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Are tools commonly available for screws used in hard disks?

I have a hard disk that I want to take apart, but I can't find a tool for the screws.

I believe it to be of the Torx type, and I have some like in this picture:

enter image description here

However, even the smallest one (marked "82 T10") is still too large. Is it easy to get such a tool or is it something of a "secret"? I did try to look in a shop, but the smallest ones seemed to be "T10". I am located in Europe.

Here is a picture:

alt text

5 Answers 5

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Yes, just look for a "Torx" Screw driver.

I bought a entire set of "security" bits off of eBay for £5 and includes MANY nice tools

Typically for hard drives, you need a mix of T3, T5, and T8 depending on manufacturer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx

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I can easily find T5 on Wiha's website.

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You can buy Torx driver down to very small sizes at Sears. I have a T-6 from them that I use for a few things. Nice tool.

BTW: why do you want to take a drive apart? It's not a thing you're going to be able to reassemble and have work: they are put together under exacting standards of cleanliness which you can't duplicate at home.

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  • It is an old drive that is very close to failing completely - even SpinRite has given up on it. I am curious as to what is inside. Besides the PCB is also fastened with these screws and in the future I may be able to save data on a drive by exchanging the PCB of two drives. Sep 1, 2009 at 8:50
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    For this purpose you could use a plain screwdriver with the correct blade width rather than going to the time and expense of buying a proper tool! Oct 14, 2009 at 20:17
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    You will find amazingly powerful neodyn magnets inside. If you don't plan to put the HDD back together later, you can destroy the screws with a power drill - I did so, because of missing Torx-drivers. Aug 21, 2011 at 0:57
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I have a Husky HD-74502 which has T-4 through T-15 sizes and was less than $8. Highly recommended.

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You do realise that a hard disk heads are floating in an sealed, pressure equalized environemnt. If you open the drive and expose the platters you will most likely destroy your hard drive due to dust contamination.

This is why there are professional hard drive recovery companies that actually have laboratory style dust free environments to mitigate the chance of damage to a drive.

If this is not a valuable hard drive and your're just doing this for fun/interest, fine. Otherwise, more then any other computer component, I'd recommend getting a professional to work on it.

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  • drive platters don't float. they're seated on a spindle. and i have serious doubts about the interior being a vacuum, tho i don't know for sure. they are certainly assembled carefully to avoid dust, and a cleanroom is preferred to open one up, but the introduction of dust doesn't immediately kill a drive. Oct 24, 2009 at 21:46
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    In fact, the platters are in a very clean but NOT vacuum environment. The heads "fly" on an air cushion.
    – CarlF
    Oct 27, 2009 at 4:27

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