Replace the Guts in an ext Hard Drive

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My Acomdata ext HD gave it up. I understand another disk can be installed in the enclosure. According to Acomdata (who gave good customer service for a device way out of warranty), it can be replaced by any 3.5 inch IDE/PATA drive so I assume boards that slide into the internal mounting grooves are a std size. Is that so? Also, are the four female receptacles (FW400, FW800, mini-USB, and A/C adapter) also mounted in std locations so they will fit in the holes in the enclosure? Thank you
 
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It's one of those things that you'll understand better once you get the enclosure cracked open (assuming you have no experience with things of this nature).

NewEgg will have the drive for a good price.

There will be only two ribbon wires connecting the drive to the enclosure. One for data and one for power. The external ports (FW, USB, etc) are attached to a small circuit board in the enclosure. You won't have to mess with them at all.

Keep in mind that the actual enclosure circuitry could be fried and simply replacing the hard drive may not fix your problem.
 
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Surfwax95: The enclosure is open and the board removed. It is of one piece holding the drive and the female receptacles. Although the device is Acomdata, the actual drive assembly is a Western Digital WD Scorpio 160.0GB. I assume I can replace it with a WD Scorpio but what of other brands. Are the female receptacles' locations standardized?
 

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All 3.5" IDE (ATA) hard drives have the same power jack and 40-Pin IDC connector. Just be sure the drive you purchase is a 3.5" IDE (ATA).

Any of the drives here in this URL will work if what Acomdata told you was correct. What is the model of the Acomdata drive (on the case) so I can check? I bet they are correct though and it's IDE.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Hard Drives,Internal Hard Drives,IDE Ultra ATA100,
 
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It is model SHD160UFAPEW-54. It is dated Jul 2007. That brings up the question of replacing it with a larger capacity device. It is only two years but technology marches on. Thanks for your interest.
 

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That brings up the question of replacing it with a larger capacity device.
Capacity is irrelevant. As long as you put the appropriate size (physical size, not digital size) and style, you should be fine.
 

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It is model SHD160UFAPEW-54. It is dated Jul 2007. That brings up the question of replacing it with a larger capacity device. It is only two years but technology marches on. Thanks for your interest.

Is this your drive?

Acomdata SHD160UFAPE-54 Manuals, Support and Troubleshooting - Storage

If so it claims it's a 2.5" drive. That will make the URL I gave you above wrong as those are 3.5".

PROVANTAGE: AcomData SHD160UFAPE-54 160GB 2.5" HD Combo

This also says 2.5" drive.
 
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Yeah I was wonderin caause the WD Scorpio's are laptop drives, 2.5 inchers....
 

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Yeah I was wonderin caause the WD Scorpio's are laptop drives, 2.5 inchers....

That is why I asked the OP for the model of the drive as something just did not seem right.
 
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Between the double lines is what the Acomdata tech support said. First is his response; next is my question that was written before I had disassembled the unit to discover that the disk itself is Western Digital.
=========================================
Any model 3.5” IDE/PATA hard drive should work fine.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


[Some text deleted to avoid identifying the techie who wrote]

Subject: Re: AcomData Tech Support Request

.... If I wanted to put a third party hard drive (or one of yours) in that enclosure, what would I buy?
=====================================================

But that is irrelevant. You guys are correct. I removed the drive from the enclosure and measured the round part where the disk lives. 2.5 in. Nice catch! Thank you
 

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