Introduction

"Stealthing" drives has always been one of the favourite mods the average modder likes to do. It's a very simple and stylish modification for just about any case. Having that plain and ugly beige CD/DVD drive on the front of your case just doesn't suit the overall appearance. It is thanks to simple modifications such as stealthing that even a zero-budget person can rightfully brag about his computer. Not only that, but newbie modifiers can easily handle this task without regret.

Parts

• Cutting Tool (Dremel or Metal Saw)

• Drill

• Glue (Epoxy)

Parts

• Extra front Bezel (Case cover)

• Plastic (CD jewel case)

• Spongy sticky pads (2x)

Preamble

In this guide I chose to use an Aluminum case because it requires a few more steps and planning than the average steel and plastic case. For those out there who plan to stealth a plastic bezel piece, this is your chance to do some of your own modding. Of course I had to do it because the look of the beige DVD drive was unbearable. It would stand out from the beautiful aluminum surface; ruining the look, so it would have to be hidden or simply removed! Sadly, on my first case the drives were pre-stealthed. For an alternative way to cover up your drives, I may make another guide on creating an opening door bezel in the near future.

Let's Get Started

Here is the case with the original DVD drive in place. Notice it's incredibly plain and typical looking. Without hesitation I started converting the DVD drive. The first step is to mark the bezel and cut it to be flush with the rest of the case front. For plastic bezel pieces, follow the same idea. You may need to remove or shave down the sides of the bezel in order to fit it back into the case. Remember that the bezel piece must easily fit into the case without any resistance. Otherwise, the bezel piece will get stuck halfway before receding into the case.

If you're going to mount the bezel piece in a vice, I highly recommend putting wood or some sort of soft material to cushion the bezel piece. This will lessen the chances of the surface of the bezel getting scratched or harmed. Once the bezel has been cut, you must level out the edge by using sandpaper or a metal file.

Find the place on the CD/DVD drive where the LED indicator is. Mark the spot on the bezel piece directly over the led indicator. Note: Failure to place the spot exactly over the led will result in improper luminatation. The purpose of the hole is to create passageway for the led indicator light to pass through. Then Drill the hole accordingly.

The next step is to create small stacking platforms. You can use a CD jewel case because they're plentiful and easy to cut. The main reason why I used jewel case plastic is that it's very thin and is easily stacked for adjustable height. Cut small pieces of the jewel case. Note: The pieces don't have to be too big, only as big as the tray cover. Create more pieces for later use.

• In my situation I used an extra piece to cover the holes on the front of the bezel piece. This step is completely optional and unnecessary in most cases.

  
  

Now For The Easy Part

Using the spongy sticky pads with the plastic pieces, elevate the height according to your needs. I used 3 pieces per side including the sticky pads, which created a 2mm thick platform. Using epoxy glue firmly attact the pieces to the bezel. Make sure to not obstruct the eject button. If you do, you'll be forced to remove or cut the obstructing piece.

Cut out a clear piece of the jewel case, and rough up the surface using sandpaper. Glue the piece over the drilled hole. Face the roughened side of the plastic pointing inward (That is, pointing inward when mounted on the case).

• Note: The purpose of roughening the surface is to help spread out light from the LED indicator. That way the light can be visible from the outside of the bezel.

  
  

• Pointing the roughened side away from the viewer helps protect the roughened surface from being smoothed.

  
  

Next, find the location of the eject button on the CD/DVD drive, and create another stacked platform using the rest of the small plastic pieces. I used about 5 pieces creating a 3.5mm platform. It is important to test out the required size before any gluing takes place.

Attach the bezel piece firmly to the tray door using the spongy sticky pads. It is important to have the flexibility of the pads to ease the motion of pressing the eject button in. If there wasn't any flexible material such as the sticky pads, the glue would fail and fall apart over time.

Thats it! Just mount the drive inside the case and do the last of the adjustments.

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Unique Hardware is not responsible to any damage to your software or yourself from using this guide.