Open a Harddrive, Without Using the Right Tools.

Intro: Open a Harddrive, Without Using the Right Tools.

Recently i wanted to open up a few old hardrives i had sitting around so that i could use the platters and magnets for other projects. After seeing that they used 'tamper proof' or torx  i went and got my set of drivers. unfortunately, the smallest size i had was a size 10 and a harddrive has size 9 or 8 screws. Bummer. 

Instead of purchasing a new sert of drivers which included smaller than size 10 bits, i decided to adapt the screws to fit a regular flat head screwdriver.

Using my trusty dremel and a cutoff disk, i cut a slit in each screw... due to their hardness, i ended up going though 2 and a half disks cutting through all the screws on 2 harddrives. 

after than i was just a matter of opening the screws as if the were normal flat head screws. 

Boom. Harddives open. 

Hopefully this helps someone. 

Comments

[thegeeke]

Just a warning to anyone who still wants to use their hard drive after this... don't do this... if you open up your HDD, it will not work after that. If it is a dead HDD, it's a great learning experience, and you can use the materials... so go ahead. :)

[chinnerz]

Yes that is for sure, I should probably add that to the top of the text. Thanks

[thegeeke]

No problem. :)

[mettaurlover]

You can open a HDD with a "precision" flathead screwdriver; Torx is effectively three closed-end flathead slots if you use the right size.

[chinnerz]

Is that right? I will have to try that one out. Thanks.