answer:I did a Google search & couldn’t find anything about an access hole or a lock feature. Anyhow, there’s lots of advice (some of it contradictory!) on how to open the drive’s case, should you care to venture into hardware troubleshooting. The best advice along these lines, at online discussion boards, seems to be: ————— “Hi, I have a Hitachi 1.0 TB LS-1000-EMEA. It is not being recognized by any computer although when connected it goes through the normal startup sequence (blue light + drive spinning up).” ————— “The light and the sound are signaling that the unit gets powered. If it doesn’t get recognized then there’s a problem with the logic controllers – either the one on the case or the one on the hard disk itself have failed. “To find out which, you need to open the case, take out the hard disk and put it directly in a desktop pc. If it’s recognized and accessible then the controller of the case is faulty – you will need a new case. If it’s not then the hard disk itself is dead and you need a new external USB HD.”