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PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2019 11:00 pm 
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My first video can be found at this link covering a laptop hard drive. Since the mid 1990s most hard drive manufacturers have voluntarily matched production designs to help the recovery industry use automated equipment in clean room environments. This means screws tend to be on pre-defined locations. Mountings tend to be in set orders. Etc.
Not every drive matches this method. Raptor and derivatives use custom methodology. As do green/energy efficient drives. Though with these the differences tend to be internal.
As of the late 2000s there are only 5 volume manufacturers furthering the ease of disassembly methods.
Step one. Have the right tools
Step two. Know where the screws are
Step three: know the internals and how to remove them.

The right tools.
Musts. Matching screw drivers and bits.
A low power electric driver OR a driver/drill with a very low torque threshold setting. 1/2psi appears to be the maximum for most disk screws when fully tightened.
This list will cover most 12”, 8”, 5.25”, 3.5”, 2.8”, 2.5”, 2”, and 1.8” drives.

Head and bit sizes:
Philips: 00, 0, 1, 2
Hex/star: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Hex security: 4, 5, 6
Triangle/triforce: 2, 3
Y: 1, 2, 3
Reputable Full service sets are available from tekton, Ryobi, iFixIt, and Security solutions.
Since we’re not looking at recovery you’ll probably want a 1/8” carbide titanium drill bit and a screw remover bit as well: For pesky large old drives.

Disassembly.
Find the screws. Early on this is difficult but once you find the locations they tend to be consistent.
I use a single box cutter ($0.99) and a hardened steel blade ($1.99 for 12). Slit or puncture the plastic cover over the screws.
Turn each screw 1/2 turn clockwise with your hand drivers. This should release the tension enough to not to strip them with your drill. Now have at it with the drill and bits.
The plastic label and hole covers will keep most of the screws semi-attached so don’t worry about pulling them all the way out.

Note: Most 3.5” drives use 6 or 7 size hex screws. Smaller 2” series drives use 4 or 5 hex. The smallest use other bits, as do video game and specialty drives.

Use a standard (flat) screw driver to pop the lid off.

Now the fun part.
Note:Be careful with the magnets at all times. Be they neodymium or cobalt they are extremely strong and with some larger ones, getting a finger between them and something they want to stick to could be bad enough to require a dr or hospital visit.
Some drives have two magnets. If so unscrew the top one first.
Remove the other components in the magnet end of the drive.
The arm may have a screw. If so remove it. Then remove the arm.
Unscrew the bracket from the platters and they should come out easily. Just turn the drive upside down.
Pop the ribbon adapter out through the shell.

Motor: This is one of the most variable parts of the process. Some motors are screwed in. Some are glued in place. Some are actually put into place in the mould before the aluminium is poured in... making it part of the shell/case.

The first type is easy. The second type, flip the case upside down, place a punch directly into the Center of the motor, and wack the punch with a hammer.
The last design, on portable drives the aluminium shell is thin enough you can usually snap it free eventually with some brute force. For 3.5” and larger though; I don’t even try.

If you want to go a step further (as in it’s the recycling process and not the money/time for you) with 3.5” drives the cover is almost always two layers. A stainless (400-series) outer piece and an aluminium layer inside. Often one to 3 pieces in the aluminium layer. So you can peel it apart if you desire to do so.

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:34 pm 
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Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:03 am
Posts: 326
nice work.well writen..

for me its always hammer time on the triangle screws..


lostinlodos wrote:
Now the fun part.
Note:Be careful with the magnets at all times. Be they neodymium or cobalt they are extremely strong and with some larger ones, getting a finger between them and something they want to stick to could be bad enough to require a dr or hospital visit.
.
[its not fun lol]
advice well recived i took a chunk out my finger once when one of these stuck to my metal bench..


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