You're viewing a previously published version of this guide. View latest version

Mar 27, 2011 - 01:12:10

Jun 27, 2012 - 10:40:43 Mar 27, 2011 - 01:41:16 Mar 27, 2011 - 01:12:10 Mar 27, 2011 - 01:12:08 Mar 27, 2011 - 01:05:02 Mar 27, 2011 - 01:05:00 Mar 27, 2011 - 12:17:45 Mar 27, 2011 - 12:17:43 Mar 27, 2011 - 12:15:43 Mar 27, 2011 - 12:15:41 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:50:05 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:50:03 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:46:51 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:46:49 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:40:14 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:40:13 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:38:12 Mar 26, 2011 - 11:21:01

Newer

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini Teardown

Written By: Peter Low (and one other contributor)

Comments: 0
Favorites: 5
Views: 17.8k

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini Teardown

Written By: Peter Low (and one other contributor)

Comments: 0
Favorites: 5
Views: 17.8k

Teardown

Introduction

This OneTouch 4 Mini hard drive was bought at a Fry's store in 2007. It has a 80 GB capacity, and a 8 MB Buffer.

The drive has an estimated read/write speed of 28 MB/s

I am tearing this apart so I can put this under Spinrite to fix the drive from a unreadable sector.

What you need

This teardown is not a repair guide. To repair your Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini, use our service manual.

Step 1 Example: Logic Board

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini Teardown, Example: Logic Board: step 1, image 1 of 2

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini Teardown, Example: Logic Board: step 1, image 2 of 2

This teardown is the same with the other onetouch 4 mini models.

Step 2

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini Teardown: step 2, image 3 of 3

The drive's enclosure doesn't have any screws or glue holding the case in place, it has a clamshell-style design that cradles the drive inside.
There is a seam at the bottom edge of the drive where the 2 halves comes apart. A flat head screwdriver helps pry it open.

Step 3

The drive is suspended in the middle of the enclosure by several foam rubber pads, which keeps the drive quiet and keep vibrations at a minimum.
The metal plate covering the lower part of the drive is an EMF shield, and is where the SATA to USB board is held in.

Step 4

Removing the shield is removing the 2 philips screws on the side of the drive where the shield is held in place.
Lets see what kind of chip and drive do we have here on the next step....

Step 5

The other side of the drive. The sticker on the connector, is the serial number.
The controller board and the drive is connected using SATA.

Step 6

The 2.5" hard drive in the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini isn't a Maxtor drive at all. It's a Seagate Momentus 5400.5 LD25.2 hard drive.
Here is the Seagate product overview to the Momentus 5400.2 hard drive, model number ST980210AS
Removing the EMF shield reveals a small PCB that plugs directly into the SATA and power connections of the Momentus 5400.5. It doesn't even have a physical connection to the RFI shield -- it just hangs off the back of the drive itself. The SATA connections to the drive are soldered to the PCB itself.
The controler board's chip is made by Initio. It is a Initio INIC-1605 USB to SATA Bridge Chip

Step 7

Just to keep in mind, taking your external drive apart would void the drive's warranty. It's just something to know if your external drive is under warranty.
Even though the hard drive's label reads "Not Suitable for Laptop Computer Use", it still works perfectly as a laptop hard drive.