[noggin]

update to the screws
Just checked my HDD and it has about 5-6mm depth inside the case, the washers take 2mm, so I would say get a 6mm bolt to give you 4 mm inisde the case.
£1.45 for 10
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-PACK-A2-STA...338460ff21

The ebay washers I linked to won't do because the inner diamter is to small for M3
so the tried and tested Maplin will do
£2.99
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/anti-vibration-washers-a26gf

so thats £4.44 (unless you can get your own screws)

(this is an update to this post http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=...pid2058915)

so now users that are wanting to get screws have an affordable option.

Can I suggest you edit the post with advice to make it clear you are suggesting M3 x 6mm screws at that eBay link as he offers many sizes and would be nice to make sure people get right ones. Once you confirm I will be ordering enough for 3 machines. I've ordered 4 cable pack from China so might as well have kits ready for multiple machines. Now I have it I like it so may buy more!

Thanks for all your informative posts and keeping the 1st post completely up to date. Really helpful! I hope other people will add their thanks to 1st post and your rep.

I'm looking to add a 320GB 2.5" HDD I have lying around. I know the cable can be ordered on ebay but would these screws be okay. They are described as M3X6MM for DVD drives etc but they come with washers already and its 50 pieces.for £3.99 which seems good price.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/optical-drive-...hers-a24gf

Not an expert on this yet - but AIUI the screws used for 2.5" and 3.5"/5.25" devices are different - so you may need to swap out the screws for a different size? ODDs are usually 5.25" form factor.

[Mark142]

Reading the comments from MediaPi there is suggestions that a m3 6mm size is the recommended size. I may buy them and see how they go. It's only a couple of quid wasted if they don't fit.

[temp2015]

*duplicate message deleted*

[temp2015]

sorry guys MediaPi here (I'll ask a mod to change stuff so I can log back into my account)

I'm looking to add a 320GB 2.5" HDD I have lying around. I know the cable can be ordered on ebay but would these screws be okay. They are described as M3X6MM for DVD drives etc but they come with washers already and its 50 pieces.for £3.99 which seems good price.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/optical-drive-...hers-a24gf

The screws seem great, but the washers are to small, have a look at Charles pic


the washers need to be atleast 11mm so it catches on the plastic thing, the washers you linked to are less than 6mm, so they won't hold (they would be loose so no anti vibration). I would buy the washers I linked to, since they are confirmed to work and source the screws (the one I posted seem ideal)

Can I suggest you edit the post with advice to make it clear you are suggesting M3 x 6mm screws at that eBay link as he offers many sizes and would be nice to make sure people get right ones. Once you confirm I will be ordering enough for 3 machines. I've ordered 4 cable pack from China so might as well have kits ready for multiple machines. Now I have it I like it so may buy more!

sorry Methanoid for late reply, yeah I would get the M3 6mm, they should be perfect
I'll make sure the first post is updated once I'm logged back in

Drum roll please.

I have just received my sata cable and I would like to report that it works, I now have my 1tb drive connected.

congratualtions and fantastic news! I never doubted you for a second lol thanks for reporting back to Speighty, Can you, if you have time post a picture of the cable inserted in (without cover), I want to see how it looks and how much is sticking out, also while others will report back soon, if you have a 3.5 inch hard drive lying around, can you try to see if the cable powers it? that would be great. great news though bud!

Glad I could help

that was a gem of a find mtx512, I'll rep you once I find my account again. really great you found the cable and sharing that information here

[temp2015]

Mark did you buy the £3.99?
it'll take abit longer but buy the ebay ones and the maplin (washers only) which comes to £4.44

[temp2015]

Just a heads up, ebuyer have increased their prices again, and checking around on european sites, the stock seems to be depleted, so I expect the stock to be running low in the UK(for ebuyer to increase prices). Such a shame to think that this great hardware won't be know more, especially at this bargain price lol get them while you can is my advice, because once theyre gone they would REALLY be gone!

[temp2015]

- Other option is to use an external 3.5" HDD, but linked with sata adapter, is possible? like this, the power need to be supplied by external transformer, right?

If you want to use the internal SATA connection and route it outside you're in the realms of quite serious modding, and would either still need the cable above, plus some kind of extensions, or you'd replace the M2. SSD with an M2->SATA adaptor? Not sure I'd do either. It's not clear whether the SATA adaptor for the internal 2.5" HDD carries the right voltages and current for a 3.5" HDD. We expected it not to but there are PCs that use the same cable with a 3.5" HDD so it is not entirely clear.

looking at the layout


and the fact the hp envy cable can be brought in 190mm size, all you would need to do is connect the cable to the connector, and just feed it straight out the back, (I'm thinking above the green thing). you can then use a filer to scrape just enough to the plastic? so that once you close the lid, it wont cut the cable,(about 0.5 mm , which is nothing) now you have the sata connector outside. just connect the sata drive and place the drive above the case.

if you want you won't need to file anything, if your willing to leave the lid slighlty unclosed.

I think its doable because the substitue cable is so big. This alll relies on if the cable will provide enough juice to a 3.5 hdd (I have a feeling it would) even if it won't, woudn't the 3.5 inch hard drive have its own external power? either way I don't think it'll take any modifications?

This image gives a better idea of what i'm proposing

so the cable just goes straight out just above the green thing
theres plus points on having the cable so big!

[CeeJayDee]

My original intention was to buy an Asus Chromebox but I decided to buy the HP 260 G1 for £88.16 via Flubit this morning and have just received an email saying that it has been despatched. How quick is that! Wont be bothering with Windows 8.1 and will keep the 32GB SSD and do a clean install of OE as all I want it for is to stream with Kodi. Will plug in a USB Wifi Dongle for starters but may well install a WiFi/BT card later.

Cant wait to set it up but is there an 'idiots guide' to install OE on the G1? (similar to that for the ACB).

Special thanks to oWarchild (on another thread) for nudging me in the right direction and saving me some hard earned cash

[Mark142]

re Openelec there is the Wiki here http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/HOW-TO...ab=Windows

Basically download image from here http://releases.openelec.tv/OpenELEC-Gen...5.3.img.gz

Burn to USB stick using Win32Diskimager, plug USB stick in HP 260 G1, change boot order to USB stick and follow the very simple instructions on the openelec installer.

[CeeJayDee]

Much appreciated, Mark142

[temp2015]

I would definitely save a copy of the windows 8.1 before you delete it, or run openelec on a usb and keep the ssd, the resell value on the box would be alot more with the windows .

also order a sata cable from aliexpress for £6.55
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-...06662.html

it'll take a while to come but again the resell value with this cable is worth atleast £20 more with the cable
the screws cost a further £4.44

[matinhas]

- The GPU is fine run the resolution 2560x1440? Not for games, just office and web browsing. I should buy one with displayport to avoid adapters.

I ran a Retina iPad display-based monitor from my 260 G1 via Displayport. That was 2048 x 1536 resolution and worked fine in native res. I can't remember if I tried 3840x2160 via a DP->HDMI converter into our UHD set.

- How difficult is to implement an sata HDD? the 2.5" fits inside the barbone?

There is a 2.5" mounting tray supplied, but you need to source the proprietary SATA cable and screws. The HP cable designed for this box is on back-order, but there appear to be HP Envy 17 cables that also work. More info elsewhere in the thread, as are details on the screws needed.

- Other option is to use an external 3.5" HDD, but linked with sata adapter, is possible? like this, the power need to be supplied by external transformer, right?

If you want to use the internal SATA connection and route it outside you're in the realms of quite serious modding, and would either still need the cable above, plus some kind of extensions, or you'd replace the M2. SSD with an M2->SATA adaptor? Not sure I'd do either. It's not clear whether the SATA adaptor for the internal 2.5" HDD carries the right voltages and current for a 3.5" HDD. We expected it not to but there are PCs that use the same cable with a 3.5" HDD so it is not entirely clear.

Thanks.. I've asked about 3.5" HDD because i have one, but like this, is better to buy an 2.5".

Now i'm facing a bigger problem.. the stores listed on first topic (with the product until 99 GBP) don't post aboard. And price in remain Europe is almost twice.
Do you know other store, that can post to Portugal? ( i can dispense the keyboard since it will not be useful for me. The mouse is welcome , but just the computer its okay too)

[Speighty]

I will get a picture up when I get home.

What are people doing regarding updating to windows 10.

I'm torn, I don't know whether to wait for Microsoft to come out with a solution or just do a fresh install of windows 10, from what I've seen windows 10 should be able to use the product key.

[temp2015]

thanks Speighty!
is that true you can use the same product key? if so then it would make so much more sense to just do a fresh install of windows 10 rather stick with wimboot, BUT make a copy of the 32 gb sd card so you can use that if you wanted to in the future.
But I don't think you can use the product key on another windows install?

matinhas, 2 weeks ago, europe had a better deal on this unit then we had in uk, it looks like they are running low on stock but there should be still some around.

have a look at amazon.de
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00U27YF3E/?smid...-TkleAHmfQ

amazon.de deliver to portugul
https://www.amazon.de/gp/help/customer/d...=200171000

but not sure if any sellers are amazon.de , you could enquire at other stores

and also this
http://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/Offe...rd-hp.html

you'll have to enquire

[Speighty]

I have looked into it a bit more and it doesn't appear that the product key can be used on a fresh install.

My windows 8.1 is working fine at the moment so I am just going to have to wait.

Im sure they will come out with a solution as the amount of devices out there running with a small amount of space will be fairly large.

I have taken a few photos, hope they help.

I bought the screws from ebay, just search using the following product number 450712-001.



I then remved the rubber from the screws and replaced with 4 of the following screws.



The last picture is the sata cable installed, as you can see it sits under the hard drive cage, there is plenty of room.