My Maxtor external hard drive recently stopped working. After some investigation on the seagate website it looks like the power supply is defective. I have never seen anywhere that you can buy power supplies for external drives. Does anyone know of a place that sells them?

Also, I read a post here where someone said that they had modded their external drive to an internal drive. Can this actually be done?

Inside the case is a basic hard drive so yes it can be extracted and installed internally. This will void any warranties.

As to the power: is it a basic AC adapter? Is there any type of ID on it? What is the exact Maxtor model?

It is a Maxtor 5000LE, 80GB, 72000RPM. The power supply actually connects to the HDD with a 4-pin DIN.

The drive is about 5 years old so I'm not too concerned about voiding any warranty it may have once had, but its a pretty solid case and I don't see any obvious way to open it.

Very standard IDE(ATA) drive.

Hard drive: 3.5 inch with Ultra ATA 133 interface

http://www.cwol.com/usb/maxtor-5000l...hard-drive.htm

I would check the power adapter for an ID and or take it into a local electronics store. Many of these adapters are interchangeable.

Otherwise as to opening it up: if there are no obvious screw points etc I would start prying here and there. It must have been assembled somehow. Perhaps the front or rear snaps to the main case etc. You might need tools.

I would tend to think the power adapter can be replaced if that is indeed the issue.

Well, I'll try checking any stores for a power supply first and if that doesn't work I'll bust out my crowbar. Thanks for the help, jephree.

Another tip if you go to open it up:

Look for stickers/labels that might be hiding screws. May say Warranty Void if Removed etc.

Also the feet or support brackets might be hiding the case screws.

I also see some verification that the front and back are perhaps clipped/snapped into the central chamber. If so insert your crowbar here.

Actually an old chisel or any broad edged tool should work.

Well, I couldn't find a another power supply at any computer stores so I cracked the case open, which was surprisingly easy. I had spare IDE and power cables so putting it in was easy too. Now it works fine. Problem solved. Thanks for the help.

Glad to hear it!

Let us know if we can help further in the future.