Wednesday 25 May 2011

Inside the LG HXD2 500GB

The LG HXD2 is a SATA based external USB 2 2.5" drive.
To open up the case, simply prize the case carefully using a thin screwdriver.   Start in the middle of the end - between the USB port and the light.
Inside was found a Toshiba MK5059GSX with the following features:
  • General Features:
  • 500 GB storage capacity
  • SATA/300 interface
  • 5400 RPM spindle speed
  • 8 MB buffer
  • 4 data heads
  • 2 disks
  • 5.55 ms average latency
  • 3.0 Gbps transfer rate
  • 2.5-inch form factor
  • 9.5 mm drive height
If you want to use this drive an a PC, be aware it is partitioned using GPT, which Vista at least cant handle. Here are some instructions to converting it back to MBR during a Vista install which worked for me:

  • At the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen hit Shift+F10 to bring up a command prompt.
  • Type "diskpart" and hit enter.
  • Type "list disk" and hit enter.
  • Type "select disk x" replacing x with the number of the disk you want to install Windows to.(Typically you will see a * under GPT for the disk you are having a problem installing to.)
  • Type "clean" and hit enter.
  • Type "exit" and hit enter.
  • Close the command prompt window.
  • Click Refresh in the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen.
  • You should now be able to install windows on the disk that was GPT formatted.
Additionally, to get this drive to work inside a Dell Inspiron 1525, I had to disable the flash cache, and set the SATA mode to ATA.  Otherwise, I got the error "Windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation".