After you remove the tape, you'll need to remove the shiny plastic/chrome that runs around the case. You just have to pull it a bit and it will come off pretty easily. Once you do that you should be able to pull out the entire drive along with the controller that's attached to it on its backside.
The controller is attached to the drive by two screws. Just remove these two screws and you should easily be able to disconnect the drive from the SATA ports on the controller.
The drive that originally came with the Apollo is a Samsung HM500LI 500GB (8MB cache, 5400 rpm). I replaced that drive with a Seagate Momentus 500GB (16MB cache, 5400 rpm). You can use any 2.5" SATA drive. You could probably even use a drive that runs at 7200 rpm, but that will generate a lot of heat and the enclosure doesn't have any ventilation.
Thanks a lot. I did open mine to check the guts, and found out that the external cable was to blame!
@gabriel villalobos
I’m glad you got it working!
Thank you so much for your detailed directions AND photos.
Helped a lot, made my day !!!
Best regards.
@XEQtor
No worries! Glad I was able to help!
hey guys,, i have 1 like this,,, but i want to use it as internal hard drive,, can it be possible? because i have acer laptop,, and the hard disk is not ok anymore,,, my laptop is acer 4367z…
@amir
It is a 2.5″ drive, so it is the same form-factor as a laptop drive; it should work.
hey I can’t remove the plastic chrome cover. can you make a video of this or provide a detail instruction?
i figured it out. my problem is that my computer can’t recognize my hard drive. I tried also tried it on my ps3, but nothing happened. I need to recover my files. it is very important
i also have a problem with my imation portable harddrive…
it detects, icon and the message “new hard drive found” appears, but it doesnt “AUTOPLAY” and when i go to “MY COMPUTER” no drive [F] found… pls help me with this problem.. thanks in advance…
Fritz Rigonan and Vivn : I have the same problem as you guys have. And so I finally decided to open the black and silver bordered case. I opened the 4 screws given on two sides but the Case is very hard to remove. Can someone send me either the video or pics of how to open it.
I am in real need as I have all the important data in that and in next week I have presentation to be shown.
Please Please Help..!!
Regards
UmanG [[email protected]]
Thanks dude – you really helped me out there 🙂
Sorry for taking so long to respond.
@Fritz Rigonan
I think your drive might have had actual hardware issues. This was the same thing that I was seeing with my drive.
@hygie ryan fernandez
You must have a hardware issue with your drive as well. Try running some SMART tools on it to see if it has any issues.
@Umang N Samani
I hope your presentation went ok 🙂 I don’t know how I can explain how to remove the case any better. You pretty much have to shove a small flat-headed screwdriver in between the chrome trim and the case right behind the USB icon (don’t shove it in too hard or you’ll damage the controller). Push in towards the body of the drive and then upwards. This should make the cover pop out.
@Jules
Glad to help 🙂
Photos of opened Apollo box is here (with no instructions) – part of review
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/imation-apollo-500gb-25-portable-hard-drive/
how can i open the drive..,i already unscrew it but still i couldn’t open
how can i open the drive..,i already unscrew it but still i couldn’t open..,same hard drive
awesome.. thanks for the help..
kudos.
Thanx aton man this link is really helpful guys thanx a lot to the creator of this link…..
Simple Perfect! It Helps a lot. Thanks
Thanks a lot. I bought two of these in 2008 and both failed. Your instructions with pictures were perfect for my needs.
succeeded, following your guide. great photos and clear description
Dear Concerns,
when i used portable hard disk 500gb, imation in laptop delli5, the charger of laptop i3 was used. meanwhile i was copping the file from laptop to my portable hard disk at that time copying process is slow. i removed the portable hard disk. and i used it but any pc can’t read it even its light is ok.
pls send me the process for reopen my portable hard disk.
Awesome How-To. Was able to swap my 250GB for a 750GB drive. Thanks!
May I know how to open the casing of Apollo Imation external hard disk? Can someone help me please….,
i just finished opening up my apollo box.. the screw was hidden at the back of the rubber thingy.. after unscrewing it just slide it to the side and it will just pop-out…
To get the lid off, I found there are two little slots at the front (one where you said, the other towards the right-hand side as you face the usb port on the left) and three at the rear (left, middle, right)
Thank you
is very well
I had two of these bad boys weighing in at 250GB each! One had a faulty controller and now I’ve retrieved the data from it using the other controller and putting it on something larger. Nice one dude…still work after all these years (as you would expect)
thanks so much!!!!
I did it!!!!