Thinkpads Forum

I've got a 40GB 1 platter Travelstar hard drive which has failed (error initialising) and i'd like to get the data off.

I've dismantled the drive and another identical and swapped both the circuit board and the drive heads and it still has the same fault so i'm assuming its the motor thats gone.

Does anyone know how to remove the platter from a Travelstar ? it has a torx bit hole on the top but when I try and turn this, the whole platter spins - any help would be appreciated.

Wow! DIY data recovery?

I would assume that with something that's secured by a screw which itself is rotating (I'm guessing), that it may have reverse threads. Try turning it clockwise to un-screw. If that doesn't work, then I'm out of ideas.

You could try contacting some data recovery services and see what/if they say.

Good luck!

Thanks I had tried that - it seems like the screw is possible attached to the motor spindle and spins both ways and there is no way i can really grip it to stop the rotation without damaging the platters.

Its not impressive, i'm just not willing to pay for data recovery as its not that important although i'd like it but I have an abundance of hard drives so dont mind trying a few things - i've got nothing to lose.

If no-one knows how to remove the platter then my next thing will be to try and jump start the motor with the drive open but I think that will be a one time hit or miss attempt so is my last resort

Anyone?

No HGST engineers read these forums?

I am looking at the inside of a Travelstar right now. My recollection is that I grasped the platter to hold it while loosening that screw. I was to destroy the platter for a client, so doing this was not an issue. The platter is long gone, so it is only my recollection.

Underneath the motor (other side of the aluminum chassis) is a sticker and the motor electric connectors. But that sheds no light as there is nothing rotational there.

My guess is that a clean machine assembled the platter to the motor and then that machine or another put the assembly into the chassis. That would explain why it cannot be undone without holding the platter.
... JDH

If anyones interested - i got the platter off, there was another torx screw on the underside of the spindle motor, it was hidden by a piece of glued on metal that looked like the surrounding metal, once I got that off, i had to turn both torx screws in opposite directions.

However, the drive is now spinning but not initialising so it must be something with the platter so i'll have to call it quits

If you didn't do it in a clean room the final nail in the coffin was hammered in when you broke the seal on the platter cover.

tebore wrote:If you didn't do it in a clean room the final nail in the coffin was hammered in when you broke the seal on the platter cover.

I dont really think that is true as i've swapped the spindles on desktop drives before and have swapped the heads on laptop drives before with some success.

tebore wrote:If you didn't do it in a clean room the final nail in the coffin was hammered in when you broke the seal on the platter cover.

I can't agree with that either as I've done that a few times to fix stuck actuators, and my friend has done it to put a transparent plastic cover on the hard drive so as to show off the insides.

However, it is definitely a risky procedure

I may have an older Travelstar, but the piece of metal "under" (flip side of) the platter chassis that covers the motor and connection is *very* firmly affixed in place. I have no platter left and just a bag of parts and I jimmied around for a bit and still don't have that piece of metal off. So that you got it off and then the drive didn't work is somehow no surprise. Kudos to you, however, for getting it off in the first instance. ... JDH