Repair external hard drive, usb connection broken off circuit board

salad17

Hi all,

So I have a hard drive with much wanted photos etc but the usb wire was left plugged in, and that ended up pulling the connector off the circuit board.

I've looked at some videos for a slightly different type of connector, and I've easily opened it up, but I think the soldering is beyond my skill level.

Any advice on where I could get it done? It should be a relatively simple job for someone experienced. I'm based in Cork.

See image below for type of connector.

Thanks for your help!

Could you get another case for the hard drive?

niallb

If you've opened it up, it would be much more useful to see an image of the drive and the damaged area.

Mad_Mike

Any mobile phone repair shops that do charge port replacement should be able to sort it
Basically the same piece needs to be soldered as in a phone

Johnboy1951

The circuit board will unplug from the HDD which will have a standard connection on it most likely.
The drive can then be used in any PC with a spare connector, allowing you to retrieve the data.

As for a solution if the above is correct ..... probably the best would be to buy a new external housing for the drive so in the long term you can continue to use it by connecting it to a USB port.

HDD physical size and type will determine what type of external case you require.

ED E

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

The circuit board will unplug from the HDD which will have a standard connection on it most likely.
The drive can then be used in any PC with a spare connector, allowing you to retrieve the data.

As for a solution ..... probably the best would be to buy a new external housing for the drive so in the long term you can continue to use it by connecting it to a USB port.

HDD physical size and type will determine what type of external case you require.

Hold up there John. That used to always be the way, no longer. Some USB drives are coming with an onboard USB on the disk and no adapter board. Not all but its no longer a sure thing that there'll be SATA inside.

circadian

If it's a 2.5" drive get this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enclosure-SuperSpeed-Reader-Tool-free-External-Red/dp/B07LCGNH7F/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=2.5%22+external+sata+case&qid=1579982656&sr=8-4

Looks for a 3.5" caddy if it's a larger drive. Much cheaper than a solder job.

circadian

ED E wrote: »

Hold up there John. That used to always be the way, no longer. Some USB drives are coming with an onboard USB on the disk and no adapter board. Not all but its no longer a sure thing that there'll be SATA inside.

I've never seen that before. Diabolical.

Johnboy1951

ED E wrote: »

Hold up there John. That used to always be the way, no longer. Some USB drives are coming with an onboard USB on the disk and no adapter board. Not all but its no longer a sure thing that there'll be SATA inside.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2GGTQF6oE3E/maxresdefault.jpg

I have not had one of those through here. (BTW, I did say "most likely". )

Are they specific to some manufacturers or some models? EDIT: WD Elements is apparently one?

Is there a particular standard that they confirm to or do manufacturers just do their own thing?

salad17

I’ll try that again, pictures of the hat drive and disconnected piece..

salad17

I have put a laptop HD in a SATA case before, so I don't know why that didn't occur to me!

I guess I assumed the board with the broken connector was part of and fixed to the HD itself.

I will order a SATA case and go for that. That's a relief, much valued photos on there and when I looked up HD recovery I was seeing €300-400 online!

Thanks for all the replies

mordeith

salad17 wrote: »

I have put a laptop HD in a SATA case before, so I don't know why that didn't occur to me!

I guess I assumed the board with the broken connector was part of and fixed to the HD itself.

I will order a SATA case and go for that. That's a relief, much valued photos on there and when I looked up HD recovery I was seeing €300-400 online!

Thanks for all the replies

Don't forget to backup afterwards!

salad17

Hah yeah, this was the backup this time!

I'll have more than one next time!

Johnboy1951

salad17 wrote: »

I have put a laptop HD in a SATA case before, so I don't know why that didn't occur to me!

I guess I assumed the board with the broken connector was part of and fixed to the HD itself.

I will order a SATA case and go for that. That's a relief, much valued photos on there and when I looked up HD recovery I was seeing €300-400 online!

Thanks for all the replies

You have confirmed that suitable connections are on the HDD board to connect to Sata and Power cables? (not visible in pics)

Removing it and using one of these would work grand wouldn’t it?

https://ie.rs-online.com/web/p/hard-drive-accessories/1238044/

Johnboy1951

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Removing it and using one of these would work grand wouldn’t it?

https://ie.rs-online.com/web/p/hard-drive-accessories/1238044/

Yes, if the connections for the cable are present.

Johnboy1951

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Yes, if the connections for the cable are present.

Ah yes sorry, I hadn’t noticed properly in the photos. The connection pins look to be soldered to the board so that one’s out.

newmember2

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Ah yes sorry, I hadn’t noticed properly in the photos. The connection pins look to be soldered to the board so that one’s out.

Nah, it looks like there's some sort of proprietary adapter module placed over the drive connectors.

salad17

Well it's in the post now anyways! I'll have a look and take it out later. I looked at it compared to the picture of the one for sale and it looked so similar I just went for it

smuggler.ie

It's Toshiba SATA drive

salad17

SOLVED: SATA case arrived, installed it no problem, so simple!

I can't find it now, but I was watching a full video on how to re-solder the connection on what was an extremely similar looking HDD... I have no idea why they didn't just change the case!