Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Dissecting a hard drive

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I just recently pulled apart an old hard drive that I had lying around. I just thought I’d share what I found and post it here. I’ve had the urge to pull one apart for awhile but never got around to it. This particular drive was a 4.3 GB Quantum Fireball. I don’t even remember what computer this one came out of. It was perfect for the task.

IMG_4449 First task was to unscrew the six screws on the top of the drive.

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Part of what attracted me to take this apart was that it had Phillips head screws holding the cover on. Many have the TORX head screws which are more difficult to remove if you don’t have the right tool. But wait….

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There were two TORX head screws hiding under the “Warranty void if seal is broken” sticker

. Since the warranty period is long past I plowed on. I was able to get a tool to remove the screws.

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Then I took a screw driver to pry apart the cover.

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We now see the inside of the drive which hasn’t been open since the factory.

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It almost reminds me of an old record player.

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This is the circuit board that is beneath the drive.

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A close up of the actuator arm. You can see where there was space to add more platters. The platters have a mirror like finish. I just thought share this with others that may be curious as to what’s inside there hard drive. Have a great day!

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