Hilarious Question!

[SpiderLee]

Aloha & thanks for looking,

Briefly, is there any way to lock-up a modern day case? Short of using duct tape, are there any special screws or mechanisms to keep somebody out of the case?

I recently built a computer for a co-worker, a decent machine using an Enlight case. It's his family's fourth computer. The reason my co-worker needs to lock the case up, is that the teenage son keeps breaking into the computer internals, pulling cards etc. to stick into his gaming machine for LAN parties, you know, increased frame rate and all!

My friend thought he broke the new computer and brought it to a repair shop. The repairman told him the problem in two seconds, "You got no memory dude!" My friend found the 256meg chip in his son's computer.

My solution was to build the son a screaming LAN party machine so the need to salvage doesn't exist, but I guess that's not an option!

Any ideas appreciated.

[old dog]

Special tamper proof screws are available from Grainger or other Industrial supply houses. They require special tools to install and remove. another cheap method is to pop-rivit the panels on. Only you have to drill them out to get back in.

[Colonel Sanders]

Bike cable and a pad lock, rap that around the thing enough times, make sure it's nice and tight and there are no bolt cutters in sight. Also good against foreign burglars....

Or just steal the parts back, along with some extras from inside his case. Perhaps lock up his case?

[padawan]

There are a lot of cases that have a padlock option, too. The panels sort of interlock, and won't open unless the padlock is undone to free the side. I've seen it on several cases, and almost all of the workstations I use have it. Office staff are bad about stealing out of company machines.

[glc]

Tamper proof screws would be the only real option on an Enlight case, but the kid can still pull the front bezel off and do some damage - like rip the drives out of the bays. Maybe putting the tower into a cabinet that has a lockable door is the answer - just make sure the cabinet is ventilated. Consider a different case that has a built in locking mechanism?

[Colb]

I know what you need... well, what that dern kid needs. A good slapping! That's the problem nowadays, no respect for parents(partly because some of these parents should not have kids in the first place). Back in the day, a kid would not even think of doing such a thing, because he knew of the consequences he would face. But now, spanking a child is looked upon as abuse....
.....and that concludes my story on respect these days.

[Hpro]

We have some Cases here they have LASHES placed at the back were the cover has a thin slot in it - Now after mounting the cover all you have to do is to secure this the lash with a pad lock - so he is no more able to remove the cover.. another Idea - hit him on his fingers once or twice then he will not do it again..

[fred]

Hi SpiderLee
Yup! Small amount of explosives can be very effective against theft. Swapping live and earth in the PC supply can also have equally funny results.
Ha ha!
Seriously, security screws are excellent. Cyanoacrylate is useful too, for securing things that don't need to be removable.

[Statica]

http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_c1378.html

[morriswindgate]

If your friend has a gun I suggest wounding, don't have to be much more than a graze, but it would stop him. (also works to train cats and dogs)

[Toaster]

Hello folks,
The absolute LAST thing I would do is reward the thief.
If the teeny-bopper lives at home, lay down the law and warn that a breech of that law will result in the loss of "his" system. If his parents can't deal with this, they get EXACTLY what they deserve.
Obviously, the "child" has an athority problem and the only way to meet this problem is head on. Doing this in the world would result in jail time or worse.

[Cricket]

Hi SpiderLee,

I worked on a PC once where all the expansion cards were hot glued down to the slots. I think it was done to keep the cards from creeping loose, but it was a pain to get the cards out to work on the PC. It might be enough of a deterrent for your co-worker's son to leave the PC alone.

Cricket

[BFD Deadeye]

I agree with the "beat the kid" option. No way in hell would I put up with that! Stealing from Dad's computer now, stealing other things from other people in another year or two. They better put a stop to it, or their son is gonna wind up as Bubba's b_tch in the state pen!

[doctorgonzo]

How did this change from a hardward question to a discussion on parenting techniques?

[Tiretool]

Personally I'd offer up the following suggestion:

Take away youngun's computer priveledges.
Take youngun out to woodshed.
Use belt on youngun's backside accordingly.


Other than that... Antec's cases come with a lockable side panel.