Custom Computer Case PVC Based

Did you know that one of greatest cost on PC modding is a computer case? Except for those who have lots of money, expends on it could similar to a complete AMD Phenom or Intel Quad Core PC. Although that this only PC case price now is start from US$21 (Rp. 250.000) until US$320 (Rp. 3.824.000), but here in my situation the problem is not that high case price. As I still have an oldies PC (powered by Pentium III 750MHz) which I purposed as Media Center in living room, but anyway I actually intended to make it as a barebone looked like, without changing any of new hardware absolutely. Just try to re-substitute it “skin”.

The problem is that my motherboard which is ASUS CUSL2-C isn’t a Micro ATX based form factor which has dimension of 20.8cm x 30.5cm. So that I can’t see any chance to place it on any barebone case. But then I got inspired from somewhere on internet - which I forgot the URL was - where I can think any possibility to make a PC frame from PVC tube.

I then immediately take off & strip all the devices attached from old case. From this, I started to create an optimal layout for new case & finally I found this one below :







After composing layout, I have to calculate the material needed & measured the dimension in order to define length, width & height the PVC slices. Here below is a complete list of the material:





























































Part ID
Part Description
Qty
Part Price
Extended Price
US$ Total
1PVC Male Adapter 1/2" to 3/4" (L letter)
8
Rp. 3.000
Rp. 24.000
US$ 2
2PVC Cross Adapter 3/4" (T Letter)
14
Rp. 2.000
Rp. 28.000
US$ 2.34
3PVC 1/2" 2.5M
1
?
?
?
4Small Hinge – 1 pack
1
?
?
?
5Fan with LED light
1
?
?
?



TOTAL
Rp. 52.000
US$ 4.34


Fortunately that I have stock parts #3, #4 & #5, so I didn’t know how much prices expense exactly for that. You can check all of the parts to home depot near to you or check from this link. Anyway, based on layout I then slice the PVC into various small parts which was 16’s of 6cm, 5’s of 17cm, 2’s of 9cm & 4’s of 10cm.



After sawed the PVC’s, I begin to bunch the parts to make a base frame for PSU, hard drive & DVD place.



Next stage plan is to make 2nd frame for motherboard & the rest of devices. Don’t forget to neat the cables & fixing power & reset switch orderly.











From this point, you have completed about 75% of the total progress. The last is to bunched the wrench case so that it will tight fastened.









It’s done & now the time to test it. Apply all of additional devices attached to CPU & let it burning in any way to make sure that the case is now ready to show off.



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Resolving AspireOne Problem That Won’t Boot Up

Here was my experience happened to my AspireOne that has a problem, a serious one I thought. One time before I post about OpenSolaris 2008.11 article, my AspireOne can’t booting up for some unknown reason. It’s a weird situation & truly, I was confused. But anyway, I was successfully how to resolve it since I found a document somewhere in the internet (forgot where the URL was) & tried to followed the instruction explained on it.

From source I read, it was BIOS problem (some product which has 3304 BIOS version like mine). One great thing & I just know is that AspireOne has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, making it possible to flash the BIOS even if the system doesn’t boot anymore. It’s only meant for emergencies & may void your warranty, so use at your own risk.

First of all, prepare 2 files; latest BIOS (876Kb) & flash software included on package (FLASHIT.EXE). Here I supply 4 latest BIOS version on my blog (3305, 3307, 3308 & 3309) completed with FLASHIT.EXE. So, if you think that you have 3304 version, just download 3305. But if you think that you have 3305 version, download 3307 one and so on. Also, prepare an USB stick & format it with FAT type. An article on how to format it you may download & view here.



Next, put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file in the root directory of the stick. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that's important. Do not remove the USB stick.

Turn the AA1 off, make sure both battery and AC adapter are connected. Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button to turn the AA1 on. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds, the power button will be blinking. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate the BIOS flash, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button will stop blinking, and the AA1 will reboot shortly after. Wait patiently.

The BIOS has been flashed and all settings reset to default. If for some reason you made a mistake during the procedure and it doesn't reboot by itself wait 5 minutes before turning it off, just to be safe that it isn't still flashing the BIOS. If you think that flashing procedure has completed successfully, turn on again the system to check that your system now is ready.

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