Sata connector on my HDD broke. RIP.

[suchamoneypit]

 

i took it out, there was no tension on the cable, it was loose, I pushed it back in ( was troubleshooting other issues), and when I went to disconnect it again, the entire thing just broke off. I noticed that the plug it connects to, the plastic was broke off and when I touched it , it was crumbling away. Im guessing the "socket" it connects to somehow broke, and over time the main connector just snapped off. I checked the other cable, its connector is there, and intact, but the corners are brittle and crumbling too(this is clearly visible in the 2nd picture).

 

I found this out whilst troubleshooting a keyboard problem...

[PlayStation 2]

Huh?

How does that even happen?

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

Well RIP...

 

If you wanted to get data off of it it's possible to solder small connections onto those tabs to make a connection but only do that if you know what your doing. 

[suchamoneypit]

Huh?

How does that even happen?

I have no idea. I was even sure to make sure there was no tension when I installed it. When I unplugged it and saw the bare gold pins, I was baffled. Then I noticed the plastic all around it was chipped off, broken off, and what was left was extremely brittle.

[suchamoneypit]

Well RIP...

 

If you wanted to get data off of it it's possible to solder small connections onto those tabs to make a connection but only do that if you know what your doing. 

know of any guides anywhere? there are about 10GB in extremely old family photos on it. As a matter of fact, I was going to transfer those off tomorrow because I have an SSD due to arrive soon, and I was going to do a complete wipe. Bad timing.

[W-L]

know of any guides anywhere? there are about 10GB in extremely old family photos on it. As a matter of fact, I was going to transfer those off tomorrow because I have an SSD due to arrive soon, and I was going to do a complete wipe. Bad timing.

 

One other thing you can try is if the connector that broke off is still somewhat in one piece is to put it back with a very small drop of superglue, this will let you align the connector and pins to make proper contact with a sata connector to just grab the data.

[suchamoneypit]

One other thing you can try is if the connector that broke off is still somewhat in one piece is to put it back with a very small drop of superglue, this will let you align the connector and pins to make proper contact with a sata connector to just grab the data.

would WD be mad at me or possible charge me (going to do an advance RMA)if I sent them the drive like that back for an RMA? I have documented its state beforehand, and I dought they will be recovering my data and sending it back to me.

[Aniallation]

[suchamoneypit]

lol, as disappointed as I am about the HDD, that gave me a good laugh.

[braneopbru]

WD will most assuredly NOT recover your data. Consider the data gone if you send the drive back. Not even sure that they will cover that. They might consider it physical damage; although, Ive found WD to be decent on warranty. They replaced my "My Book Live" that was three months past the end of it's three year warranty.

 

The one thing you could try is buying the exact same drive (or advanced RMA) and swapping out the control boards.

[W-L]

would WD be mad at me or possible charge me (going to do an advance RMA)if I sent them the drive like that back for an RMA? I have documented its state beforehand, and I dought they will be recovering my data and sending it back to me.

 

They don't offer a service like that and it's not valid for RMA since it's user infected damage, you would need to go to a place that can recover sata or you, they can get it off fairly easily.

[suchamoneypit]

They don't offer a service like that and it's not valid for RMA since it's user infected damage, you would need to go to a place that can recover sata or you, they can get it off fairly easily.

http://puu.sh/m9Vzs/b124d77f55.png

 

And why would it not be covered? I followed all proper installation instructions, the correct cable was used, and with reasonable tension ( as one would expect with neat cable management). The plastic around my connector is what broke for whatever reason, which then caused the unsupported connector to break. I feel that I did nothing negligent causing this to occur,

[braneopbru]

http://puu.sh/m9Vzs/b124d77f55.png

 

And why would it not be covered? I followed all proper installation instructions, the correct cable was used, and with reasonable tension ( as one would expect with neat cable management). The plastic around my connector is what broke for whatever reason, which then caused the unsupported connector to break. I feel that I did nothing negligent causing this to occur,

Good luck. 

 

We're not saying that it's your fault or that you did it. But WD will. They are going to break out the old "physical damage" to invalidate the claim.

[W-L]

http://puu.sh/m9Vzs/b124d77f55.png

 

And why would it not be covered? I followed all proper installation instructions, the correct cable was used, and with reasonable tension ( as one would expect with neat cable management). The plastic around my connector is what broke for whatever reason, which then caused the unsupported connector to break. I feel that I did nothing negligent causing this to occur,

 

Give it a go if they're nice about it maybe they will give you a hand but in general if it's user inflicted it's not covered, you need to grab the data off of it though they will not recover data for you.

http://support.wdc.com/KnowledgeBase/answer.aspx?ID=997

[boarder2k7]

Your best bet is to first try gluing the broken piece back on to see if you can get a cable to work. If not, then find someone who can solder and attach a cable right to it.

Oh, and backups, backups, backups! One HDD should not be the only location for irreplaceable family photos! I'm glad it's recoverable damage though.

Remember, any data you don't have at least two copies of is data you don't care about.

[suchamoneypit]

Your best bet is to first try gluing the broken piece back on to see if you can get a cable to work. If not, then find someone who can solder and attach a cable right to it.

Oh, and backups, backups, backups! One HDD should not be the only location for irreplaceable family photos! I'm glad it's recoverable damage though.

Remember, any data you don't have at least two copies of is data you don't care about.

yeah, I was just thinking around the last week that as a family gift we should get a $50-70 HDD to store family photos and such, the thing is my family just rolls their eyes when I say they should buy another HDD to store them, and if I have $50-70 im looking to buy something like an SSD to improve my speeds, so I always put it off.

[boarder2k7]

If it's hard to do all at once, then after you get this recovered get an online backup. $5/month and you're set, plus it's off site which is better in ways

[suchamoneypit]

Well RIP...

 

If you wanted to get data off of it it's possible to solder small connections onto those tabs to make a connection but only do that if you know what your doing. 

 

 

One other thing you can try is if the connector that broke off is still somewhat in one piece is to put it back with a very small drop of superglue, this will let you align the connector and pins to make proper contact with a sata connector to just grab the data.

 

 

Your best bet is to first try gluing the broken piece back on to see if you can get a cable to work. If not, then find someone who can solder and attach a cable right to it.

Oh, and backups, backups, backups! One HDD should not be the only location for irreplaceable family photos! I'm glad it's recoverable damage though.

Remember, any data you don't have at least two copies of is data you don't care about.

 

good as new (it works). Toothpicks weren't my idea but my helper was persistant we do it. Actually adds a ton of support, its pretty darn sturdy.

 

I used pliers to bend the pins back straight, then inserted the snapped off plastic into my SATA cable, then carefully slid the pins back into the connector.

[W-L]

-SNIP-

 

That's one way to do it 

[braneopbru]

 

 

good as new (it works). Toothpicks weren't my idea but my helper was persistant we do it. Actually adds a ton of support, its pretty darn sturdy.

 

I used pliers to bend the pins back straight, then inserted the snapped off plastic into my SATA cable, then carefully slid the pins back into the connector.

I'm going to save this glorious picture in my McGuyver folder.

[boarder2k7]

Niceee.

Now copy your data, back it up, and replace that drive!

[suchamoneypit]

I'm going to save this glorious picture in my McGuyver folder.

it truly is a work of art, if i say so myself.

[suchamoneypit]

Niceee.

Now copy your data, back it up, and replace that drive!

its a pretty expensive HDD, im probably just going to buy a new PCB for $36 and replace it

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there suchamoneypit

 

I'm really sorry about the drive. This is a good example of why everyone should have backups of their important data. 

You should talk to our live support and see what the guys there can do about your issue. Our RMA procedure replaces whole drives and unfortunately we don't recover data nor send separate parts. Here's a link to our live support: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=rpnr64

 

Feel free to ask if you have questions or need something else

 

Captain_WD.