So about 2 years ago, I bought a 400GB Seagate external hard drive for backing up family pictures, documents, whatever. It basically looks like this:
Well, the other night, I noticed that the damn thing wouldn't power up any more. I could press the power "switch", switch being very generous here, it is more of a soft switch than a real switch, and you could hear the drive spinning up. As soon as you took your finger of the "switch" the thing lost power. Add to that, I couldn't access the drive while it was powered up. I think, "OK, there is a problem with the controller board, I'll just pull the drive and put it in a new enclosure." Wrong!
Meet the torx plus bit head. Notice the 5 points instead of the usual 6. Also notice the hole in the middle. That is because torx plus screws have a safety pin in the middle. I can't find this specialty piece of crap anywhere and a quick google search comes up with a reason. You have to be specially certified to even buy one of these security bits.
So, am I going to spend $40 on a bit for a drive that may be dead? Hell no! 20 minutes with a dremel tool can bypass any security the folks at Seagate felt they had the right to impose on me.
And, guess what? The damn drive works like a charm in its new home.
I don't know what the point of the post is, but I'm pissed that Seagate didn't just use a normal friggin screw. Guess I just wanted to vent a little.
Always wear safety glasses.
Well, the other night, I noticed that the damn thing wouldn't power up any more. I could press the power "switch", switch being very generous here, it is more of a soft switch than a real switch, and you could hear the drive spinning up. As soon as you took your finger of the "switch" the thing lost power. Add to that, I couldn't access the drive while it was powered up. I think, "OK, there is a problem with the controller board, I'll just pull the drive and put it in a new enclosure." Wrong!
Meet the torx plus bit head. Notice the 5 points instead of the usual 6. Also notice the hole in the middle. That is because torx plus screws have a safety pin in the middle. I can't find this specialty piece of crap anywhere and a quick google search comes up with a reason. You have to be specially certified to even buy one of these security bits.
So, am I going to spend $40 on a bit for a drive that may be dead? Hell no! 20 minutes with a dremel tool can bypass any security the folks at Seagate felt they had the right to impose on me.
And, guess what? The damn drive works like a charm in its new home.
I don't know what the point of the post is, but I'm pissed that Seagate didn't just use a normal friggin screw. Guess I just wanted to vent a little.
Always wear safety glasses.