Disassembly and assembly of the Quantum ProDrive LPS hard drive - HDD - in illustrations

Almost any article regarding hard drives contains a warning: It is absolutely forbidden to disassemble a hard drive - this will inevitably kill it! This is what the warnings sound like... I won’t argue, moreover, I myself subscribe to this slogan. For an amateur (which I myself am), delving into the insides of the screw is like death. However, I wonder what's inside?! Buzzing... but who, and how?

Therefore, we take out a completely outdated, but quite functional IDE hard drive from the locker Quantum ProDrive LPS™ with a capacity of as much as 340 megabytes! Once upon a time this figure was fantastic, and such a hard drive was a pipe dream for almost all computer scientists, perhaps the entire planet... What is it good for now? Who knows, please write, I have a couple dozen of these screws lying around... All I came up with (excluding, of course, the change to non-ferrous metal) was to verify from my own experience that the HDD cannot be disassembled. So, taking the hard drive out of the locker, I arm myself with a screwdriver and a camera.

To begin with, here are pictures of a still untouched hard drive - it is fully working, various tests (fortunately the screw is small) pass with a bang. Naturally, when working, it crackles, is slow, and so on. And from a heating point of view, it is ideal, especially considering some modern models...

The Quantum ProDrive LPS electronics are secured with four screws - unscrew them. Quite tight! Pull back the latches on the flexible cable connector. Let's take him out. Then we charge the fee. The bottom of the board is glued with thin foam rubber and has an elastic contact pad - power supply for the spindle motor. Nothing interesting yet.

Next, unscrew the six screws of the top cover that are tightened to death. We tear off the cover. The contact areas have a sealed yellow gasket. Let's look inside - aha! These are the same plates! There are two of them. There are also read-write heads. Well, not without other, in my opinion, absolutely unnecessary rubbish :)

Well, what else can you do with it?

I did not disassemble the head mechanism - it is quite complicated and cannot be done without a special tool. Now we assemble in reverse order. Along the way, I notice that large specks of dust and lint have already gotten onto the plate from somewhere - I blow it off without any precautions. We connect the screw to the computer and turn on the power. Yeah! Are you buzzing?!

Yes, even though the “IT professors” told us, even though they frightened us, the Quantum ProDrive LPS screw works. No problem. I'm doing a few tests - ok.

It’s clear that the Quantum ProDrive LPS propeller is ancient, slow-moving, etc. and so on. It’s clear that I didn’t disassemble particularly important components. It’s clear... Tomorrow I’ll try to take it apart... Although, to be honest, centering the pancakes like the factory method won’t work 100%. Let's try.

So, the myth about the special touch-me-not HDD is not entirely accurate.

ATTENTION! If you destroy your brand new hard drive using this method and it (the infection) dies, I am not responsible for this. Although, it’s unlikely to die, but the micro-dust particles that get caught will most likely very quickly result in bad blocks, and if anything larger, the heads will crack... And there will always be dust, even in the cleanest room... In general, anyone - the screw will get screwed!

Good luck with your showdown! But only for educational purposes! And only with unnecessary junk.

P.S. Yes, I’ll have to collect all the screws in a bag and take them to the nearest collection point for non-ferrous metals... I figured that if I donated all these screws, and also about five or six old five-inch flops, then I could buy twenty bottles of beer... Eh, sorry for the hard drives aluminum, not copper - copper is more expensive...

Mikhail Dmitrienko, Alma-Ata, 2007

Hello everyone! Today I’ll tell you about how to disassemble and repair a hard drive. Came into my hands external hard drive Western Digital 750 GB Elements SE Portable WDBABV7500ABK with a complaint of a sudden drop in speed. In more detail, it looks like this: we connect the hard drive to a USB port, start copying - at first the speed stays around 22 Mbps for several minutes - then it can sharply drop to 200 Kbps or even freeze. After several attempts and tugging at the cable, it seemed that The mini-USB connector has poor contact or microcracks in the place where the connector is soldered to the board.

How to disassemble an external drive case

Well, let's disassemble the device - after all, it is no longer under warranty. If we think about usability, I will say that the case has a nice structure and rounded corners, and the USB cable looks good.

Hard drive enclosure assembled with latches, so in the places indicated in the photo we pry it with a sharp knife and snap it off.

The hard drive is not secured in any way to the case, except rubber dampers.

The part number is not indicated on the screw sticker - most likely this hard drive was immediately planned for installation in a portable case. The power supply is immediately indicated as 5V, 0.6 A - the hard drive board does not have a SATA connector, but immediately mini-USB connector installed. To be honest, this is the first time I have come across such a solution, so I can only speculate about the reliability of the device.

How to remove a hard drive board

To unscrew six screws holding the electronic board, use a T6 star screwdriver.

Having removed the board, we see that it has two groups of contacts– for powering the stepper motor and a group of contacts for the I/O interface.

Disassembling and repairing a hard drive - diagnostic result

Having examined the Western Digital electronic board, I came to the conclusion that the mini-USB connector was soldered very well and that was not the problem. I started calling where the signal goes next - everything turned out to be simple. From the mini-USB connector, the “Data+” and “Data-” signals pass through the dual inductors and further to controller Initio INIC-1607B manufactured by Silicon Technology Co., Ltd.

This controller provides a transition from the SATA protocol to USB 2.0, so you can solder your favorite SATA if desired. So, when dialing, the contact somehow suspiciously disappeared when the board was bent - I found out that a microcrack occurred in inductor L11 due to bending of the board. It turns out that the electronic board has low mechanical strength and bends easily when connected

Sometimes the user needs to disassemble the HDD drive of his laptop:

What tools should you stock up on before disassembling your hard drive?

Before disassembling a laptop hard drive, you need to acquire the appropriate set of tools. To determine its composition, you need to carefully examine the drive itself. Different HDD manufacturers use screws with different slot shapes on the head, so there is no universal solution. As a rule, to disassemble a laptop hard drive, you need a small (“clockwise”) Phillips screwdriver and a key, the cross-section of which has the shape of a 6-pointed star (the so-called Torx). The dimensions of the screwdriver and key, however, must be selected individually for a specific drive model. The design of some HDDs does not contain fasteners with a slot for Phillips screwdrivers - in this case, only a key will be enough. It is also useful to have special flat levers that can be easily replaced with a regular stationery knife.

Also, before disassembling the hard drive, you need to determine where the screws are located. The difficulty is that very often manufacturers place them under various stickers. In addition, stickers also act as seals: the product warranty becomes void if they are removed. Therefore, it is not recommended to disassemble the laptop hard drive yourself before the warranty period expires.

So, you have removed the drive from the computer, acquired the necessary tools, and located all the screws. How to disassemble a laptop hard drive? This operation must begin by removing the controller. A controller is an element in a drive that controls the drive and transfers data. Technically, the controller is implemented in the form of a printed circuit board, which is connected via a cable to the mechanical part of the HDD. Unscrew the screws holding the controller to the case, then carefully - so as not to damage the cable - turn it over. After this, you can disconnect the cable from the board. On modern devices, very often the cable is adjacent to the board using contact pads, i.e. not attached to it. However, it is not recommended to abruptly remove the controller to avoid damage to the cable.

The next step is to disassemble the mechanical part of the laptop HDD itself. It should begin by unscrewing the screws holding the cover. Sometimes, in addition to them, manufacturers resort to various latches - this is where a stationery knife may be needed.

After removing the casing, you gain access to the internal mechanisms of the drive. The next step is to unscrew the screw holding the plates (“pancakes”) on the spindle. By removing them, you can also easily remove other structural elements: magnets, a parking space for the head, a block that moves the reading head. All these elements are secured with screws. It is worth noting that the magnets of the linear motor, which ensure the movement of the head, have extremely high induction - because of this, they are extremely difficult to separate from the body, even in the absence of any additional fasteners.

Disassembling a laptop drive should not cause any difficulties, provided that you have the appropriate tools and are careful when disassembling it. The main rule when working with such equipment is attentiveness. Do not make sudden movements or use excessive force: if you cannot detach the part, make sure that you have unscrewed all the screws, that the element is not held in place by a latch, and so on.

When some hardware problems appear with a hard drive, if you have the proper experience, it makes sense to inspect the device yourself, without resorting to the help of specialists. Also, those people who just want to gain knowledge related to assembly and the general view from the inside resort to disassembling disks on their own. Typically, non-working or unnecessary HDDs are used for this purpose.

First, I would like to warn beginners who want to try to fix the hard drive themselves if any problems arise, for example, a knock under the cover. Incorrect and careless actions can easily damage the drive and lead to permanent damage and loss of all data stored on it. Therefore, you should not take risks, wanting to save money on the services of professionals. If possible, make backup copies of all important information.

Do not allow debris to get on the hard drive plate. Even a small speck of dust is larger than the flight height of the disk head. Dust, hair, fingerprints or other obstacles to the movement of the read head on the plate can damage the device, and your data will be lost beyond recovery. Perform the analysis in a clean and sterile environment, wearing special gloves.

A standard hard drive from a computer or laptop looks like this:

The back is usually the back of the controller that is held on by torx screws. These same screws are also on the front of the case. In some cases, an additional screw may be hidden under the factory sticker, so after unscrewing the visible screws, open the cover very smoothly, without sudden movements.

Under the cover there will be those components of the hard drive that are responsible for writing and reading data: the head and the disk platters themselves.

Depending on the volume of the device and its price category, there may be several disks and heads: from one to four. Each such plate is put on the motor spindle, arranged according to the “storey” principle and separated from the other plate by a sleeve and a bulkhead. There can be twice as many heads as disks because each platter has both sides for writing and reading.

The disks rotate due to the operation of the motor, which is controlled by the controller through a loop. The principle of operation of the head is simple: it rotates along the disk without touching it and reads the magnetized areas. Accordingly, all interaction of these parts of the disk is based on the principle of an electromagnet.

The head has a coil on the back where the current flows. This coil is located in the middle of two permanent magnets. The strength of the electric current affects the strength of the electromagnetic field, as a result of which the bar chooses one or another angle of inclination. This design depends on a separate controller.

The controller contains the following elements:

In this article we told you how to disassemble a hard drive and what parts it consists of. This information will help you understand the principle of operation of the HDD, as well as possible problems that arise during operation of the device. We remind you once again that the information is for informational purposes only and shows how to disassemble an unusable drive. If your disk is functioning normally, then you cannot disassemble it yourself - there is a high risk of damaging it.

If your hard drive fails, you can disassemble it into parts. But such a procedure requires certain skills. To properly disassemble a hard drive, it is important to know a few useful rules.

If you want to repair your hard drive, then know that you cannot open it at home. During assembly of the hard drive, a vacuum is specially created inside the box, thanks to which the device can operate for a long time. If you pull out a hard drive, it will become unusable after a few seconds of exposure to air. Therefore, you can disassemble the device only if you are completely sure that it is faulty. Before removing the hard drive, turn off the computer and unplug the wire from the outlet. If you are using a desktop computer, remove the side panels from the system unit. There are six bolts on the back of the cover. Unscrew them to remove the hard drive without unnecessary obstacles. Disconnect all wires and cables that are connected to the hard drive. Do this very carefully so as not to damage the wires. After this, you can begin to unscrew the hard drive mounting bolts. If you want to remove the hard drive that is in the laptop, first completely disconnect it from the power supply, close the lid and turn it over. Remove the battery from the computer. There is a special latch on the laptop body. Grab it with one hand, and with the other, press up on the back of the computer. Proceed carefully - to ensure that nothing breaks, apply even force. Then the cover will give way and you can remove it from the body.

Some devices are not marked. If it is not there, you will have to open all the covers on the back panel one by one. The hard drive is located under a black film. There is a protrusion on the plug of its cable. Disconnect the cable from the connector. Then remove the securing screws. There is a protrusion on the hard drive case - pull it and carefully remove the device. Prepare a box for small parts, a hard drive, a set of thin screwdrivers and a knife. Wipe the work surface from dust with a dry, clean cloth. Remove the motherboard, which contains resistors, transistors, small circuits, etc. Unscrew the three main screws and carefully remove it. Under the board is the hard drive cover with all the details.

Unscrew the seven screws and remove the cover. Then remove the magnetic head unit. To do this, unscrew the two screws on both sides of the hard drive. Another screw is located in the center - unscrew that too. Be careful - the recording heads have powerful magnets, so you risk getting your fingers pinched. After this, unscrew the four screws and remove the discs from the engine.

The engine base is held in place by three screws. Unscrew them. There are coils located inside the engine. They rotate thanks to a glued magnet. Carefully remove all coils and magnet from the mount. After this you will be left with an empty screw. This completes the disassembly procedure.

Now you know how to disassemble a hard drive into small parts. Try to act slowly and carefully - then you will not damage anything and remove the necessary elements safe and sound.