DIY

CIRCUITS

FLASH MEMORY HARD DISK

This fake hard drive stores more data and raises eyebrows. By Brian Nadel

I love mixing technologies to create an amalgam that looks like one thing but is actually something different. A case in point is the old hard drive that I stuffed full of flash memory. It looks like an internal drive, but it’s actually a solid-state memory peripheral that plugs in via USB. This makes it an instant conversation starter for anyone who ventures into my office.

Photograph by Sam Murphy

1. Gut the hard drive. The original drive stored 10GB, and by filling it with three 4GB memory sticks, I actually increased its capacity. To start the conversion, I attacked the 3½", 2-platter hard disk drive. Using a T9 Torx screwdriver, I unscrewed about a dozen screws from the case. Then I tore out the guts and cleared out space to make room for the flash drives and their cables.

MATERIALS

Old hard disk drive does not need to work

Small USB hub

USB flash drives ( 3–4) as many as the USB hub will take; I used 3.

USB cables ( 3–4) Get 2–3 short ones, to let the memory sticks pack close together, and another one of any length for the external cable.

Insulating tape

TOOLS

Torx screwdriver My drive’s screws needed a T9.
Large slotted screwdriver or equivalent for prying
Pliers
Dremel with abrasive wheel bit
Drill and drill bits
X-Acto knife

Make: 159