I heard somewhere that you can take apart an external drive and use the drive contained within in your pc?
Is this possible? I want to know before I take apart mine.
What brand is it? A quick google search should tell you if it can be disassembled or not. I've personally never came across one that couldnt be taken apart and used in a pc. But I havent Bought a new external drive in a while.
Western Digital My Passport 500gb
Yes, and they are known to have issues with the USB controller, so if your drive does not work anymore but DOES NOT make noise when you plug it, taking it appart gives you a nice drive.
WD externals have to be DESTROYED to disassemble them (they usually have hidden clips that are superglued in place at factory). Make sure that you only break the plastic case and not the internal drive parts.
Heres a video that shows how to open them up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITObQxytdH4
Should be pretty simple. just take some time, and be careful. Oh, and if you happen to have a fairly thick guitar pick laying around, they work great for things like this.