Removing a 7200 rpm hard drive that I had installed???

pisces7378

pisces7378

New member
Hey gang,

I am back in Germany visiting. (In case you don't know me; I used to live in Germany where I got very addicted to home recording). Well I have been back home living in the US for a year and a half now and have a much nicer set up than I did here. And since I am moving my German girlfriend back home to the US with me, I need to strip this German PC that I have for as many parts as I can think of. Well I had a second Seagate 7200rpm HDD installed into this PC. I moved home shortly after and so it is 100% empty, and I would love to get it back home with me where it can be put to good use.

But I have no idea how to un-install an HDD. I know there are a couple of flat cables about 2 inches wide with tons of little wires that connect the HDD's to the computer and possibly to each other. If I just go in, unscrew the screws, and yank off those cables is that all I have to do? Because I can only imagine that I have to connect the cable that is now in the second back to the original HDD or else something will not be right.

What do you guys think? Any tipps?

Cheers!

Mike
 
Pull the power connector (carefully)... they are usually pretty tight, pull the data cable (at the motherboard) so you don't have buy another.

Most HDD that I see of late are mounted in a cage. The cage has to be dismounted before you can get to the screws that hold the HDD in. You should be able to puzzle it out.
 
Why aren't you stripping the primary hard drive as well?

Worse case, format it and use it for backup storage.
 
No worries on either end. Leaving the disconnected data cable in the old computer will have the effect you want: the removed drive will be recognized as not being there: uninstall success!

And the drive itself will also be fine. If you are travelling with/shipping the removed drive I suggest finding some of that anti-static bagging that new drives come packaged in and do what you can to protect the whole drive from physical shocks. (lots of bubble wrap)
 
I am leaving the original hard drive in because I am selling this computer to a student to use for writing papers etc... and the original HDD is just a normal speed 60GB HDD.

Now... do you guys mean that once I have "carefully" pulled out the cables from the mother board and from the 7200 rpm HDD and unscrew it out of it's little socket cage thingy, that I am done. I do not have to reconnect the newly disconnected cables back to the original HDD somehow or the motherboard? Will the original HDD still be connected to the motherboard somehow else?
 
pisces7378 said:
Now... do you guys mean that once I have "carefully" pulled out the cables from the mother board and from the 7200 rpm HDD and unscrew it out of it's little socket cage thingy, that I am done. I do not have to reconnect the newly disconnected cables back to the original HDD somehow or the motherboard? Will the original HDD still be connected to the motherboard somehow else?
Click to expand...
It may be so that both hard drives share the same cable. Then just make sure that the original drive stays connected.
In other cases both drives are on separate cables so you won't have to worry about the original drive.

Just disconnect the second drive and you're done with it.
 
pisces7378 said:
Now... do you guys mean that once I have "carefully" pulled out the cables from the mother board and from the 7200 rpm HDD and unscrew it out of it's little socket cage thingy, that I am done.
Click to expand...
When you open the case, ensure that the original HD you had in there has the wide (usually grey) cable connected to it, as well as power. If the HD you are taking out is empty then, your Master (or primary) is probably the old one (where the Operating System is installed).
Anyway, all you need to worry about is that if the two hard drives are plugged in, and working then all you have to do is take the one you want out, and leave everything else you want in plugged in. If you don't know if the one you are taking out has the Operating System installed, it's very easy to test. Unplug the HD you want (just the power - Red & Black Cables) and power up the machine. If you get an error saying that it cannot find the operating system, then the one you want to take has the Operating System installed. If it comes up to like it normally does then the Operating System is on the other hard drive. After you have done this test, make sure you power the computer down, before disconnecting or re-connecting anything.
If you need further help just send me a private message, and we can get the details off-line.
 
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