I have this case, and it has quite a few openings for serial and parallel ports in the chassis. I have seen on other cases in the past that had these covers, either clip-on or with screws, but I'm not sure what to search/Google for.
Does anyone know what these things are called and even better, where I might be able to get them?
Photo of said case with open serial and parallel ports:
Blanking plates or panels , although its not a standard like the card slots, you'll probably have better luck in thinking creative
The connectors on those used to be connected by ribbon either to a PCI card, or to the motherboard
wrote:For starters, you could just slap some strips of electrical tape over them.
Or create a pair of blanking plates.
Measure the following distances:
(A) Topmost edge of the upper hole to bottom most edge of lower hole.
(B) Distance between two adjacent holes.
(C) Distance between the mounting holes for one connector
Find a piece of metal which is (A+B) long and (C) wide.
Gaffer tape the plate inside the case, and then from the outside make four marks on the plate for the two topmost and bottommost mounting holes.
Drill holes
Fasten plate inside case with 4 off M3 nuts and bolts (or whatever the imperial/customary equivalent is)
If you need to use one of the holes in the future remove the plate, slide it along and refasten to liberate a hole.
Said plate could also be drilled to accept a panel mounting PS/2 mouse connector...
The 9way holes could be used to mount a pair of USB sockets stolen from a rear slot mounting plate - if you do that just fill the third hole with DE9 connector.
My case has something similar but the manufacturer soldered metal plates roughly the same shape (possibly the actual bit of metal that was cut out of the case) in place to keep them covered if you didn't need them. Like those annoying plates you find welded across drive bays on occasion.
You need those. These things are universal, but don't ask me where to buy them I simply don't know.
Anyway, some OEM suppliers used metalized (aluminium) self adhesive tape to cover unnecessary holes on cases and that's the easiest way to do it, and doesn't really look bad.
New items (October/November 2022) -> My Items for Sale
I just glued piece of gray plastic to cover it inside the case and it works quite well. It stays there well enough but it is also easy enough to remove if I need the hole for something later.
Double sided tape on a piece of grey metal or plastic on the inside will do the job and its not permanent so you can remove or shift as and when required.
There's a glitch in the matrix.
A founding member of the 286 appreciation society.
Apparently 32-bit is dead and nobody likes P4s.
Of course, as always, I'm open to correction...😉
1) Buy a tap and die set
2) Buy some sheet metal (aluminum works well)
3) Get some tin snips and a set of metal files (if you get a softer aluminum, get a wire brush to clean the aluminum out of the teeth of the files)
4) Make some paper templates matching the shape of the opening with screw holes.
5) Use tin snips to cut sheet metal and file off the rough edges, drill screw holes
6) Use taps to tap the holes for the screws you want to use
7) Screw the plates into place on the inside of the case
Alternatively, you can just use nuts and washers to hold the plate in place, but I find that counter-sunk screws in tapped holes give a better presentation.
Also, once you have a tap and die set, you'll be using it for all kinds of stuff.
