How to Open a Seagate External Hard Drive

A step-by-step guide on how to open a Seagate external hard drive

This wikiHow will show you how to dismantle and open a Seagate Expansion desktop hard drive.

Steps

  1. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 1
    1
    Undo the clips between the plastic lid and body. You'll need something thin that will fit in the tiny gap between the plastic lip on the top of the unit and at the base. Start at one corner and move around the unit. You'll hear the clips click as they come undone. As you continue to undo each clip, you'll see the gap between the top and base of the unit widening.[1]
    • Some cases have a brushed aluminum or soft metal top instead of plastic.
  2. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 2
    2
    Push the top plastic piece from the bottom of the hard drive. You'll need to push the two parts apart on at least three edges in order to get inside the hard drive.
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  3. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 3
    3
    Remove the single screw. You'll most likely need a Phillips-head screwdriver (cross-head) for this screw. If there isn't a screw holding the disk inside the case, you can use your screwdriver to pop the disk out as you tilt the unit.
  4. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 4
    4
    Peel up the foil at the connector. The foil is most likely silver. Since the foil wraps around the drive, you can use it to pull up the drive in the next step.
  5. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 5
    5
    Lift the drive from the case. Using the foil, you can lift the drive out of the case. If you ripped the foil, you can tilt the unit until the drive pops out.
  6. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 6
    6
    Remove the SATA-to-USB Bridge. You can do this by wiggling and pulling it out where it connects with the SATA disk. You can reuse this part later if you ever need a SATA-to-USB Bridge.
  7. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 7
    7
    Peel off the last of the foil. You'll want to turn the drive over to access the last of the foil.
  8. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 8
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    Remove the four rubber pieces around the drive. There are four rubber pieces covering screws on each corner of the hard drive that you need to pull off.
  9. Image titled Open a Seagate External Hard Drive Step 9
    9
    Remove the four screws located at the corners of the drive. Once the screws are removed, the drive will be disassembled.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    After removing it from its case, can you use the drive as an internal drive?
    Joseph Greaney
    Joseph Greaney
    Community Answer
    Only in a laptop, as the voltages of a desktop PSU are too high for a 2.5" drive. Also, it wouldn't hurt to format the drive.
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Things You'll Need

  • A screwdriver (Phillips or flat-head) or something similar (like a butter-knife)
  • A guitar pick (optional)

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References

  1. ↑ https://youtu.be/1RQv9raiPQg

About This Article

Darlene Antonelli, MA
Written by:
Darlene Antonelli, MA
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA. Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been viewed 67,054 times.
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Co-authors: 3
Updated: August 10, 2022
Views: 67,054
Categories: Hard Drives
Article SummaryX

1. Undo the clips between the plastic lid and body.
2. Push the top plastic piece from the bottom of the hard drive.
3. Remove the single screw.
4. Peel up the foil at the connector.
5. Lift the drive out of the case.
6. Remove the SATA to USB Bridge.
7. Peel off the last of the foil.
8. Remove the four rubber pieces around the drive.
9. Remove the four screws.

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