7yo daughter and I took apart an old dead hard drive. Inside the casing
to one side there was a small rectangular plastic 'pot' with a sort of
fibrous tape cover. Containing a load of tiny ( 0.5mm diam ?) black
balls.

They appear to be graphite - non magnetic and can be crushed. But
couldn't work out very obviously what they are.

Anyone know?
--
Chris French

chris French wrote:
7yo daughter and I took apart an old dead hard drive. Inside the casing
to one side there was a small rectangular plastic 'pot' with a sort of
fibrous tape cover. Containing a load of tiny ( 0.5mm diam ?) black balls.

They appear to be graphite - non magnetic and can be crushed. But
couldn't work out very obviously what they are.

Anyone know?
Some sort of desiccant perhaps? I've not seen a black one but it might
explain the porous cover.

Bob

Bob Minchin wrote:

They appear to be graphite - non magnetic and can be crushed. But
couldn't work out very obviously what they are.

Anyone know?
Some sort of desiccant perhaps? I've not seen a black one but it might
explain the porous cover.

Charcoal filters, I would think.

Scott

On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:18:01 +0000, chris French
wrote:

7yo daughter and I took apart an old dead hard drive. Inside the casing
to one side there was a small rectangular plastic 'pot' with a sort of
fibrous tape cover. Containing a load of tiny ( 0.5mm diam ?) black
balls.

They appear to be graphite - non magnetic and can be crushed. But
couldn't work out very obviously what they are.

Anyone know?

Might be part of the breather system.

Years ago I dismantled a very larger HD found in a skip outside a game
publisher. It had a wet/dry breather system for the drive. Most dinky
thing I have ever seen with the usual filters and a liquid bath in a
minute clear plastic module.

In article ,
chris French wrote:
7yo daughter and I took apart an old dead hard drive. Inside the casing
to one side there was a small rectangular plastic 'pot' with a sort of
fibrous tape cover. Containing a load of tiny ( 0.5mm diam ?) black
balls.

They appear to be graphite - non magnetic and can be crushed. But
couldn't work out very obviously what they are.

Anyone know?

From http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=91607 :

"activated carbon pellets, as a dessicant and to absorb any other airborne
fumes from material outgassing, to prevent them from depositing on
critical locations such as the media surface"

Similar on:

http://www.techimo.com/photo/showpho...500/ppuser/265

Darren

In message , D.M.Chapman
writes
In article ,
chris French wrote:
7yo daughter and I took apart an old dead hard drive. Inside the casing
to one side there was a small rectangular plastic 'pot' with a sort of
fibrous tape cover. Containing a load of tiny ( 0.5mm diam ?) black
balls.

They appear to be graphite - non magnetic and can be crushed. But
couldn't work out very obviously what they are.

Anyone know?

From http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=91607 :

"activated carbon pellets, as a dessicant and to absorb any other airborne
fumes from material outgassing, to prevent them from depositing on
critical locations such as the media surface"

Similar on:

http://www.techimo.com/photo/showpho...500/ppuser/265


Ah thanks, now we know :-)
--
Chris French