Working in IT...
I often have to remove hard disks to image them etc. Most manufacturers put screws / lug thingys on the edge to hold them in place when in the computer. These 'thingys' impede my progress as they don't fit in a USB caddy (unless first unscrewed)...

I've hacksawed the edges off mine, so drives just plop in nicely without the hassle of removing the screws first.

Before: www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=382971

After:

My boss has also copied this as it makes our nerdy tinkerings so much easier :D
(FatherChed, Fri 11 Mar 2011, 23:18, 9 replies)

why don't you use proper network imaging tools like decent it people?
(Nobody Likes Mortal Wombat, Fri 11 Mar 2011, 23:48, closed)

I do, you rude git.
Along with directly imaging / recovering data from the disks via USB caddy. However booting a computer from a CD to image it to a network drive can be more of a pain.

FOG is another method I've been using lately: www.fogproject.org/
(FatherChed, Fri 11 Mar 2011, 23:56, closed)

i quite like your modification too
i also like being a bit rude tho
(Nobody Likes Mortal Wombat, Sat 12 Mar 2011, 16:53, closed)

Interesting
I've been using PING myself.
( idonthaveafunnynickname Drink-Aware? Sure. I'm aware I want another drink., Sun 13 Mar 2011, 11:25, closed)

Thanks for the link
I'll have to give it a go. The pain of network drivers being out of date with Ghost boot CDs were what moved me away from that. I did love it back in the day though *wipes a tear* ;)
(FatherChed, Wed 16 Mar 2011, 19:10, closed)

I approve of this crass modding
when I were a younger person I went to see a company called Datel as I saw them to be wise, clever and in the market for a new idea. I went to Stoke on Trent to see them with my precious thing and while there I saw the other things they had in development at the time. One of which was the precursor of their 'saved game discs' for the Playstation. the Playstation with no number after it just in case anyone reading was wondering- was at once on sale and then taken apart by companies willing to learn its secrets.

Datel were already hard at work-what I saw then was a Playstation with its lid off while Tekken was being played on it and a PC was it's opponent- trying all sorts of known combo attacks programmed into its macro outpur directly into the hard wired solder-spattered disassembled controllers until it won thorugh the levels and then 'FREEZE it's RAM' to procure the save state.

Wow, said I- how did you get the lid off it with the secutiry screws holding it together?

'Ah. We just held a soldering iron onto each of its screws until the heat melted the plastic thread and we yanked it off. Not pretty but effective'.

They gave me £300 just for coming to talk to them about my idea even if they never used it. Nuff respeck.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Fri 11 Mar 2011, 23:58, closed)

Ahh, lovely Datel.
I had one of their cheat gizmos for the PS1. T'was a thing of beauty!

Their removal of the screws reminds me of the Sega MegaDrive mod to play imported games. It involved cutting a little bit off either side of the cartridge slot to take the different shaped games. It wasn't pretty but it worked perfectly! ;)
(FatherChed, Sat 12 Mar 2011, 0:09, closed)

Truely
tis a thing of beauty.
(Captain Spacker I lick windows, Sat 12 Mar 2011, 17:29, closed)

liked
this lots
(Roosta, Sun 13 Mar 2011, 14:22, closed)