How to properly remove the hard disk from Buffalo 1TB external USB hard disk
One of the my favorite USB external 2.5 inch hard disk was Buffalo Ministation portable, featured the shock-proof case which helps a lot protecting the hard disk in the case of accidental drop. I bought a few of it and it served me well for many years. Since the Buffalo model stop at USB 2.0, now I opt to a much better and faster speed external hard disk – the one with USB 3.0.
One of the Buffalo had a problem mounting the hard disk when connected to the PC, it only mount the read-only CD image and didn’t even show the data partition. I suspected the SATA board of the casing that causing this issue. So I decided to open up the case and move the physical hard disk into a new case. Below are the steps to open up the case properly without breaking it.
Firstly, there are two tiny screw you need to remove, the first screw – you need to remove the USB cable that attached to the casing in order to see it. The second screw – you need to peel the label with the model and serial no in order to see it. Once you found both screw on the side, remove it.
After that, you need to push the side panel outward like the photo below
Once removed, you should have something like below.
Then, you a need to use a plastic pick to pry open the top panel (with the “Buffalo” name on it)
Once the top panel removed, you should now be able to see the hard disk.
Use a plastic tools to lift up the hard disk, you should be able to see an opening on the side of the case.
There have some double-sided tape holding the hard disk to the case.
You need to remove four screws at the bottom plate.
and then you need to peel off the warranty sticker on the hard disk.
Lastly, just remove the SATA connection to the hard disk.
Below are the whole parts of the Buffalo Case.
After that, I use the USB 3.0 to SATA hard disk adapter cable converter, to attach the hard disk and connect it to the laptop to check if the hard disk is still ok. It turns out, the hard disk is still in very good condition. I then install the hard disk into a new USB 3.0 external casing and it now served as another backup storage.
