How to disassemble the FreeAgent Go [new]

[B-rad]

Tools you will need prior to disassembly:
■small flat metal object (e.g. butter knife or flat screwdriver)
■small standard phillips screwdriver

So, you need to release your hard drive from it's bindings but don't know where to start or are afraid to damage said binding apparatus? Well here is what it should like before you start. . .

First, pick up your butter knife or flat screwdriver and delicately slip it in between the top lid and bottom casing, right above the usb port. The lid is held on merely by a strip of tape lining the entire edge of the bottom casing (no clips like past FreeAgents have had). Now delicately slide your selected flat metal tool around the edge of the casing as to seperate it from the lid. you should be able to slide it the entire way around the case. Now the lid should simply pull away from the case. Do so now. It should now look as followed.

Now, lift up the backside slightly, away from the case, until you can begin drawing it away from the USB port side. You will find that it will only pull away so much. Disconnect the small cable which attaches the hard drive to the casing. This is the cable which connects the HD to the activity light on top.

You can now pull the hard drive out of the case along with its mount. Pull of the four white, rubber pads from the sides of the mount and unscrew the four screws hidden underneath them. Make sure you do not strip the two screws closer to the usb port side because they are much tighter than the other two for some reason. You are now left with just the hard drive in the mount.

Here is the part where the most care is needed. Lift the metal plate of the mount away from the hard drive until you can get a good grip on the hard drive itself and pull away the hard drive from the connector side until it pops out. Voila!!! You are now left with the bare hard drive to do with as you please.

 

[huron]

I'm confused...why not just buy the laptop HDD if that's what you wanted?

 

[B-rad]

Hahaha true. Well I myself wanted to put it into a case that had eSATA for the speed gain. Also, some people have said they found this external drive to be cheaper than an actual bare hard drive. I haven't checked into it but I have seen it posted elsewhere. But you know people change their minds sometimes. They may originally want an external but perhaps a year later find they would find it more useful to have a large internal drive. You just never know.

 

[evongugg]

Thanks. Good instructions in case the interface goes bad and you need to salvage the hard disk data.
I see this all the time.