Opening Seagate Expansion enclosure without breaking tabs

SyKRyD · 24th June 2012, 12:30 PM

So got a bunch of enclosures that I need to break open. Seems easy enough. But does anyone have advice about how to do it without breaking the tabs?

I remember reading that some members have found it easy to open without breaking tabs using a butter knife or something but can't remember who it was. converge? copie? not sure.

ipex · 24th June 2012, 12:52 PM

i used a screw driver to crack open mine , just need to apply enough pressure to seperate the shells and lever to the side so that the tabs are free

pksw · 24th June 2012, 7:22 PM

if you work it put please post some pics. I have a couple that I'll crack open if it's easy, otherwise will be returning them for a refund as I no longer need external drives.

fido666 · 25th June 2012, 11:45 PM

I couldn't do it without breaking the tabs and I was careful, there are just too many clips. The loop part of the clip comes down from the lid of the case and is quite thin. If you had a cracked one to compare with you might be able to work out exactly where to push the tabs in where they come up from the base of the casing. I only had one to work with though so can't tell you if it can be done.

Plenty of YouTube vids to get you started if you want to try.

Creekin · 25th June 2012, 11:51 PM

ive done it a few times with a pair of butter knives
piss easy

just watch a few utub vids and take it slow

aokman · 26th June 2012, 12:00 AM

another trick i found is to run the drive for 30min or so doing a scan or leave it infront of a heater etc... makes the plastic much more flexable and less prone to breaking, also opens up the housing a bit

noober69 · 26th June 2012, 10:14 AM

Good luck with it, I broke most of my tabs.

I have lots of problems with my 2tb seagate out of the enclosure. It either won't run or will only run for a short period before making grinding noises and locking up the OS. Not sure why, it checks out fine in seatools but failed the windows disk management tests.

Some have speculated that it requires a lot of power to run which is why it is fine in an enclosure with dedicated power supply, but not fine when running on std sata power cables from my psu's. This might be correct, I have spent many hours doing tests on it with various results, but really couldn't rely ont his for important data.

Anyway, let us know if they all work.

Creekin · 26th June 2012, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noober69

Some have speculated that it requires a lot of power to run which is why it is fine in an enclosure with dedicated power supply, but not fine when running on std sata power cables from my psu's.

highly unlikely...

usb hdd off a laptop maybe...desktop off a psu..no.

aokman · 26th June 2012, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Creekin

highly unlikely...

usb hdd off a laptop maybe...desktop off a psu..no.

yup lol i run 4 of them in my server, no issues

noober69 · 26th June 2012, 4:22 PM

Not sure what the problem is with the disk once out of the enclosure, it worked fine in the enclosure, and still reports ok in seatools, now works for a bit then dies a screeching death, or just isn't recognised.

The disc type is st2000dm001, and there are quite a few reports on the net about failure, so just a heads up for those pulling them out, maybe run a few tests before ripping them out.

I also run several discs in my microserver and this is the only one that has crapped out, but it also has the highest power draw according to the specs.

Might try putting it back into its enclosure to see if it works again.

fido666 · 26th June 2012, 6:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noober69

I also run several discs in my microserver and this is the only one that has crapped out, but it also has the highest power draw according to the specs.

How many disks are you running in your Microserver though? I run 6 x 3.5" in mine but all are green drives. I had one HDD in it crap out recently but I'm fairly certain the problem was a loose power or SATA cable. I actually bought the Seagate so I could swap one of my spare external green drives into the Microserver to replace the flaky drive . For heat reasons alone I wouldn't contemplate using a 7200RPM drive in there (the exception being a 7200RPM laptop drive I use for cache).

I got the same model Seagate drive as you in my Expansion external but I have moved mine to an aluminium enclosure, they just get too hot in the plastic rubbish that Seagate uses on the Expansion series. I should add that even in the aluminium enclosure I have seen this drive get up to 50c during scans; in the plastic one it was hitting 60c. These puppies run hot!

noober69 · 26th June 2012, 8:50 PM

3 or 4 discs in the microserver. It ran fine in the enclosure, and it is not like I bashed the enclosure against a rock to get the disc out.

Doesn't run in the microserver at all, and only for a 30-60 min in my other pc with a corsair 620hx psunow , and 2 other discs. Each with its own sata power lead.
It did run out of the enclosure overnight on a long surface test on seatools, as well as other tests without issue. it is definitely worse in the microserver but that runs ubuntu, the pc runs win7.

Just strange that every test in seatools comes up fine, but the disc doesn't work. Makes me think either:
there is something in the enclosure that is non-standard
or
the discs they use in the enclosures are not suitable for use as standalone sata drives.

fido666 · 26th June 2012, 9:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noober69

Makes me think either:
there is something in the enclosure that is non-standard
or
the discs they use in the enclosures are not suitable for use as standalone sata drives.

Well I've popped a Samsung HDD into the Seagate enclosure and it works fine in there but it was a blank disk which I formatted while it was in the enclosure.

I'll pop my Seagate disk into a SATA hot swap bay in my PC and let you know how it goes but the drive model we both have is a desktop model drive so should work in any PC that has SATA ports.

dave- · 26th June 2012, 9:17 PM

I couldn't get it out without breaking the tabs but I didn't try very hard. Mines been running in the server for a while without issue. Can't say the same for the WD Green piece of shit that recently died though.

fido666 · 26th June 2012, 9:40 PM

Mine's working fine in my PC, playing an AVI off it right now. I'm going to leave it in here a while to see how hot it gets compared to the Seagate and Welland enclosures I've tried it in so far.

24th June 2012, 12:30 PM	#1
SyKRyD Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 82	Opening Seagate Expansion enclosure without breaking tabs So got a bunch of enclosures that I need to break open. Seems easy enough. But does anyone have advice about how to do it without breaking the tabs? I remember reading that some members have found it easy to open without breaking tabs using a butter knife or something but can't remember who it was. converge? copie? not sure.

24th June 2012, 12:52 PM	#2
ipex Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 1,392	i used a screw driver to crack open mine , just need to apply enough pressure to seperate the shells and lever to the side so that the tabs are free __________________ Ausbb- Australian BodyBuilding

24th June 2012, 7:22 PM	#3
pksw Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 680	if you work it put please post some pics. I have a couple that I'll crack open if it's easy, otherwise will be returning them for a refund as I no longer need external drives. __________________ Q6600 G0@3.4GHz (9x380 @ 1.375V)/ TRUE-120 \| P35-DSP3 rev2.1 \| Gigabyte 5770 \| Corsair HX-620w PSU Successful trades: toXin, dalien, kr0k, dreammer, gbtaufae, chronisis, bigheadache, HuggyBear, tephra, akh10, karthik, Soarer GT, silentlightning, PapaRubbery, Reliancex, MelbTinTin, Jeffy83, Brad2k4, akumi, jclei, [md]#40, gumballguy, FireFox.exe, Viljar, ksyap, Quagnol, railer, daveaus, aiya_au, HmMz, Azzan, MoNk{LAH}, Oppressa, Jai, Dr Kildare

26th June 2012, 12:00 AM	#6
aokman Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 8,028	another trick i found is to run the drive for 30min or so doing a scan or leave it infront of a heater etc... makes the plastic much more flexable and less prone to breaking, also opens up the housing a bit __________________ EpicPhotos.com.au - Image Is Everything Next Expedition - Storm Chasing with ETT from June 3rd, 2013

25th June 2012, 11:45 PM	#4
fido666 Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Melbourne Posts: 517	I couldn't do it without breaking the tabs and I was careful, there are just too many clips. The loop part of the clip comes down from the lid of the case and is quite thin. If you had a cracked one to compare with you might be able to work out exactly where to push the tabs in where they come up from the base of the casing. I only had one to work with though so can't tell you if it can be done. Plenty of YouTube vids to get you started if you want to try.

26th June 2012, 10:14 AM	#7
noober69 Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 412	Good luck with it, I broke most of my tabs. I have lots of problems with my 2tb seagate out of the enclosure. It either won't run or will only run for a short period before making grinding noises and locking up the OS. Not sure why, it checks out fine in seatools but failed the windows disk management tests. Some have speculated that it requires a lot of power to run which is why it is fine in an enclosure with dedicated power supply, but not fine when running on std sata power cables from my psu's. This might be correct, I have spent many hours doing tests on it with various results, but really couldn't rely ont his for important data. Anyway, let us know if they all work.

26th June 2012, 4:22 PM	#10
noober69 Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 412	Not sure what the problem is with the disk once out of the enclosure, it worked fine in the enclosure, and still reports ok in seatools, now works for a bit then dies a screeching death, or just isn't recognised. The disc type is st2000dm001, and there are quite a few reports on the net about failure, so just a heads up for those pulling them out, maybe run a few tests before ripping them out. I also run several discs in my microserver and this is the only one that has crapped out, but it also has the highest power draw according to the specs. Might try putting it back into its enclosure to see if it works again.

26th June 2012, 8:50 PM	#12
noober69 Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 412	3 or 4 discs in the microserver. It ran fine in the enclosure, and it is not like I bashed the enclosure against a rock to get the disc out. Doesn't run in the microserver at all, and only for a 30-60 min in my other pc with a corsair 620hx psunow , and 2 other discs. Each with its own sata power lead. It did run out of the enclosure overnight on a long surface test on seatools, as well as other tests without issue. it is definitely worse in the microserver but that runs ubuntu, the pc runs win7. Just strange that every test in seatools comes up fine, but the disc doesn't work. Makes me think either: there is something in the enclosure that is non-standard or the discs they use in the enclosures are not suitable for use as standalone sata drives.

26th June 2012, 9:17 PM	#14
dave- Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 1,093	I couldn't get it out without breaking the tabs but I didn't try very hard. Mines been running in the server for a while without issue. Can't say the same for the WD Green piece of shit that recently died though.

26th June 2012, 9:40 PM	#15
fido666 Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Melbourne Posts: 517	Mine's working fine in my PC, playing an AVI off it right now. I'm going to leave it in here a while to see how hot it gets compared to the Seagate and Welland enclosures I've tried it in so far.