28/12/2009

How to dismantle a Verbatim 3.5'' SmartDrive

WARNING: This will void your drive's warranty.
Most external drive cases are absolutely self-explanatory, this one is a bit scary (too many plastic notches and bendable stuff). If you've still got a choice, better get a completely unscrewable one like the Western Digital model with the silicone covers.
You need: a small Phillips screwdriver and a spudger or Mum's nail file. The drive inside is SATA (in my case, a Samsung HD103SI).

  1. Put the case upside-down and prise loose the back cover (the one with the power and USB connectors below it) using the spudger on the three small slits at the case border (see image 2). Remove the cover by sliding it upwards.
  2.  Slide off the outer metal casing  and remove the 4 Phillips screws holding the drive to the inner part (image 3), as well as the 2 screws holding the logic board.
  3. Lift the back part of the drive carefully upwards over the case's back rim and pull it free from the board. The SATA connectors in the case are in a truly awkward position, see image 4.
So, yeah, it works. It even worked after reassembling, although I'd recommend a ground bracelet.

6 comments:

DaWuzzzz said...

What was the problem with that Disk?

avocadohead said...

Didn't want to transfer 400GB of data with USB, so I plugged the disk into a SATA port. Business as usual, really, and I ought to be commended for doing my backups ;-)

DaWuzzzz said...

Makes sense: DO YOUR BACKUPS - REGULARLY - BEGINNING NOW!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post. I used your instructions to open/disassemble a 1 TB Verbatim 3.5 smart drive. Worked like a charm :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you!
worked perfect

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot for this clever guide. I bought a 2Tb disk, but must be identical to the 1Tb, since I followed your instructions and it worked like a charm. Thanks again! ;-)