i had to file down the bottom of the DVD-ROM's tray cover to allow it to retract without catching on the bezel door.

and now it's about to get vinyl die treatment.

duplicolor vinyl die - at your local auto store.

all taken apart, about to be modded.

green LED - die!

there is enough room for LEDs on the back of the drive.

activity LED is changed to blue, plus three red LEDs on the back of the drive.

the whole thing glows red when it opens!

oh, yeah, the paint is dry.

zalman fanmate - it is going to explode!

nope, no progress reports. i've redone the whole circuit of the fanmate on a PCB, added a blue LED for visual voltage indication, a bypass header to bypass the while thing (from a switch on the bezel), and 2 (and later 3) fan headers to connect 3 devices to the fanbus.

some PCB standoffs and acrylic later, and it's done. you can adjust the speed through a hole in the acrylic.

USB ports and a fanbus bypass switch mounted on the bezel.