Those Seagate enclosures... they just plain suck, don't they? First you have to run Windows to turn off the sleep-feature (the one that parks the drive while data is being written to it). Now people are complaining that as the drives age they are having trouble mounting them and end up unplugging and replugging the drives repeatedly until they miraculously start working. This trouble is, I think, due to weak power from aging defective power boards.
The power problems might be easily dealt with -- just get a new enclosure and swap in your old drive -- except for the fact that FreeAgent enclosures are designed to be tamper-proof and are practically hermetically sealed.
Anyway, it turns out that there is a fix. One of my friends (Special thanks to Wishes to Remain Anonymous!!) told me he'd done it and I tried it and it works.
The trick is to remove the base of the enclosure and unplug the tiny LED power cable from the circuit board. No need to go digging into the guts of the thing. Just run a spudger (or if you don't mind getting it marked up, use a credit card) around the seam and pop a few tiny plastic tabs to get the bottom off.
This operation disables the orange activity light and gives the thing that tiny bit more power that it needs to get the drive spinning up properly.
I don't think that this is a permanent fix because something (a power-board?) is clearly defective and dying in these cases, but it might postpone cracking open the enclosure to rescue your drive (or throwing the whole thing out) for a few months.
I Just Saved $200 Dollars
It seemed like my 4 year old upright vacuum cleaner was on its last legs. The belt was going -- making a nasty burning smell whenever I ran it -- the suction power was down to almost nothing, the case was cracked and splitting at the seams and the power cord was frayed. They don't sell replacement belts in any of the local hardware stores. I got a quote of $75 dollars just to replace the belt and patch the cord. Time to replace it.
I've done some shopping and I can't find a single decent vacuum cleaner to replace it with. Seriously. They all stink.
I think that there's a competition among vacuum cleaner manufacturers to make the crummiest, highest-maintenance vacuums with the most expensive short-lived parts. And what ever happened to bag-vacuums? Is part of the competition also to see how much dust people are willing to inhale when they clean out their vacuum-bins?
What a bunch of thieves these vacuum cleaner manufacturers have become!!
All of the vacuums at the department stores are "cyclonic" "wind-tunnel" vacuums now -- a technology notorious for low power and clogged filters. They all require a dust-bin change after every use and new filters every few weeks. The ones that advertise washable filters have additional filters that aren't washable and need expensive replacements periodically. The washable filters clog after every use, which means that you have to buy a spare for the first one to have sufficient drying time if you plan on using your vacuum two days in a row.
I almost picked up an Electrolux for $200 dollars even though it was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen and was burdened with a completely useless dust-brush embedded in its side. It had what looked like a crack-resistant, stretchy hose and it had all the right attachments, including a neat little pet-brush thing that might be useful on my couch. Then I noticed that the hose was so short that even with two extensions on it the thing couldn't reach much above waist height. How is one supposed to vacuum cobwebs with that thing? Who tests Electrolux vacuums, cartoon dwarfs?
So, after weeks of shopping, I did what any red blooded man would do. I ordered a replacement belt on eBay, opened up my old Dirt Devil and shortened the frayed cord, patched the broken plastic brackets, snaked the hose, zip-tied the parts of the frame that were coming apart at the seams... I think I can squeeze a few more years out of it now.
Maybe I can keep it going until the motor burns out. Maybe by then somebody will make a decent replacement. There's bugger-all out there now.
My Weekend Project...
I went to Ikea this weekend. Last resort.
I spent much of Saturday at Ikea, measuring pieces and working out which parts to get to make an entertainment center that could neatly stow my stuff with sufficient hidden storage to hide the stuff that ain't so neat.
This was a last-resort. I've been to a whole lot of furniture and department stores in the last couple of weeks, looking for a decent unit to replace what I had. No luck. And what little came even close to what I wanted would cost thousands of dollars.
So, I went to Ikea. Did I mention that it was a last resort?
I hit the place around 11am. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had some reasonably high quality stuff there. Still particle-board, but some of it was like an inch thick. Even the backs some of the units were thick particle-board where I expected cardboard or an ultra-cheap laminate.
Still, it was not an overall pleasant experience. The pieces weren't located in the bins where they were supposed to be, they were out of some parts so I had to make substitutions, they only had one of a particular item that I wanted two of, the place was crowded and hot, the lines were long and both the not-a-salesperson and the checkout clerk made silly mistakes that brought whole sections of the store to a halt and pissed off every customer behind me.
Then, I worked until 1am assembling the unit (I stopped using the drill before 11pm out of courtesy to my neighbors) and assembled/wired all of the electronics until 5am.
This is the result.
Not too shabby.
I slept well on Sunday.
BTW: That's my Washburn acoustic set up next to it. A real nice guitar.
Scott Bakula is a Nice Guy
I was out doing a "Flat Stanley" project for my nephew when I spotted Scott Bakula at the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C.
I felt bad interrupting what seemed to be a day out with his family, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a shot for my Nephew. (And for me. I'm big enough to admit it.)
He very kindly posed with Stanley while I fumbled with my camera and eventually took a picture.
Thanks, Scott!! You made my day and I'm sure that it'll be a hit in Max's class!
