# Maxtor OneTouch 4 500GB disassembly...



## Mazumo

Anyone know how to go about disassembling this external drive?
Help would be appreciated

Thanks in advance


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## V0lt

I just bought one of these about 5 minutes ago... I don't see any screws or anything. I'm guessing there's a way to get it open by putting pressure on certain areas and pulling the two sides apart, but my guess is as good as anyone else's.


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## macmedia

Well I just purchased one of these at Staples. I needed an internal 500gb drive and the External drive ended up being cheaper.

Taking it apart requires a bit of finesse.

First, you have to remove the serial number label at the bottom of the case. Be extremely careful not to break the label (there is one large rectangle label and one tiny round label which has crosscuts which break if you remove it). If you use a razor blade, and take your sweet time, you can get it off. You want to do this if you want to preserve your warranty.

Second, remove the bottom screw.

Third, the tough part, is to remove both halves of the case. I had no idea how it was assembled so I just pulled hard, putting some pressure with my fingers on the sides of the case. The case came apart with slight difficulty but I did not break any of the tabs. There are 3 tabs on each side (except the bottom which has 1 tab) holding the case together. Really, it is a hit and miss to try to pry the case apart. I think the best way is to pull with even force with your hands and pray that the tabs stay intact.

Next, with the case apart, you can remove the inner mechanism and drive. Unscrew the the rubber shock absorbers. There, you can remove the 2 bottom screws that are close together that hold the side plate which the One Touch button is located. Just slide out the metal plate and you can then work all around removing the remaining screws and plates.

All in all, it took about 15 minutes of disassembly. I kept all of the pieces so that I can put it back together should I need warranty service. Maxtor has a generous 5 year warranty on this which is the main reason I purchased this drive.

If I had the time to look for deals, I would never go this route - just because of the warranty issue. Taking it apart and putting it together is a royal pain. The internal drive is actually a seagate drive and when you input the Serial numbers and part number on their website, it shows that you have to go back to Maxtor for warranty support.

I'll post pictures if I get the time.


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## pranojit

Thanks dude, your comments helped me. The only thing I would suggest to take precaution is the round sticker (void if broken). I damaged the sticker but if you could, do remove it carefully.

I bought this from Staples which advertised as ATA but this turned out to be SATA hard drive. I do not have SATA cable, have to shop for the SATA adapters.


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## Tokar

I felt the need to disassemble my Maxtor OneTouch 4 hard drive as well (also bought mine on Black Friday).

Just recently it started to act up. I would be using it normally and any of the following would occur:
a) the drive, while plugged in, would subtly power cycle and Windows would bring up the autoplay alert as if I had just plugged the unit in. Quite annoying.
b) when plugging in the drive it would say it needs to be scanned for errors. Everytime I would scan it would come up with MFT or Bitmap errors which needed to be fixed.
c) I would plug in the unit and I could not access a single file. Video files would say I dont have the right decompressor or the file is not a vaild video file. Music files didnt play. Documents didnt read. I would have to turn the unit fully off for a few minutes (i.e. unplug the power) and turn it back on and it would resume normal operation.
d) every once in a while the drive would not even show in My Computer and event viewer would say the drive is unreadable. I would have to wait until Windows fully detected it to scan, and it would scan and fix EVERY file on the drive.
e) and the final straw, sometimes i would plug it in and hear the drive spin up then it would immediately spin down and Windows would not even see anything. The light on the front didn't even go on.

So I used the directions from above - got a hairdrier and carefully removed the circular void sticker covering the single screw on the bottom, carefully moved the sticker with the P/N and S/N, removed that screw, pried apart the two sides, removed the four rubber bumpers on each corner of the metal caging around the HD, slid the hard drive out and found the expected Seagate 7200.10 500GB SATA hard drive.
I got a SATA cable and power converter for my tower, plugged it in to the on-board SATA controller and vuala, the drive worked like a champ. Fixed a few errors probably caused by the Maxtor enclosure, and was on my way. I am going to buy a new enclosure for the unit, one that is more dependable than this Maxtor crap.


Thanks for the directions.


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## macmedia

Tokar - It sounds like from your cycling symptoms that the drive is not getting enough voltage. Perhaps you have another power adapter from another source to test out if you ever get the time.

The 5 year warranty is why I got the Maxtor in the first place. You can always dump everything off now, place the drive back into the enclosure and send off for repair.


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## Tokar

well this is not a singular event, mind you.

I bought two of these units on that particular friday, same store, one for me and one for my brother. My brother has not gotten to the point where it cycles up and immediately cycles down, but he does have the issues where the autoplay keeps coming up, and a sixth event which I didn't mention in the last post: windows sees the drive but says it cant find a partition and asks to format. A reboot while the unit is plugged in fixes things and it sees the partition no problem.

I have quite a few adapters. When I get home from work I will look for one that not only fits but has similar amperage output. It seems logical that its not getting enough power. I first thought it was heat related since the drive was getting hot while I was mistakenly leaving it lying on the rug, but even running it cool did not solve things.

My immediate plans for now is to run over to Microcenter and just pick up a new enclosure, one that has eSATA.


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## bassmachanic

:4-dontkno


Mazumo said:


> Anyone know how to go about disassembling this external drive?
> Help would be appreciated
> 
> Thanks in advance


there is 4 screws on the bottom plate. two under the rear ruber foot. two under the s/n sticker. you can feel for them. after this the bottom plate can be taken off from the front first. then you will see 4 more screws which will release the hard drive assembly. you will find a number of screws holding the can together, but the back of the can just pulls off. be sure to teke the 2 screws out of the button pcb, then everything just slides out. then a SATA drive will be able to remove from the USB/IEEE 1394 adaptor. inside i found a barracuda 7200 rpm:4-dontkno


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## CiaraValentine

i was bought a maxtor 500gb hard drive for my birthday, but the usb port just went straight through the case one day with all my pictures and everything inside it!

im trying to take it apart but unfortunately i dont have a screwdriver small enough for the inner casing as yet.
Will my data still be saved in the drive? or because the usb port went straight through will it all be lost?

thanks in advance
Ciara


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## CiaraValentine

right...i just got it apart, and the small port has come away from the drive, and the little copper thing is lose also.

I tried just holding the ports together to connect to the pc but it says that it exceeds the power limit or something and to disconnect. Does this mean that my drive is well and truly buggered or is there a way of fixing it? i really cannot lose all my data as i have a lifetime of work and photos on it, as well as music but im not fussed about the music, i just want all my pictures back. 

any imput gratefully received!!


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## bassmachanic

you can take the hard drive out of this case. it is a SATA drive and it has 2 ports on it the longer one is the power the other one is to data. you can buy this adapter, ( http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/pro_list/61 ) $10 at FRYS Electronics, and use the drive without the case it came with.


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## GTiManDan

My customer has a 4 month-old OT4 unit that failed. Power supply tests fine. Unit won't spin up, light goes on & then immediately off when power is supplied to it. It seems the PCB inside the case was the problem. 

In warranty replacement, Maxtor will not preserve data telling the customer that dead units merely "get thrown into a pile and a new one will be sent to you". Since my customer needed his STORED data for obvious reasons, he had to hire me to perform some surgery on his young backup device. A one hundred-year warranty wouldn't even suffice in this event. 

I've successfully dissected many externals in the past with no problem, even being able to preserve the warranty labels with no sign of tampering.

Dissection of this unit seems to be made to be impossible by design so as to cause some form of harm to the case for warranty purposes I'm sure. :sigh: The round *WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED* sticker has been designed to thwart anyone's attempt at its careful removal so bear in mind you will void your warranty if you need to retrieve your data on a failed OT4. The upshot is that you can simply install it as an internal hard drive in your desktop PC and keep going. 

The rear tabs that you cannot see inside the case are ultra-thin and break off with the lightest pressure. Once you remove the earlier mentioned two screws under the SN label and two more under the rubber foot, you can then remove the bottom panel and slide the chassis out of the case. The inherent self-destruction may not be the case with older versions of the OneTouch 4, which perhaps were more successfully taken apart without issue.

Remove the obvious screws on the metal chassis if you need to get the hard drive into another case or installed as an internal drive to access your data.

Lastly, *no hard drive is bullet proof* but in my experience the hard drive brands that I see the highest failure rate are, in this order:
Seagate (extremely high failure rate)
Maxtor (very high failure rate)
Fujitsu (nominal failure rate)
and, rarely, Samsung, Toshiba, and IBM/Hitatchi DeskStar and TravelStar drives.

Amazingly, I have only seen a single failure of a Western Digital drive in my 15 years working in this industry and I suspect that owner had opened the case on the HD  as he slipped and admitted doing such to his other drives but, when asked, denied doing it to that WD which was still under warranty with me. 

I earnestly recommend WD and Hitatchi drives to better ensure successful preservation of your often irreplaceable data. I hope this info is helpful to you.

Cheers!
Dan


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## mgoddy

CiaraValentine said:


> i was bought a maxtor 500gb hard drive for my birthday, but the usb port just went straight through the case one day with all my pictures and everything inside it!
> 
> im trying to take it apart but unfortunately i dont have a screwdriver small enough for the inner casing as yet.
> Will my data still be saved in the drive? or because the usb port went straight through will it all be lost?
> 
> thanks in advance
> Ciara


hey Ciara, 
The exact same thing happened with my OT4! Were you able to retreive your data??


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## dthoward64

What do you do if the power cable that came with the drive seems to have died? For some reason the power cable stopped giving the drive power to boot up. I managed to find a different power cable and it worked for a couple of times. Then suddenly I cant get the drive to boot up at all. The drive worked great up until now.


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## raptor_pa

Was the second adaptor the correct voltage?


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## dthoward64

Yes it was a 12 volt. Worked fine for 2 boot ups after that and then wouldnt power it up the next time. Took the power cord back to what the device I had taken it from and it wouldnt power the other device up either. Got a new power cord today and it wouldnt power up the hard drive either. Broke down and opened up the case thinking I could put it in a hard drive enclosure I had. Just my luck the connections are all wrong. Connections on the enclosure are much bigger than where you plug in on the hard drive.


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## jermaine76

bass mechanic, i read your post to CiaraValentine and i appreicate your advice. I had the same problems as described by another post and the company service tech said it would cost 1,200 dollars to get the drive back up at a loss of data.thank u for saving me time and money and maybe have a chance to get my photos and music back. this web site is the stuff!


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## jermaine76

hey gti mandan an I really appreciate the info u gave. I had considered hiring someone to get my info out but don't really have the funds to do this. I did not realize u can use this a regular hd. i got it open no problem and plan to get the proper plugs or adapters for running this right. i will keep u posted on how this turns out and can I get my info. oh yes the tech for Sea gate told me it would cost 1200 hundred dollars to clean out and give back with loss of all info.


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## raptor_pa

Are you sure that wasn't a data recovery price? That sounds more like the cost to repair the drive for data recovery, which is about right for repairing the internal drive. It could well be the drive itself, so if you can't access the data after mounbting it internally, please start a new thread with your dirve's symptoms, and complete model number of the internal drive.


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## jermaine76

yes that's was for data recovery. I have since removed the hd from case and would like to put in place of hd in my comp. This is to see if i can access info on drive from maxtor unit. I read a post that this can be done, but don't want o mess up hole system:4-dontkno can anyone post how to do this with ease.:smile:


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## raptor_pa

Do not replace your existing drive, you will need to attach it as a second drive to an extra port. What is the make and model of the actual drive that was inside?


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## GTiManDan

jermaine76 said:


> yes that's was for data recovery. I have since removed the hd from case and would like to put in place of hd in my comp. This is to see if i can access info on drive from maxtor unit. I read a post that this can be done, but don't want o mess up hole system:4-dontkno can anyone post how to do this with ease.:smile:


Tell me what mfr and model number of desktop computer you have and I'll give you some info to insert it as a secondary hard drive in your system.


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## jermaine76

the mfr is Compaq Presario model #sr1303wm. When I looked at the back of my case it looks as though it has rivets holding the case. I planned to clean inside p.c. but looks like I'm going to have to drill some rivets. This model I got from Walmart say 5 yrs back & might be throw away type.


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## jermaine76

Im thinking about buying a sada hook up for external drive connection but getting alot of good info. Im holding off not in rush to get donewill wait to see what comes from all this knowledge, being I don't know much.


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## jermaine76

sata wrong spelling


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## GTiManDan

jermaine76 said:


> the mfr is Compaq Presario model #sr1303wm. When I looked at the back of my case it looks as though it has rivets holding the case. I planned to clean inside p.c. but looks like I'm going to have to drill some rivets. This model I got from Walmart say 5 yrs back & might be throw away type.


No worries - no rivets ever need to be harmed to open a PC case...at least not in the >16 years I've been doing it as a career :wink:

*Here's how to open your specific case:*
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...ory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=447312

*Here's how to add another hard drive to your specific PC:* [see *note* below!]
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...ory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=447312
*
NOTE:* The last link shows you how to _replace_ your hard drive, whereas we only want to install your external hard drive as a secondary internal unit. Ignore the information where it shows you how to take your hard drive out, and do not remove the power or data cable from it - instead, you will utilize an empty drive bay near your existing internal hard drive and utilize the spare drive mounting screws usually included inside your PC for the drive you're about to install. Sometimes these extra screws that HP/Compaq puts inside the case are in the area you'll be working in, other times they are behind the front cover in which case you should find a _How to remove the front cover_ link from the above links I listed. Just look for a row or two of screws beside each other on the interior of the case that aren't holding anything to the case and are merely occupying empty screw holes. These are spare drive install screws you can use for 2.5" or 3.5" drives, and the screws are usually color-coded in black or silver - pay attention to the color of the screws holding in your hard drive, and use the same color to install the new hard drive as it makes a difference in the thread pitch of the screw; use the wrong screw and you can strip out the mounting holes on your hard drive, making for a sloppy install.

You will likely need a data cable, and hopefully your old external drive has a SATA connector for simpler installation. If not, you may need to source an EIDE [aka: IDE or PATA] 40-pin "ribbon" data cable from somewhere. Try google-searching SATA CABLE CONNECTOR and then IDE CABLE CONNECTOR then click IMAGES so you can see the difference and determine which you have. In either case, the SATA or IDE cable will only connect one way as the connectors are keyed; do not force it, or you could damage the drive - just pay attention to any "keyed" areas of the connector cable end, and the hole you're about to put it in and make sure they match up. It's quite simple actually, like putting together two pieces of a puzzle. If it's an EIDE ribbon cable, be sure the pin jumpered on the end of the drive is set to "CS" [Cable Select], and ensure your existing C: drive is also set to "CS" if it is also EIDE/IDE/PATA. If it's a SATA drive, there are no pins to adjust - just connect & go! :grin:

Once the drive is installed, and data and power connections made to it and you start the PC, windows should now show your extra drive listed in the Windows Explorer window [right-click the START or WINDOW button on the bottom-left of the screen, and choose EXPLORE to see your drive contents].

Good luck. :wave:

*PS:* As an aside :4-thatsba I wouldn't suggest relying on your newly installed extra drive for data storage since [IMHO anyway] inexpensive external drives from Seagate and Maxtor have very high failure rates, meaning the drive is going to die prematurely if it hasn't already died. I'd suggest reclaiming your data from it back onto your C: drive, or offloading it onto blank DVDs for permanent storage. Once that's accomplished, then use the newly installed drive for whatever you want so that when it fails it doesn't put you in a big bind.


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