Blog of Travis Hydzik

thydzik, have you seen or heard of any situation where the interface may be the cause of failure, or is it always the drive itself ? I had two 750gb FAP’s connected to Directv DVR’s, and they both failed in less than two years. Before this I had always considered Seagate/Maxtor to be very reliable. Both drives are 75% full of recorded programming, and if there is even a slight chance the drives are OK, I could remove them from their enclosures and put them in another eSATA enclosure. I know the chances of this are slim, but I thought I would at least ask.

TIA, reber1b

The eSata connection point into the drive can cause real problems with the eSata cable – as standard, I had all sorts of problems with my 4 eSata FAP500s.
>>> It is necessary to cut a small part off the top-front edge of the male connector so that it is not prevented from inserting completely and a good data/electrical connection can then be made.
Since doing this I have not had any problem.
Care must be taken with eSata cables.

>>> I would not use these disks for direct recording, rather record to internal HD, then copy transfer to external – these externals are not rugged industrial storage units and must be treated so.

I really like them, and have an assortment of 11 Freeagent externals totalling 6.25 TB collected since Oct ’07. They need looking after like a precious item. Not one of my disks has fallen over. I do not like to take them off-site, in a car I like to hold them in a bag so that they receive no jarring from speed-bumps etc.
All still working, but it is true to say that I have started duplicating disks for safety with all the scare stories about.

>>> Duplicating 500GB is a slow and laborious task especially thru USB connections of which I use 7. My technique is to do 20-30GB only per session, then disconnect and allow to cool – before resuming another session at some later time.
Sometimes after a long copy session the source & destination Freeagent USB will not be disconnected when using the Green ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ icon at bottom right – in which case a Shutdown is required to switch them off. A tricky process that must be got right – listening/feeling for Freeagent disconnection/spin-down then removing USB lead gently, or Power Cable for eSata variety.

I also use ‘HotSwap’ a similar free Disk Removal utility that also disconnects most types of drive (eSata etc.) Here is a link for an older version
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/HotSwap/1201230987/1
or here for newest available version:
http://rapidshare.com/files/352645651/HotSwap__4.5.0.0.rar.html

>>> My files (I have at least 500K) are videos, mp3s, ISO & RARs etc which I have collected into folders, each of only about 7.5GB in size. So as not to overburden the Freeagent when copying across 3-4 folders which is my quota per sitting. This needs administritive care like filing in an office.
- I do not use any backup software.
- I never boot-up with any external disk connected.
- I use XP Pro SP2.

>>> On receiving New Freeagent USB drives:-
I make sure to turn off the power-saving mode in Seagate Manager and apply ‘Never’. I also switch off the yellow LED light.
>>> The other very important switch is to make sure that write-caching is disabled in Control Panel>>System>>Device Manager>>Disk Drives>>Seagate Freeagent USB Device>>Policies (select ‘Optimize for quick removal’) – Apply OK, Restart.

This essay may be a bit lengthy for here, but I can give free advice if requested.
The Freeagent is not really suitable for a newbie PC user, which is why I believe there are so many complaints online. I have none with my 11, many are 2nd-hand from eBay.

I will check back here.

If you also have a few external disks, with many files, you might find the free utility called ‘Disk Index’ quite useful.
This utility will index all files contained on any disk, and store them in a labelled text file in the location of your choice. (I use a folder called Disk Indexes on C-drive)
You can then use the Windows Search function to search for ‘word/phrase contained in a file’ – select the ‘Look-in/location’ as ‘Browse’ – select the folder where all your disk indexes are kept and Search.
It certainly helps with my 11 externals.

Here is the Disk Index website
http://www.suncross.nl/

or a download link for the latest Win-All version
http://www.suncross.nl/downloads/DiskIndex.zip

Deon,

Thanks for your info. If I find the drives themselves are OK, I’ll get a third party eSATA enclosure and connect it to the DVR that way. I’m restricted in what I can do since the drive has to be connected to the same DVR that was used to record the programming — thanks to High bandwidth Digital Copy Protection. I can connect the drive to a computer and, even though I can’t access any of the programming, I can at least tell if the drive is viable by checking for partitions.

reber1b

I just had to bust open a 750Gb FreeAgent Pro using these instructions.

My FreeAgent Pro would stay connected to my MacBook Pro for only a short period of time (shorter if i was transferring large files) before it just disconnected itself. When I ran Disk Utility, the disk read clean, so I figured it was something to do with the external enclosure interface.

It wasn’t a gentle affair, but I did get the HDD out of the FreeAgent case unscathed. I popped it into a Vantec external enclosure and my random disconnections stopped. I would even swear that my transfer speeds increased.

Since I don’t really care about keeping the case, it didn’t bother me too much when i had to force it in a couple of spots. The two latches that you’re supposed to be able to push on using a coat hanger were bastards and i really had to pop them by wedging a flat head screwdriver in to the slit that i had opened up.

Thanks and best of luck!

i just saw this forum and i have the following question:
(i have already taken the hard drive out of the case)
what kind of cables will i need to connect the hard drive dirrectly to the motherboard?

dis assemble went perfect!!!!! thnk you for the detailed instructions.. it was exactly what i was looking for.. got my HD out of its coffin an now time to bring it to life.. hope its still good =/ thnx again!!

My FreeAgent Pro stopped being recognized by my computer a few weeks ago. I tried pretty much everything out there. It just wouldn’t work. I even tried it on another computer it didn’t work.

I ended up buying a hard drive and a third party enclosure which seems to be working well so far. Of course that didn’t solve the problem of having all of my private data on a broken hard drive.

I decided if I couldn’t get it to work might as well see if I can get the hard drive out so that led me here. If it works great, if it doesn’t at least I tried.

You forgot to mention at the beginning of your instructions that there are little rubber pieces on the bottom of the base. Basically with your fingers you grab them wiggle them a little bit to loosen them and then you pull them off. That exposes the screws on the bottom.

For getting the case off to expose the hard drive cage I used a flat head screwdriver. I basically ran the screwdriver all the way around lifting as much as I could. I couldn’t get the bottom clips off which you mentioned would be hard so I just pulled on the top section hard enough to break the bottom clips.

Once that’s done it exposes a hard drive cage, that’s as simple as unscrewing some screws and then bending the metal cage to get the hard drive right out.

I’ll be buying another enclosure to see if the drive works now since I can’t find my cables to run the hard drive.

dideuhoo you can either buy another enclosure or you can buy a USB to SATA cable (with a power supply).

Hi, I’m interested in the model-number of the harddisk, seagate built into the enclosure.
At seagate they told me that the hdd inside the freeagent pro does not have a firmware error (busy error) I have read about on different forums.
But with my freeagent it sounds and looks quite similar (to the error).
Before openening I want to check out if it is worth it (instead of sending the disk back to seagate, but then losing the data).
If you could post the model number of the inner hdd, you could help me with that.
Thank you in advance! Gillo

Ok, it would have been easier to just buy a new drive…but I guess the thrill of DIY has to count for something. Not sure why I was determined to NOT break the clips, but I finally got the case cracked with out breaking the case. And I better understand what the challenge was. The pictures in this blog are pretty good considering. The key detail is a picture of an unbroken clip. With a better picture, it might help to not spend so long trying the wrong area.

Indeed it is the side with the logo that opens up, but the clip is attached to that side and extends well to the other side. IOW, a part of the clip comes from the back side and extends all the way to the front cover (logo) and part of the clip from the front extends and clips behind the part coming from the back.

There is little chance of a coat hanger working. You need a very skinny flat blade screw driver with a fairly long shaft. A cheap rat shack Jewlers screw driver was not long enough.

And when you insert the screwdriver, I found it better to use the hole closest to the back side, not the middle hole.

Now here is the catch. Only a very small portion of the clip from the front side extends past the clip portion from the back side. Use the flat part of the screwdriver turned side ways, perpendicular to the clip. With a really bright flashlight, you will see the channel of the backside clip…and just past the middle, closer to the backside of the case, you will just barely see the flat angled edge of the clip. So, from the front side, you will see the channel which does no good to push on. Then follow the channel toward the back…and you will see the clip edge. If you turn the screw driver parallel, the. It will slide off the clip. Turn it perpendicular to grab the edge of the clip to pushnon.

Use the back side of a clothes pen, or something soft to pry open the case, and while pushing on e clip with the screwdriver, pry with the clothes pin.

I will try to upload the photos to a site and put the link in another comment.

If you beak the clips whats the worst that can happen , I mean is there a chance you will damage the drive ?

I dropped my Seagate once, from my home office desk, and it would not want to work again. It turns on, makes an effort to boot-up and then I hear a repeated noise as if something is stuck inside. My guess is the needle/arm assembly somehow dislodged or bent out of shape.
I have torn/disassembled my drive off the case. I won’t go into details about the clips, since I am sure YOU probably won’t care much, just like me, about the exterior, but more urgently what is in the interior.

I will try to hook it up to another computer and see if it gets recognized. Otherwise I will continue on my quest and try to open the actual HD.
I will report back on my entire experience.

I tried to use the method described in this write up to open the enclosure. The pictures you provided and described gave me great insight into how it should properly be opened. However, after trying with the clothes hanger and finding no other thin, long, sturdy shaft I decided ‘fine, if you don’t want to come unhooked I will use physical violence!’

I began by prying apart the top portion of the case and making my way around the entire case. The top portion came off easily. I set the enclosure on its bottom and began slowly prying apart the case using the top portion as my leverage. I heard a click, the case came apart, and I waited to hear the clips fall to the ground in defeat..however, guess what? The whole thing came off perfectly. The bottom clips were not damaged at all!

So, if it helps.. maybe slowly prying from the top will enable the bottom clips to dislodge without breaking? I assume that is how others did it as well, maybe it was just luck.

Molk,

By now, you probably realize that , in the youtube link you provided, that was not the same type casing as the one in this article. Your link concerns an earlier version, which as explained in this article, was probably easier to disassemble.

the Free Agent Pro comes with a 5 year warranty. You should check warranty status on Seagate’s website before cracking open the case. They will replace the drive as long as the enclosure hasn’t been opened / damaged. good luck

Travis-
Thank you for your post. My FreeAgent Pro 750GB failed as well. Because of your post, I hoped the assessment of a failed interface unit was correct and that the drive and data could be salvaged. I was able to extract the standard SATA drive by following your instructions. The E: drive now lives again in my second HDD slot in my aging Dell Optiplex 4700. Cost to repair was one SATA data cable – $7.99, Thanks!

Travis, thanks for helping all of us out! I managed to free my Seagate 750 and am attempting to use it as an internal HD. I have it connected correctly, but my computer will not turn on, but when I disconnect the power cable from the Seagate my computer starts just fine. I’m certain that power is not an issue because I just purchased a new power supply that provides plenty of power. Any ideas to what the problem may be or how to fix it? Thanks

What a bunch of ******* that they wouldn’t just use screws like every other electronics manufacturer. Based on the number of seagate drives I have had fail (internal, external, firmware and non-firmware related) they have lost me as a customer as I now have one of these drives that isn’t working and I’m not dismantling it to fix it.

I tried for a good 30-45 minutes (possibly longer) to remove the casing clips with wire to no avail. I ended up just using a screw driver and peeling back the case, using brute strength to remove the top clips first and then rip off the bottom clips. My fingers hurt a lot as the casing is metal . However, despite all the knockings I gave the case, the drive maintained integrity and I was able to put it in another external enclosure with the drive fully intact and all files intact. Definitely, the failed drive was due to the enclosure and not the drive itself. I hate this particular Seagate FreeAgent Pro drive setup.