I had another hard drive fail in the marginally effective HP Data Protection System™
Having run out of laptop drives and not willing to lose any more time I went ahead and installed one out of an old file server.
re. picasaweb.google.com Snow_Cat wrote:
Inside the HP Mobile Data
Destruction System a PATA cable has been jumpered into the 2.5" pin/cardedge adaptor. This leads to a common 3.5" harddrive from an old server, that was retired because it has a (super loud) failing spindle bearing. This is in turn connected to a 12V/5V powersupply from a harddrive enclosure.
The IOCS16 line is not present in the "system" connector requiring a seperate hook-up to establish contact between the HD and CD drives.
This is the part that took an afternoon, and I am quite pleased with it though the washer and garage door opener can knock it out. The fruitless search for my genuine XP SP3 and Office 2007 discs only
turned up the reciepts, and not one of the three sets of backups stored in separate locations took the better part of this last week.
As this is the third set of ligitimate, registered and lisenced software that has been "lost" I believe that installing a wallsafe will be the next project after I make a less vibration sensitive PCB version of this adaptor, and make a battery powered power supply for this drive if its death song doesn't reach a climax too soon.
song.datacent.comFailing harddrive sounds is exactly the same.
I've already hacksawed the necessary connectors loose, it's only a matter of getting around to printing a new PCB now.