Hard Disk PCB Circuit Repair Data Recovery.pdf

1 Cracking open a laptop hard drive The Hitachi Travelstar Laptops are quickly overtaking desktops as the computer of choice. The heart of any laptop, meanwhile, is its hard drive. Explore this image gallery to see how one of the worlds most popular mobile hard disks (the Hitachi Travelstar) is put together to power countless laptops. Youll gain a new perspective on the main component powering all those notebooks you see the next time you frequent the local coffeehouse. The Hitachi Travelstar mobile hard disk. This model sported a 5400rpm motor, ATA interface and 40GB of data storage. Cracking open a laptop hard drive Removing the hard drive cage 2 This particular Hitachi Travelstar was removed from a Dell Inspiron laptop. Several Philips screws (one of which is shown here at the top left corner) must be removed to free the Hitachi hard disk from the silver hard disk assembly used to hold the hard drive securely within the Dell Inspirons hard disk bay. Cracking open a laptop hard drive The hard disk cage 3 This silver cage, perforated to encourage cooling airflow, holds the hard disk securely within the Dells hard disk bay. Cracking open a laptop hard drive Hard disk cage removed 4 Once the hard disk cages screws are removed, the assembly falls free from the Hitachi hard drive. The Hitachis circuit board, shown here on the right, is then revealed. Cracking open a laptop hard drive Disassembling the Hitachi Travelstar 5 To continue disassembling the Hitachi Travelstar, next several small Torx screws must be removed. So, too, must the drives label. Cracking open a laptop hard drive Disassembling the Hitachi Travelstar 6 The hard disks label must be removed to reveal a seventh hidden Torx screw. Once this last Torx screw is eliminated, the cover freely opens. It should be noted, of course, that removing the label (even if the screw behind the label remains) voids the manufacturers warranty. Cr