Iv done it over 200 + time the only thing that got very weak was the laser and had to change it today.
lmao, cut a hole, the best thing you could do is jsut remove the case and leave it off, cutting holes would b messy and also increase the chances of scoring the disks with the laser, as for it damaging parts iv never heard of this, iv been hotswapping for years now , had to replace my laser once but thats a comon fauly with the drives, if you do cut a hole id sugest removing the magnet from the top cover that holds the disks in place or they will fly out/get damaged