How to Open a Toshiba 500Gb Portable External Hard Drive

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Toshiba produces a line of portable data storage devices, including the 500 Gigabyte Canvio 3.0 model, which comes equipped with USB 3.0 capability, password protection, and preloaded backup software. Within the device's plastic casing is a 2.5 inch hard drive, the same kind you would find inside a notebook computer. If desired, you can open this casing and extract the installed drive; this will allow you to swap in a drive with greater capacity or install the drive in a different device.

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Opening

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Step 1

Inspect the sides of the device and locate the seam between the top cover and the base. Insert the tip of your pry tool into the seam.

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Step 2

Twist the pry tool until part of the cover disengages from the base. Move the tip of the pry tool to a new location along the seam. Twist the tool to disengage more of the cover from the base.

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Step 3

Work your way around the seam in this manner. Lift the cover off of the device once you have completely disengaged it from the base.

Drive Swapping

Step 1

Insert the tip of a finger in the gap between the front end of the hard drive and the casing. Lift the front end upwards, then slide the drive forward until both the drive and interface card come free.

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Step 2

Grip the sides of the interface card. Work the card free of the connector port on the rear of the drive. Set the old drive aside. Connect the interface card to the port on the rear of the replacement drive.

Step 3

Slide the assembly back into the base, with the interface card going in first. Lower the front end of the drive into the base. Confirm that the ports on the interface card are accessible from the rear panel of the device.

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Step 4

Fit the top cover onto the base. Push down on the edges of the top cover until it is completely seated and there are no large gaps in the seam.

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