We have a stack of slim IDE DVD-ROM drives that came out of old laptops that have since been recycled. Up to now, they were reused if a laptop came in out of warranty with a dead optical drive.
But, we have since found an adapter that enables us to take the stock drive and connect an IDE to SATA adapter for reuse in some of our server builds.
DVD-RW or combo drives are not needed in servers in most cases. The optical drive may get used once or perhaps twice as a rule for the OS install and possibly a restore boot from the OS disk.
The adapter from StarTech’s Web site:
Shown in the above product shot is the IDE connector. The opposite side of the board has a standard SATA data connector along with a small Molex floppy style power connector.
StarTech’s Product site:
- StartTech: SATA to Slim Optical IDE Drive Adapter
- Part Number: OPT2SATA
The part is listed in our Canadian distribution channel and some distributers actually have stock on them.
Besides servers, we will have the occasional Mini-ITX based system (previous blog post) that will not require any read/write capabilities, so we will use them there and give the system price the appropriate price break as the slim optical drives are not inexpensive.
Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
*All Mac on SBS posts will not be written on a Mac until we replace our now missing iMac! (previous blog post)
2 comments:
You mean write :> i hope you want them to read
A,
I saw RW when writing that one so that's what came forth. :)
Thanks for that. I will update the post.
Philip
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