# Problems w/Antec Sonta II case and hard drive



## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

Hello! 

I am building a computer using the Antec Sonata II case. The hard drive (Seagate 250 G sata2 drive) will not fit in the hard drive bay. A friend from work told me it is a tight squeeze but this is rediculous! I did a search on the interent to see if anyone else had similar problems but I am not finding anything. I even tried putting rails on the hard drive and putting it in the bays for raid and it would not fit in there either. This is the third computer I have built. The last one was an antec case with a seagate ATA 120 gig hard drive and I did not have any problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

I have a Sonata I and a Sonata II and have Sata drives in both and they fit fine. Since drives are pretty well standard in their structure, I don't understand why you are having those difficulties. Yes, you must put rails on them, but do make sure you have the rails on properly and they will fit. You might have to change the holes that your are using (there are many ways you can mount them to the rail) to mount them to the rail and try another set of holes. You should not have trouble getting Sata drives in there.


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## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

Thanks... the drive fits in the hard drive bay fine without the front (black) panel that you see from the front of the PC but I cannot put the black panel on with the hard drive because there isn't enough room. Without the black panel protecting the hard drive you can see straight into the computer The hard drive seems to be too big. When I slide the hard drive in without taking the black panel off it will not go all the way in... it stops right where the sides of the front panel start. I can't figure it out because the other PC I built the hard drive slipped right in without any problems. There aren't any screws stopping the hard drive from going in it is the black panel. A friend from work said that the larger drives are 1/8 inch bigger and that it is a tight squeeze. Help...


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

It is a tight squeeze for all of them in most cases. Take out the screws and there should be another set of screw holes either on the rails or the drive. You need to move the rails closer to the front on the drive and that should permit it to fit. The back of the drive should (where you connect your ribbon cable and power) be up or so you can easily put the cable on. I still think you are dealing with a screw hold adjustment issue on this. I have had every kind of drive imaginable on mine and they do work.


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## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

The only way the drive fit in the hard drive bay is if the front panel in the hard drive bay is taken off. Without the panel on you can see throught the front of the PC. I have tried different holes, etc. but the front panel has a little notch that connects it to the removable bay that the hard drive sit in. This is where the hard drive stops... it will not go any further. The rails (that snap the hard drive in place) on the side of the removable hard drive bay are permanent. I can' remove them. Any other suggestions? I tried putting the drive in the extra bays below with the removable rails and it will not fit in there either.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

The hard drives need (must) go in the bays at the BOTTOM of the case that fit in sideways. I did not realize you were trying to put them in the Top bays....they don't go there. Those slots are made to fit CDRom drives that have a front bezel on them and not straight unbezeled drives.

Are you saying the drives are too deep (long) or too wide for the bottom bays? Why can you not move the drive rails that screw to the side of the drives? The have several places on both the rails and drives to position them.

Are you certain you are putting those rails on properly? There is something wrong here besides a drive being too large.


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## kodi (Jun 30, 2004)

Can you post some Pictures?


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## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

The top three bays are the CD ROM bays the two under are hard drive bays. Just curious... has this changed? The last computer I built (two years ago) using the Antec Sontata II case the hard drive went in the smaller bay under the CD ROM bay. If I am supposed to put them in the 4 bays below then I think I know what the problem is... my drive is OEM and I did not get rails with it. I was using the rails that are used for the CD bays (they come with the computer). They might be too big. I have some old rails from a old case but they don't seem to fit because of their shape... so I guess that is the problem then? I just need to get rails for this hard drive to put in the bottom bays. If this is the case, let me know. Thanks for being patient with me...


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

I have never used the top bays for hard drives, because I use them for the floppy drives and a Omega drive. They have a front bezel on them and work best in there.

The rails come with the case and not the drive. Mine have purple plastic embedded into the metal framed rails that fastens on to the drive with springs that fit in the rails. YOu can move them up and back on the drive and fasten them where ever it fits best.

The bottom bays (all of them) are made for hard drives and you put the rails on that came with the case. If you don't have the rails, call Antec and they are great at helping you out on issues like this. That would be my suggestion.


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## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

Thanks... I have the purple rails that came with the case. I put them on the hard drive and tried the bottom bays but how hard must I force the drive to go in? Is it normal to force it? By the time I am done I will be surprised if the hard drive works--that is how much resistance there is when I try to get it in. The rails seem as if they are to big... 

Let me know if I must force the drive in. The rails seem to go in ok without the drive but with the drive it is another story. Thanks again for your response.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Duplicate not needed


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hey, glad you are still on. I screwed up with the advice. I had not had the case on my Sonata II open for a long time, so went and opened it and this is what I found.

First of all, the purple rails are for the top bays and you fasten them on to a drive that has a front bezel on the drive. This would be like a cdrom/dvd/floppy, etc and they fit in the top bays.

The bottom bays are for hard drives and they DO NOT use rails. If you take the side off the case and look in there, you will see the hard drive slots (all are for that) on the botton. Then, if you look directly at it, you see these two shiny spring like things and you pull them together toward the center and out slides these little trays. You pull the tray out, put the drive in those trays, screw the drive to the tray, and slip the drive back in. There is no force needed.

Let me know how you come out with this issue.


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## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

Awesome!! Who would have thought the rail would pop out! But one little thing... the hard drive seems to be too small now. There is about an 1/8th of an inch space on each side of the drive. If you still have your case open, can you see how your drive is sitting in the bay? Are you sure there is not an additional rail on the drive? If not, I guess I need to find longer screws? I really appreciate your effort.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Good News on that question. It has been so long since I had this case (I fix them, but don't get in my own cases much) open to see how it works. Each case is different, but here is the information you need to know.

Antec made this series as a very quiet case. Therefore, if you look at the bottom of that tray, you will see four holes that are cushioned by rubber grommets. If you put that drive in the tray, the screws go up through those grommets and in the bottom of the drive. Those grommets keep the drive vibration down and lesson noise transfer through the case. Therefore, the 1/8 you speak of on each side is the way it is supposed to be and they are not screwed on the side. Leave the back of the drive so you can easily connect the cable or the back is so you can directly see it when it is slid in the case.

Let me know if that works for you.


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## anawim (Nov 10, 2007)

Perfect!! That was it! Thank you so much! Now I just hope the drive works after all it has been through. Thank you for your patience and all the effort. This is my first time on this site and I am impressed!


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

You are most welcome. Those drives will take quite a bit so it should be fine. Been nice chatting with you. Don't be a stranger on the forum, stick around and enjoy all the areas that you have an interest in. Might be a great idea to mark this one as solved now.


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