Installation (continued):

The first step to installing a hard drive is to screw it to the cover plate so that the connector is facing towards the front of the case. For this installation a 2.5" to 3.5" data and power cable adaptor was required, but not included with the case, so just make sure you have one on hand if necessary.


You will want to have a short IDE ribbon and use the empty area at the front of the case to fan fold the excess as you put things together.


Here we see it all sealed up and ready for action. When fully loaded, the M300 does seem a bit stronger than my initial impressions, but it definitely isn't the most rugged case I have used. I am considering using this in an automobile and I am a bit concerned about the strength of the front face and the easily activated power button.


The back panel has just about all the connections you could want, minus Firewire. I am planning a modification to cut out an opening for a single Firewire port in the unused area just to the left of the expansion slot.


And just to show off the very nice feature of the integrated CompactFlash slot we have the above right image. The system recognizes the card as a hard drive (which can be used as a boot device), and the door can be closed with a card installed to conceal / protect it.