# Toggle switches own



## darkone3200 (Nov 30, 2004)

I am setting up my system to dual boot
(Gentoo and Xp)
and since i have 3 hdds, and becuase toggle swittches own, 
id like to rig up some switches so i can manually switch what hdd gets power and thus what os i boot into
ive heard of it being done before, any ideas?


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## w00t (Jun 30, 2004)

I have done somthing like this and am currently helping someone in the HD section with a similar problem, but for you since you are 31337 like that I know a guy who can help you set a switch that can chose which partion boots. He is crazy when it comes to low level programing. I will e-mail him now and if you want to do it I can post instructions from him (I know nothing about low level stuff like he does though).

Or I could help you do it the original way you proposed it.

I will update in a little while.


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## Volt-Schwibe (Jan 12, 2003)

there is a complicated switch i saw for 30$ that changes the jumper settings when you switch it, but it will kill the hard disks if you try to switch them when they are on.


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## w00t (Jun 30, 2004)

O.K. I e-mailed my buddy he should be getting back to me soon but check this out in the mean time. It rocks (Walt mentioned it before me so give him the credit) You can buy it here


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## Volt-Schwibe (Jan 12, 2003)

no wOOt, that isn't the same switch.

it's a better version of what i was referring to.

i am pretty sure that one there locks out the ability to switch while power is on. (which is a really good idea)

the one i was talking about was a cheap peice of crap compared to the one you just linked to.


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## w00t (Jun 30, 2004)

Yeah this one has all other drives in a power off state when you start up. Only the drive you boot off has power.


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## Dilligaf (Dec 11, 2004)

darkone3200 said:


> I am setting up my system to dual boot
> (Gentoo and Xp)
> and since i have 3 hdds, and becuase toggle swittches own,
> id like to rig up some switches so i can manually switch what hdd gets power and thus what os i boot into
> ive heard of it being done before, any ideas?


While the premade switch above is a nice item, I don't know if it is worth the price. Making your own selector switch board should be child's play.

I would, if I were doing it, use SPDT switches and a pair of LED's for each. That way, if the hdd is powered, you would have a green light and if it was not powered, you would have a red light.

A SPDT switch has three contacts on the bottom. Hook the power lead from the red LED to one side, the power from the PSU to the common (middle contact) and the power for the green LED and HDD to the last contact. Run all of your grounds back to the PSU.

Mount the switches on an empty drive bay, one switch for each HDD. When the switch is in the down position, you will have a red light showing it is not powered and when it is in the up position, you will have a green light showing that power is going to the drive. Label each switch so you know which HDD is which and you are done.

You can even buy pre-modded 12v led's from www.jameco.com and no worries about finding the right resistor.


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