I don’t know the layout of this particular drive bay, but is there enough room to perhaps get some strong tape stuck to the drive, which you can then use to pull it out?

For fun I'm picturing drilling a tiny hole into the end of the HDD (say 1mm), inserting a self tapping screw and using it as an anchor to pull the drive out.

I would probably just disassemble at that point though. If something is jammed in, I'd be worried about the damage potential trying to drag it back out.

Can you glue a piece of cloth to the drive to create a makeshift pull tab?

paradigital wrote on 2023-06-17, 07:23:

is there enough room to perhaps get some strong tape stuck to the drive, which you can then use to pull it out?

The bay is very tiny and both the HDD's top and bottom faces are unreachable; I've tried to stick the tape to the back edge with no success, the tape comes off as soon as I start pulling. Maybe I should try a stronger one.

Pierre32 wrote on 2023-06-17, 07:42:

drilling a tiny hole into the end of the HDD, inserting a self tapping screw and using it as an anchor to pull the drive out.

It might work but I don't feel comfortable with drilling 🙁

Doornkaat wrote on 2023-06-17, 08:19:

Can you glue a piece of cloth to the drive to create a makeshift pull tab?

Sounds interesting but unfortunately there's not so much surface available, only the rear edge is exposed.

SteyrPuch wrote on 2023-06-18, 09:04:

Doornkaat wrote on 2023-06-17, 08:19:

Can you glue a piece of cloth to the drive to create a makeshift pull tab?

Sounds interesting but unfortunately there's not so much surface available, only the rear edge is exposed.

Using a 3cm wide cotton ribbon and super glue you should have enough surface on that hdd edge to pull the drive out. Just make sure not to glue it to anything else.😄

I should try, hope it works 😀

Another question, slightly OT but still Libretto-related: I need a CD drive for this little machine, is a random PCMCIA unit compatible or do I need to look for something "official" from Toshiba?

The bottom half of a Libretto 100ct comes off quite easily by removing the battery and a few screws so I after removing the bottom it is easy to just pull the drive out. Also gives you a good opportunity to replace or remove the cmos battery too (if it is still there).

I've attached a picture of my 100ct with a CF card and a adapter.

Is it really that easy? No need to disconnect any cable or remove the keyboard and so on, just unscrew the bottom cover and lift / pry it apart? 😀

SteyrPuch wrote on 2023-06-19, 05:50:

Is it really that easy? No need to disconnect any cable or remove the keyboard and so on, just unscrew the bottom cover and lift / pry it apart? 😀

Yes, it has been a year or so when I did that last time, but if my memory serves me right there are no clips that can break or cables attached to the bottom, so after unscrewing you can just lift the bottom apart.

EDIT: later I was thinking that the 2,5" hd being in place might prevent you from removing the bottom half, but you'll see if try 😀