Thinkpads Forum

Dumb question of the day ...

I'm trying to replace my HD (first time on a laptop). The hardware manual says to remove the HD, you pull on its strap, but this HD, which is not original equipment, doesn't have a strap. It has some thin paper running along its top, which I've tried grasping with tweezers, but the paper just tears when I give it a tug.

What's the best way to get this little guy out? Maybe with pliers placed in the middle of the drive to minimize chances of bending the pins? I don't think it matters if the drive gets trashed because I have all my data backed up onto a thumb drive.

Thanks!
Sara

"with pliers placed in the middle of the drive to minimize chances of bending the pins" will work. Just try to pull straight out, don't twist. I little wiggle is fine.

Pretty much anything you can get a hold on the drive with will work. I've had occasion to use a straightened paper clip (with a hook at the end) before, to snag the drive caddy and pull the drive out. Other times, I've stuck a small screw driver or letter opener in beside the drive on either side, and with a little rocking back and forth was able to loosen it enough for it to come on out.

Yea, the tab must be gone... but anything from the sides of the drive should be fine. Just avoid putting any pressure on the top of the drive... don't wanna smash anything inside the drive. I have used the 2 smallest flathead screwdrivers that come in one of those cheapo "6 Piece Precision Screwdriver" sets in similar situations

The tab is shown here

Thanks for all the responses and the helpful hints. SUCCESS!! I now have a nice new 120 GB drive to play with.

Sara

sarakay wrote:Thanks for all the responses and the helpful hints. SUCCESS!! I now have a nice new 120 GB drive to play with.

Sara

What speed is it. One of the best mods i did to my 600x was replace the original hard drive with a 7200rpm one. So much faster.
Only 40gb, but thats the beauty of win2k. Along with everything else, it only takes up 5gb.