hard drive piece

[fivealive]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of swapping the platters of two hard drives.. I've run into a problem removing the platters, due to a small black piece of plastic which i can't seem to figure out how to remove cleanly.

I took a picture of it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fivealive/25304508/

Any advice would be great!
thanks
marisa

 

[folken]

In the process of breaking a hard drive eh? lol
What seems to be holding it in? I sort of see a glint of grey at the end that is attached to the hard drives frame. Is that some sort of screw or rivet? Rivet = drill out or carefully bend back/snip that thing off

<A HREF="http://www.folken.net/myrig.htm" target="_new">My precious...</A>

 

[fishmahn]

Wow, surgery! LOL.

That's a platter retaining arm (at least that's what I'd call it). Probably to hold the platter stable because its thin and can vibrate while spinning.

In the hole at the edge is a rivet holding it in. CAREFULLY drill that out. Be sure to replace the arm and affix it again after you've replaced the platters - it may be ok to leave off, but I'd bet its there for a reason, and if that reason is to dampen vibrations, I forsee a catastrophic head crash in the offing if its missing.

Mike.

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