multiple hd usage indicator

[taintedplay]

ok, i have a bank of 10 harddrives i want to use led's for. i was thinking 4 led's in a line each, and hook them up so like 1 led is not being used much, and 4 is being used hard. or some how 1 led is the harddrive is empty, and 4 is full.

would either of those be possible?

[slaveofconvention]

I'm sure it's possible, but it's going to be seriously complicated. You'd need custom software to read the capacity of each disk, the amount of space used, calculate the percentage to the nearest 25% (if you're going with 4 LEDs with empty being all off, nearest 33% if you want empty to light one led). Then you're going to need a USB controller or something to send this information to a custom programmed Chip to convert the software readings into power to the leds as well as a PCB capable of holding both chips, and the 40 LEDs - a pretty daunting prospect if you're capable of all of those steps.

It occurs to me that I've never seen a commercial product which does this which kinda leads me to believe that it's extremely complex to implement, or possibly that no-one has ever thought of it. Personally I'd assume the former :(

Sorry

[d_stilgar]

My guess is that no one has ever done it, but that it is possible. I would start by searching the internet for programs/hardware that monitor hard drives. You'll eventually find something that can be modded/hacked to do what you want, or at least get you closer.

I love the idea!