You are hereDismantle the Archos 605 / Harddrive Removal
Harddrive Removal
The hard drive is held in place by four allen screws.
These screws cannot be opened by the Philips screwdriver and it will damage the screwdriver if you try plus you wont be able to screw them back on properly. So get the right sized allen key before you try to open them.
Simply removing the screws will not pop the hard drive out yet. It needs to be pulled out gently from the IDE connector.
Check you have all screws removed till this stage:
Tags
My 605 stopped working recently-- the unit whines a bit at the Archos start up screen then the screen flickers and the unit turns off.
I thought that maybe there was a power problem, possibly due to battery failing. (I bought a new battery and proceeded through your fantastically helpful dismantling instructions.)
Now that I have the hard drive removed if I press the power button to activate the unit the Archos start up screen comes on, stays steady then goes to the recovery screen you show at http://huestones.co.uk/node/37
Am I right to suspect that there is no need to proceed with changing the battery because the problem is that I've toasted the hard drive?
No your conclusion is incorrect. When the HDD is removed and you turn on the Archos it will stay on for longer than it would with the HDD installed. This is because the HDD is the most power hungry component in there so a failing battery is unable to power the HDD. By removing the HDD you have made life easier for the battery. If only the HDD is damaged and the battery is ok, you will normally hear clicking sounds or see the recovery screen when reading the disk, but it will not cause the Archos to turn off. The recovery screen you see in this case is ofcourse because the Archos cannot find the HDD at all and assumes it must be damaged. Hope this helps.