[asterisk-users] No-mobo PC for USB Drives Enclosure?

[Matthew Rubenstein]

	I have over a half-dozen different SATA hard drives, each with
different data (configs, voiceprompts, voicemail, CDRs, AGIs) for each
one's different user groups and applications. Each one's load on the
Asterisk server is small enough that one server can host them all,
accessed easily over USB.

	But right now, each one is in its own external USB enclosure on a
powered USB hub. I want to combine them all into a single large
enclosure. I tried to use a single PC chassis, leaving the USB hub
inside with the drives screwed into it, and powered from the PC power
supply as internal drives on the proper drive power output plugs. But
without a PC motherboard plugged into the power supply, too, the power
supply won't start up to power the drives.

	I don't want to add a motherboard: that costs money, and sucks power,
and is totally unnecessary. I just want to make this gutted PC chassis
power my drives only, and have them connect to the complete PC sitting
next to it via the single USB cable coming out of the drive chassis. How
do I do that?

	Is it possible to use the extra, unused floppy power plugs to power
more hard drives, with an adapter? Is it possible to split the existing
hard drive power plugs to each power multiple drives? How many drives
can I split each power plug into? The power supply is a cheap 300W unit,
and the drives draw max under 9W each:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=311 . So can I power
25-30 of these drives, or at least 10?
-- 

(C) Matthew Rubenstein