Thursday, February 10, 2011

Hitachi External HDD XL Desk Series - Disassembly


So this has nothing to do with programming, except for the fact that this HDD enclosure is what's going to be holding backups of all my source code :) I couldn't find any disassembly instructions using Google, and it's quite easy once you know how to do it!

DISCLAIMER: THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY



Step 1:
Say goodbye to your warranty!

Step 2:
Take a small paring knife (or something equally as thin and strong, like a flat bobby-pin) and pop off the front panel. The front panel is the one that has the Hitachi LED that lights up.

Step 3:
Remove the 2 screws hidden behind that panel, and slide the top of the enclosure back!

Step 4:
You should now see 6 screws exposed. You'll need to remove all 6! Pull the Hitachi LED gently upward to remove it.
**Note: up to this point all the screws are the same, and it shouldn't matter which one gets put back where.

Step 5:
The internal HDD rack should now be able to be removed from the enclosure itself. It has 6 screws on the side (mine were black) that have slightly bigger heads than the previous 10 screws you removed. Remove all 6 of these.

Step 6:
The HDD itself should now pull up and out of the little metal rack, and all that's left to do is gently pull the circuit board from the HDD connectors.

** USE CAUTION, AS THIS CIRCUIT BOARD IS WHAT ALLOWS FOR THE HDD TO BE CONNECTED VIA USB. YOU BREAK IT, YOU HAVE TO GET A NEW ENCLOSURE **

7 comments :

doggie015 said...

Thanks for the helpful guide! I have had to remove the cover of my XL1000 due to it overheating. Your guide made it possible (The warranty would not have covered heat damage anyway!)

CloudyOne said...

You're very welcome! I'm glad it was helpful.

My girlfriend, unfortunately, just broke my enclosure by being clumsy...so the joy of having a sleek looking enclosure, is gone :P

Zanam said...

To anyone who has a drive fail and opens the enclosure to retrieve data: Do not think your warranty is gone!

I had one fail and used this guide to open the drive, then called Hitachi explaining the situation. They noted on my RMA to ignore the voided warranty, and I am receiving a replacement in a couple of weeks!

CloudyOne said...

That's excellent news for those opening it due to hdd failure!

I opened mine originally so i could swap out hard drive's. Was told if there wasn't damage to the original one, it would void my warranty.

Trashing said...

Hey, this is great. Just ordered 2 external 3TB Hitachis for my NAS. So now I know how to open it!

Rokinscom said...

How to putit back together *facepalm*

Unknown said...

Many Many thanks! I was about to make a disaster to open the box! You saved my day!