best way to *mount* external hard drive onto the back of imac

[garyleecn]

does anyone has any good idea on how to **physically** mount an external hard drive (seagate/wd kinda stuff) on the back of the iMac, so it stays there as Time Machine back up disk.

i tried the backpack from twelve south, but it's too taking too much space horizontally, i want something maybe mount vertically instead of horizontally like the backpack.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Poor mans version:

or the rich mans version:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...YR43A2&qid=1430522696&sr=8-1&keywords=alurack

 

[bent christian]

 

[Fuchal]

Yep, just make sure to apply the stickers for 24 hrs before trying to hang the disks so the disks don't drop to the table.

 

[Fishrrman]

Velcro strips.

Or, just let it "hang loose" behind the iMac.
Stuff like that doesn't bother me.
You'd shriek if you saw my desk…

 

[hfg]

Velcro strips or dots work fine:



That is the Seagate 4TB RAID0 bus powered drive on an all-SSD iMac.

 

[IngerMan]

I just let my Passport sit behind the screen that I actually never see unless I really bend to look for it. It is functional so for me that is good enough.

 

[garyleecn]

hey guys, thanks for all your input.

seems like the AluRack was the closest to what I'm looking for, however it's discontinued by the manufacturer, so, no go.

and then i went to thingverse, and found a great STL, and turns out i can print a rack myself with my 3d Printer.
my 4tb drive was a little bit thicker than the rack at first, but after some minor adjustment, it works perfect now.


for those who also want one of those, just PM me, i'm happy to print some for you guys.

and here's how it looks

 

[Fishrrman]

That 3D printed bracket is a very handy solution!

 

[RedTomato]

That's one of the first genuinely useful things I've ever seen printed with a home model 3D printer. Congrats!

 

[HallStevenson]

Simple and effective



The tie-wrap is fairly tight. Because the stand is tapered (gets wider at the bottom), the drive or tie can't slide down any further. The tie-wrap actually ends up "tighter" if you push it downward.

 

[RedTomato]

Simple and effective

View attachment 649616

The tie-wrap is fairly tight. Because the stand is tapered (gets wider at the bottom), the drive or tie can't slide down any further. The tie-wrap actually ends up "tighter" if you push it downward.

Is that a 3D printed zip-tie?

 

[HallStevenson]

No, it's not as cool as anything 3D-printed

I used to do 3D-modeling and we had a 3D printer but nothing like the ones available today (no personal stuff was allowed either). I found the one on thingverse as I was curious what held it in place and the only thing that does is 'tension' (like my tie-wrap solution !).

 

[miqui]

I know it's two and a half years old thread, but I have the same kind of question — did anyone has any problem with removing double-sided tape or any kind of glue from aluminium surface? I'm a bit afraid that it will leave some marks after a while, and after getting heated from working drive...

Anyway — I have small external SSD (Samsung T5) and would like to stick it to the inner part of the stand (between stand and iMac's back) but again — I have some concerns about temperatures there — there is vent outgoing...

So basically:

• Is double-sided tape's glue safe for aluminium surface? Keeping heat in mind... (won't it melt, or something?)
• Is additional heat from iMac vent enough to have any concerns about mounting SSD in there...?

Thanks!

 

[AZhappyjack]

I grabbed a roll of this... and since it's 2-sided velcro, it sticks to itself... wrapped one length around the drive and another length around the stand (through the hole) of the iMac... then just stick them together... been mounted like this for over 2 years..

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Ho...oop+tape&qid=1557797238&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

When I had a 2011 iMaxc used a Twelve South Dock which attached to the leg of the iMac and was great.


https://www.twelvesouth.com/products/backpack?variant=9173862023225

 

[AZhappyjack]

Whn I had a 2011 iMaxc used a Twelve South Dock which attached to the leg of the iMac and was great.


https://www.twelvesouth.com/products/backpack?variant=9173862023225

I bought one of those and found them to be quite kludgy to install... and they just were a royal PITA to deal with... was one of those products that I wanted to like, but it just wasn't meant to be.

 

[colodane]

I've just Velcroed mine to the back of the stand like several others here have done. Simple, and has been secure. An extra bonus is that I use the drive as a "spool" for my Lightning and mini USB charging cables to coil them up so that they aren't dangling (one end of each cable is plugged into a USB port on the back of the iMac)