just purchased and shucked 2 WD Element 10Tb drives and found that the drives are missing the middle mounting screw holes on the sides. Its a WD101EMAZ instead of the expected WD100EMAZ model. Has anyone else found this? Does anyone have any suggestions for how to mount this in a drive cage?
Thanks!
No holes allign? Do you have more than one per side?
You can align the screws nearest the SATA and power ports but the ones just further back on the sides are missing. You get the screw hole that are expected on the far end of the drive but the two different drive cages I have won’t allow for mounting with those holes.
Having three pairs of mounting holes on the side isn’t actually part of the SFF-8301 spec for 3.5" drives (Unless you’re referring to the bottom, in which case there are alternate mounting hole positions available for manufacturers).
Either just using this casing to make their lives easier for mounting into caddies, or it’s anti-consumer. According to WD, not including the centre side mount is due to the casing being too thin there, as a result of the internal space being taken up by platters same reason for the alternative bottom mounts detailed bellow.
My recommendation would be to not worry about it, if you’re using it with tight caddies. If it’s going in a desktop case, just tape the other side to avoid it torquing the connector too much.
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Thanks. I’m trying to mount them in a Fractal Node 804 so its not a tight fit. It does leave them suspended with the cables at the bottom. Would this be problematic? I thought best practice was to always use all the mounting screws on HDDs.
Ah, I see why that’s a problem… Can you insert the anti-vibration washers, so the cage is gripping it in the middle? The two screws should hold them with no issues. Could also zip tie through the slots to keep them from swinging.
I can put in the washers but they don’t add much tension, if at all. Zip ties are a good idea if I cant find anything else. I’d hate to have to do it when I come back to swap out drives later.
This is a project in the works for me and I’m testing with some 1tb drives I have now and adding in 10tb drives as I find them on sale.
Just an update, I purchased a WD MyBook 10tb and it has a WD100EZAZ inside with the standard 3 mounting holes per side.
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This is not a problem with the drive, this is a problem with the case manufacturers who make assumptions based on historical hole placement. Fractal should have known better to rely on holes that aren’t part of the the specification.
I know this is an older case. I just wanted to let others know which drives people might get when they shuck a drive.
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