How to open Seagate Expansion External Hard Drive

[@postpone777]

Thanks for sharing the great video. If i had seen this first, I wouldn't have removed the sticker and rubber bottoms to find screws. Thanks again.

[@HumbertoDeIta]

Hello everybody, just feel free yo skip the first 5 minutes of the video. You are welcome.

[@UncleBeef]

I damaged almost all my clips following this method. I got it open, but in a destructive way

[@NomadicDmitry]

Thanks! I was actually thinking about removing my hard drive out of it. Good to know that there is not much else there except the shell around the HDD.

[@TheFourthWinchester]

Don't do this with Western Digital disks. You will have a hard time with them.

[@NomadicDmitry]

@@TheFourthWinchester Well, mine is also a Seagate. I've lost a power adapter from it.

[@anSealgair]

7:50-8:40 Snug connectors from hell.... They undermined my confidence in replacing computer parts in my early 20s. It took a long time to get it back.

[@V3ntilator]

Thanks. First PSU breaks, then HDD controller breaks, but HDD itself is always working.

[@ronyket]

Use a guitar pick (or multiple ones at once) to "crack open" those plastic casing devices (like HDD's, modems or routers). Using metal tools will damage the plastic casing, and if you ever need to put it together again, will look bad.

[@shadowcatface]

how do you repair the port on it. That was my reason for opening it

[@rumaisamahomed6446]

Thank you so much for this video. It was really helpful for me as My hard drive stopped working n I was curious to see what was inside and whether it could be fixed or not. Watched a ton of videos to get some knowledge and managed to get a sata adapter. Touch wood 🪵 it came on.

[@philscomputerlab]

Great to hear!

[@TheBinaryWolf]

Unavoidably, some of the plastic clips will get damaged, since the enclosure is poorly designed (not to be opened). Once peeling off the metal foil that connects the circuit board to the HDD, put some wax paper on the sticky end to preserve the adhesive, otherwise conductive adhesive will be required to re-attach the metal foil back onto the HDD, should you wish to use the enclosure again.

[@egi1965]

Very nice tip to recover the case. Better is not to buy Seagate at all. I have already 3 broken 3.5" disks in the past 7 years on a total of ~20 hard disks (and zero fails on WD although I use those much more frequent; but make sure to avoid WD Red (either use Red+ or something else)). Tools don't find any issue. Data can be written to the disk, but few weeks after being put aside (what is otherwise the purpose of backups?) the disks reports nothing but compare errors.

[@laurentsacaut158]

nice video and very well explained but a little bit stronger and constant lighting would be much appreciated

[@karencarvalho9728]

Hi! Do you know where I can find the driver for this hd? Mine is not recognized in Disk Manager, but it appears under Devices and Printers. I can't get windows to recognize it....

[@ZenonMcRae]

Thanks for sharing this video, you had help me a lot

[@tomyirawan9660]

what is the price of this item in general bro?

[@Welcome234]

Have this type of drive that is starting to fail with bad sectors. Going to open it soon and get into the hard drive to make a platter mirror. I'll use the case as an enclosure for another 3.5 inch drive

[@alpachino468]

I honestly appreciate you doing a video on the subject, but is it really necessary to discuss what the drive comes with, power supply specs, and the software? 4:00 for everyone who wants to just crack this baby open...

[@mysteryplay8529]

What is the diffrence between this and the portable? Cause i ordered a portable but can both fit in my ps4?

[@gemmel3197]

Looks like the sata interface died in mine, this will be a big help to salvage the drive. thanks

[@ron7136]

I have 3 with bad interface card, they are junk, all work fine as internal disk

[@DRXxUziixX95]

what power supply does it use I've lost mine :( thanks :)

[@MrAppletreasures]

Voltage Current Polarity Connector Size ID/OD 12 VDC 1.5-2.0 A POS 2.5/5.5/10-12 mm is what my Seagate Backup Plus uses.

[@JChalant]

Thanks, I hope this will help me recover some data tonight!

[@kritsadventures]

I have one of these drives, but it has data on it. I want to make it internal. Does this encrypt? Do I need to back up the data somewhere else?

[@KenKthulhu]

good video. mine finally failed to read at all in windows. should i remove the drive as you have done and put it in the PC as a SATA drive?

[@philscomputerlab]

+Ken Kthulhu Yes. you can try to see if you can get the information off it.

[@WeAreNotAlone69]

Q: Did you REMOVE the drive from the enclosure, and were you able to ACCESS your DATA? EDIT: I see you made a separate response of "Wow good job! I have all my information back!" instead of posting back where you asked about removing the drive and installing it in a PC as a SATA drive. Nice. Wondering now if it was the controller board, power supply or the cable. PS: How OLD /how much use did the drive get before it became non-accessible in Windows? .

[@jjbenitez3780]

DON´T use screw driver to do that , use pliers or an out of services credit card, so don´t damage hdd case. This disassembly looks like killing a pig.

[@rumaisamahomed6446]

Thanks for the advice👍. I used an old bank card and it opened smoothly..

[@isaacdavid5087]

If I use my HDD as an internal HD , will all the information that I have remain there?

[@philscomputerlab]

+Isaac David Yes, just don't format it :)

[@isaacdavid5087]

So I just ran a LONG TEST on it, and it failed...so my HDD is dying isn`t it?

[@philscomputerlab]

Yea that's not good. Backup your data ASAP.

[@isaacdavid5087]

OK, thanks. But may I ask what might have caused it? I mean it never received damage or anything of that kind, is the life of these HDDs that short and what replacement would you recommend me? It`s a 3TB model

[@philscomputerlab]

Some things just break.

[@bobgreene2892]

Phil, did you find a separate drive controller on this model? Just curious, since the tiny circuit board might have been within the ventilated connector housing. It would be useful to know not only the model (Seagate Model) of the enclosure but the exact model of the hard drive you extracted.

[@stinkycheese804]

No idea what you're trying to describe with "within the ventilated connector housing", but no, it's a very standard setup. The HDD itself is a standard internal desktop SATA drive. The circuit board mounted in the enclosure just has the male and female SATA data and power plugs and sockets, and a USB3 to SATA bridge chip. Either portion can be used independent of the other portion. You can plug the HDD into any other USB SATA enclosure that supports the HDD capacity, or plug any other SATA HDD into that enclosure so long as that HDD capacity doesn't exceed the support of the enclosure, however Seagate has not spec'd the max capacity this enclosure can support, we only know it supports at least as high a capacity as the HDD(s) that come in it from the factory.

[@bobgreene2892]

By "ventilated connector housing" I meant exactly the structure you describe-- not only the connector plate/plane for USB3 power and data, but connection of the hard drive through a circuit board dedicated to USB-to-SATA translation. You have assured me there is no separate drive controller, SATA or otherwise. By way of context, I have discovered some older external HD enclosures appear to have their own controllers which are specific to the product. Drives formatted and filled with data cannot be "transplanted" from any USB external HD enclosure to any other USB external HD enclosure without risk of data loss. The presenting symptom for this issue is a drive with data, placed in another USB external HD enclosure, may be found unreadable in that other enclosure. But worse, on return to the original USB external HD enclosure, not even the partition-- not to mention its data-- can be accessed. That you found no enclosure-based drive controller means the Seagate Backup Plus appears to be free of that complication-- the drive you extracted and its data can be transported not only to a host desktop but to any other brand of USB external drive enclosure (without dedicated controller). The rationale for transplanting a drive from what seems a perfectly suitable OEM enclosure is that this Seagate enclosure reaches dangerously high temperature levels, primarily due to its lack of proper ventilation. In not only this model, but its previous USB external drive enclosures, Seagate has been negligent in this critical respect. The polycarbonate plastic case is a poor heat conductor, and the drive inside has few, if any, vent holes for the heat even a 5400rpm drive will generate. When I notified Seagate of my experience (in an effort to add value to the product), a technician explained the Seagate USB external drive enclosure product line has not generated excessive temperature levels, and that accounts for continued production without an aluminum heat sink or fan. My response to Seagate is a drive failure immediately outside Seagate's brief warranty will find Seagate all too happy to sell another drive. However, I prefer not to risk my data (which gets no second chance) on a continuing Seagate hardware beta test-- but offered at full price. Accordingly, I have extracted all my drives from their Seagate enclosures to a third-party, 80mm fan-cooled enclosure, and found drive temperatures have plunged from 128F to 84F in a 70F ambient office environment.

[@stinkycheese804]

Yes I do recall some 2.5" Western Digital HDDs like that, where USB was the only external interface to the drive but in that case I think ALL electronics were integrated onto the drive circuit board, so you could still remove the enclosure, just not use another drive in it nor use the original drive with an SATA desktop connection.

[@KenKthulhu]

Wow good job! I have all my information back!

[@philscomputerlab]

+Ken Kthulhu Nice :D

[@RainerK.]

In case someone might be wondering if the data that was put onto the drive will be accessible after taking it out of the case, the answer is NO. The enclosure seems to store the data in some odd way so the PC doesn't recognize it through a standard SATA connection and you will have to reformat. Pretty messed up if the case dies and you need to access the data on the drive somehow.

[@philscomputerlab]

Well I can assure that this isn't the case with the enclosures shown, as I did exactly that! But it would be really annoying if they actually implemented this...

[@RainerK.]

Mine shows up with 3 partitions, none of them are readable. If I reconnect the USB board everything looks normal. I got the 4TB version, maybe they changed something. It's a bummer because it keeps dis- and reconnecting through USB every couple of minutes so my hope was that I could get it to work again by installing it in my PC. Looks like I will have to move the data first.

[@philscomputerlab]

That's bad really, because the USB adapter can break, or snap off and if you then can't get your data off...

[@drewbadwolf5182]

@@philscomputerlab would have to have a little drive inside the drive..lol

[@drewbadwolf5182]

@@RainerK. id try replacing the eSATA , new box?

[@andrewdupuis1151]

seems like can do this Seagate drives only. thanks I did with my 2 year old 4 TB before I did with 1 TB hard I couldn't use WD elements drive in computer its only USB only

[@islandantoinette]

Aloha Phils Computer Lab: Well I am many hundreds of people who bought this external HD can not get it to SHOW when plugged in on my Dell computer. IT cost us $75 I have had bad luck with SeaGates not working! :-( I however did foolishly delete the dashboard. It did say if I downloaded those files that I had from a previous save Windows would not work. I was not thinking and deleted them. After that is no longer shows up as an available drive when I go into my windows explorer to see my C drive DVD drive etc. And I did go to SeaGates Web site and got the software. BUT WITHOUT my computer "seeing' it , I can't add anything to it! I also did their short test that came up green on the continuum and it said it was OK. So I am guessing I need to open it up and try to fix it. If that is possible. Is it possible to get it to be "noticed" again? It gives 3 blinks when I plug it in. Now I am doing what you showed I downloaded the Seagate tools, and am doing the Long Test. It shows it will take 4 hrs. and 11 minutes. To "DO" this test the tools programme MUST "SEE" the drive. So how can I get the dashboard back ONTO the drive so I can then use it and hopefully my computer will then SEE it and acknowledge it so I can make the clone of my Laptop that I bought the silly thing for? Then yesterday I went out and bought yet ANOTHER one. But I am afraid the same thing is going to happen to that one. This is really getting expensive just to try to back up my computer before sending it off to Dell for repairs of the speaker jack. Could you please write me regarding this matter? I have e mails at yahoo, g mail and hot mail under islandantoinette Thank you

[@vm727]

My Seagete Expansion 3T is not working, doesn't even show up in my computer... I have try to use EaseUS to repair but it does not show as well.... the only app that can identify my Segate Expansion disk is d HDD regenerator, I have try d repair my disk with HDD but say : Master Boot Record Damage.... pleaseeeeee I have same really important files and documents in that hard drive, help me out in how to fix it and recover my files???? please I would appreciate any help

[@helderfilipe2000]

can you tell me the links on ebay on what to buy to power my SATA 7200 RPM seagate barracuda 2000 GB? I have loads of music that i dont want to lose. i really appreciate it dude

[@philscomputerlab]

The PSU that comes with the SATA to USB adapter will be powerful enough to handle that HDD!

[@RodanChi]

Seriously... All I saw was the back of your hand. (People need to see the location of the tabs that need to be disengaged)

[@alejobradley]

Is this the one that you can put on the ps4?

[@philscomputerlab]

+Alejob No the drive is a 3.5" drive. You need the Seagate Portable Expansion. That will fit inside.

[@dexterbacchus4449]

THANKS FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO, BIG THUMBS UP

[@TDaosaeng]

Hi, can I do the same with a 2.5?

[@philscomputerlab]

+Tommie Daosaeng Yes! I've made a video for the portable drive here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXyvl32eZ6mqqpI

[@TDaosaeng]

+philscomputerlab Ah yeah. I actually watched that video shortly after leaving that question. Haha. Thank you very much!

[@philscomputerlab]

No problem :D

[@TDaosaeng]

+philscomputerlab

[@predragduric792]

+Tommie Daosaeng can i do it with 5 tb Seagate Back up Plus the reson is its not working.

[@jslazarus88]

Thanks for sharing this video, you had help me a lot!!!!!

[@LeandroSFx]

Hello! I have a 2tb version, when I connected it to the Pc, it showed that the file system is different and to acesses the Hd I would have to format it! So is it ok to format it, I know that I will lost all the data, but Will the Hd work well with the normal NTFS file system after format it?

[@philscomputerlab]

Yes and you can use the "format partitiions tool" to do it more detailed.

[@LeandroSFx]

Thanks!

[@philliptylerii]

Is the hard drive 2.5 cm

[@philscomputerlab]

philliptylerii Standard size like any other 3.5" hard drive!

[@aaaaaaaaaaaadddd]

can I do this with an 2tb and put it in my ps4 ?

[@philscomputerlab]

No this is a 3.5" desktop drive.

[@fabuLosoGG]

Obrigado mano, me ajudou bastante

[@praffulchandran9022]

Thank you .. this video helped a lot.

[@elCONQUEROR81]

I have a plastic piece I can’t identify that was lose.

[@1kaska2]

thanks man, giving this video a like

[@caveman3744]

thanks for the video

[@Bylga]

Thanks for sharing =D

[@FxTR22]

Showing off to internet how to do stuff. Drops all stuff on table, screws all over the place and stuff comes into the way. Hint: If y follow this tutorial, thats the part you not supposed to do.^^

[@RahFah]

Thanks!

[@shabeesatsangi]

Thanks man a great help u did there

[@HarrrySpider]

please buy a lamp or two ...

[@philscomputerlab]

Look at date.

[@rojoescarlata2011]

Gracias !!

[@cdcookuk]

I had to cringe at the way he forced the lid off that HD and in doing so damaged the box - should have used a large hammer or dynamite!!!

[@islandantoinette]

I guess you have an old drive. The new Seagates have NOTHING to get into it. As I am sure they want. So you have to send it in to them and pay LOTS to get your stuff off. Very distressing.

[@philscomputerlab]

+Antoinette Jackson I bought the drive Sep 2014 from the post office.

[@jfjhertdgffwettsffwe]

if you are righty, just switch the camera to the left or at least higher ...!

[@philscomputerlab]

It was one of my earlier videos.

[@ChannelAsh100]

what was that background sound? It sounded like heavy machinery.

[@philscomputerlab]

ChannelAsh100 AC?

[@mohdayaz1212]

I had given a lot of people to me but all got spoiled.

[@itsshowtime6412]

you said gigabytes, it's terrabytes :)

[@zuzekcat1460]

learn english did yoswallow frogs?

[@philscomputerlab]

😂 Learn English not learn english. What's yoswallow?