My external hard drive has broken :(

[TylerCain8]

Been using my seagate 1TB external hard drive for a while now and today I discovered that while in my bag the USB SS slot has broken, I have attached images below. Anyone know of a way of fixing it? Will it be fixable in a computer shop? and if not will I still be able to save all my files that are on it? 

The cable is not damages but the inside the hard drive bent metal in the connector can be seen, along with the connectors on the actual port being bent upwards

need a response as soon as possible,

 

cheers

 

 

[Thx And Bye]

If you open the case, there should be a normal 2.5" hard drive inside.

You can just get a empty 2.5" USB 3.0 hard drive case and the drive should be back to its old glory. (with all the data on it, of cause)

[TheGamingBarrel]

If you remove the casing, it uses SATA, and can just be plugged into your PC To remove the files.

[Altecice]

As above it will most likely be a normal drive inside, you can just buy a replacement external case on Ebay or something to replace it.

[TDP_Equinox]

 

If you open the case, there should be a normal 2.5" hard drive inside.

You can just get a empty 2.5" USB 3.0 hard drive case and the drive should be back to its old glory. (with all the data on it, of cause)

 

Not always. 

WD passports skip the sata interface and go right to USB 3.0, and this probably does too. 

OP, Open it up and see if it still has SATA, if not, you can try soldering it back on; Otherwise you're going to either lose the data, or have to pay someone like drive savers to recover it. 

[Thx And Bye]

Not always. 

WD passports skip the sata interface and go right to USB 3.0, and this probably does too. 

OP, Open it up and see if it still has SATA, if not, you can try soldering it back on; Otherwise you're going to either lose the data, or have to pay someone like drive savers to recover it. 

You can see a vertical PCB through the connector, that is most likely the USB to SATA logic board.

If it would be straight USB to the drive this would be more like a horizontal board.

 

Also is it way cheaper for the manufacturer to just put a normal 2.5" SATA drive there.

 

EDIT: I have just seen that the passports are also normal USB drives. Im always buying case and drive separately, so i'm not so good informed about all the models.

[TDP_Equinox]

You can see a vertical PCB through the connector, that is most likely the USB to SATA logic board.

If it would be straight USB to the drive this would be more like a horizontal board.

 

Also is it way cheaper for the manufacturer to just put a normal 2.5" SATA drive there, so i would see no point in a direct USB interface if there are no other shinanigans like on the passports.

For someone like WD or Seagate that makes their own drives, it's way cheaper to develop a logic board that goes straight to USB than it is to make two logic boards. 

That being said, it is Vertically mounted on the inside (good eye) so there is a chance that it's just an adapter. 

Only way to find out is to crack it open.

[Thx And Bye]

Only way to find out is to crack it open.

Right, that's what he has to to anyways.

[TylerCain8]

thanks for the help guys  

tried to get it open but there is a very tight seal the whole way round the case, any tips for getting it open?

[TDP_Equinox]

Well there is no pretty way of getting it open. 
Just use force but be as careful as you can. 
Basically just stick a knife under one of the edges to get a good place to start.

[TylerCain8]

ok cool, I'll give that a go

[0x1e]

ok cool, I'll give that a go

Take a hammer to it.

If that doesn't work then take a flat head screw driver around the edges and slowly unclip it as you slide the screw driver.

[TDP_Equinox]

Take a hammer to it.

If that doesn't work then take a flat head screw driver around the edges and slowly unclip it as you slide the screw driver.

Yeah take a HAMMER to a HARD DRIVE. 

Gotcha. 

[dragoon20005]

the casing is held by gum and double sided tape

 

use a craft knife and get into a gap and work you way around like a can opener to a can

[TylerCain8]

cracked the case open and now I've got this, can't see any SATA ports atm, any ideas of what I should do?

[mider]

take it apart, plug it into a computer or buy a SATA>USB converter.  tada!

[mider]

Also, in the picture that you showed, you don't see any sata ports because the circuit board is plugged into it.  The all of the screws out of the bottom of it, making sure that you don't take out any hex or torx screws.  had this same problem with my old NAS drive that had actually been dropped and broken.  Exact same procedure to remove it form the SATA controller board

[TDP_Equinox]

You got lucky OP. 
Remove the USB board that's being plugged into the SATA port and you can now use it like any other hard drive. 

https://gyazo.com/c94b009e81bbbbb3eda869031a2231d1

 

EDIT: 
Interestingly, that is a Samsung drive. 
Could by Why SeaGate decided to make a USB Daughter board instead of going right to USB. 

[dragoon20005]

haha Seagate outside

 

Samsung inside

[techguru]

haha Seagate outside

 

Samsung inside

you'd be surprised how often this happens

ive seen it alot on wd external drives as well

[boarder2k7]

Glad you can save it OP, all you need is a new USB 3.0 drive case.

Also in the future make sure to always unplug cables from ports before putting things in cases! It avoids issues like this.

[dragoon20005]

you'd be surprised how often this happens

ive seen it alot on wd external drives as well

yes i do know that as well

 

WD uses HGST drives since HGST is under WD

 

WD aquiring Sandisk will be interesting

 

hopefully we will see Hybrid drives using part WD part Sandisk

[TylerCain8]

You got lucky OP. 

Remove the USB board that's being plugged into the SATA port and you can now use it like any other hard drive. 

https://gyazo.com/c94b009e81bbbbb3eda869031a2231d1

 

EDIT: 

Interestingly, that is a Samsung drive. 

Could by Why SeaGate decided to make a USB Daughter board instead of going right to USB. 

Thank you so much, thanks for the diagram too, that helped me understand a lot

[stconquest]

Thank you so much, thanks for the diagram too, that helped me understand a lot

 

I have three drives sitting in a drawer that used to have enclosures... don't buy another enclosure.

 

Buy a SATA/IDE-to-USB 3.0 adapter or dock.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-5-25-INCH-Converter-Activity-USB-DSC9/dp/B00DQJME7Y

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Description=sata%20usb%20dock&Submit=ENE

[boarder2k7]

SATA/IDE-to-USB 3.0 adapter or dock.

Those are great to have in your arsenal of tools. For me it's worth the extra money for a dual drive one so you can make copies of drives/move data around. My friend has one with its own clone button, drive 1 to 2 exact copy, nothing else needed. Super helpful for migration to a larger drive.

For myself though I still need a standard enclosure for at least two drives to be able to take large files or backups on the road. I don't like using the cable or dock type adapters for that because they leave the drives too exposed for field work.