a technique of keeping your finger on it just so until it's secure…?

[Sweep]

Hi Gary,
Thanks for your reply.
I will double check the thread size tomorrow and get some ordered.

...Sweep

[DieHard]

The CD drive thing IS a concern though. The disc should be clamped down pretty tight once it actually gets in, but it's going to be difficult to keep in in the tray properly on the way in and out. Then again, maybe not.

Almost every CD/DVD Desktop drive has small clips around the inside edges of the tray that are made to keep CDs/DVDs from falling off the tray in case you have the drive mounted sideways

[GaryN]

I don't know if I'd call them "clips". It's more like the tray has slightly raised pockets around the rim of the disk drawer that keep the disc from sliding around too much once it's placed in the center when the tray is in motion.

They are however, not all created equally.

For example, in my MDD, the Pioneer 116 DVD drive has raised "lips" around the entire perimeter of the disc tray recess that can and do keep the disk upright pretty reliably. The disc slides downwards a tiny bit when placed in the tray and is cradled by a good 120° or so of "lip" around the "bottom" - enough to keep it there when the tray starts to move.

The Lite-On CD drive right below it however, has only 4 little tiny "nubs" placed every 90° that barely work at all when used vertically. The inertia of the disc itself makes it slide backwards and out from under the "front" innermost one when the drawer starts to close sometimes causing it to fall and jam up in the mechanism - enough so that I absolutely have to keep a finger on the disk for a second as the drawer accelerates. It also causes the disc to fall out entirely when opening if I don't have a hand there to catch it. It's an annoyance (or rather would be) that shows me they really didn't expect the drive to be installed sideways when they designed the drawer mold.

[DieHard]

from Gary

It's more like the tray has slightly raised pockets around the rim of the disk drawer that keep the disc from sliding around too much once it's placed in the center when the tray is in motion.

I don't know if I would call it "slightly raised pockets" , but I think I would refer to them as "Small Plastic Thing-a-majig nubs" that are molded along the edges of the upper most ring of the tray when it is in a horizontal position. Most have 4 "nubs" and I only point this out so that we can use the proper terminology in the future...lamo

[nanopico]

I've only ever seen the ones that swing out to hold discs in place, or is that what we are talking about?

[IIO]

there are 19" mount steel brackets for those apple towers, but they go for USD 250+ on ebay, which is more than the original price was and two times more than what the computer costs.

[DieHard]

I have plenty of cheap sets of Marathon Racks for those who want to rackmount

[GaryN]

I think I would refer to them as "Small Plastic Thing-a-majig nubs" that are molded along the edges of the upper most ring of the tray when it is in a horizontal position. Most have 4 "nubs" and I only point this out so that we can use the proper terminology in the future...lamo

I knew we could count on you for the proper terminology. That must be why you're the admin…

[DieHard]

Gary, I'm just glad you got past "666" on your post count... Whew... close one

[IIO]

I have plenty of cheap sets of Marathon Racks for those who want to rackmount

i might come back to this one day. but there is tsill that entry on my to do list which says that i have to put a G4 into a 19" rack case. somethign which is far more difficutl than i first thought.

[Philgood]

I have a rackmount but I couldn't find any rack deep enough to install it to. Keep that in mind.

[IIO]

a G4 is not becoming deeper when you move it from horizintally to vertically but you are right, old school desktop with VGA and adat cable - plus an opened CD tray - wont fit in most computer racks, that needs some 70 centimeters.

mine are, luckily, open at the back. however, my xserve does not fit into the musicians rack, it sits on top and almost hits the wall.

[Sweep]

Just to mix things up a bit... my CD tray has small plastic "ears" which look like they will hold the CD as it is consumed within the G4 :-)
Sorry for wasting everyone's brainpower but I am going to leave it vertically for the time being until I get everything settled in. I will eventually move it horizontally as I want to make the most room available for my printer paper which needs to lay flat.

[IIO]

you are right, there are probably optical drives which work vertically, i have seen those for audio CD players.