Samsung 1TB External HDD broken (Mayb?)

[Shadowsonic]

Hi everyone, heres the problem:

A good friend of mine asked if i could try fix her external HDD that SHE dropped (cough, typical woman ) and i said I'll see what I can do. The problem was that I could plug in the external but nothing at all would happen, only the light on the external would light up when plugged in, so I followed this video I found on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS0yfEIsPzc to take the casing off and I seem to have found the problem.

If you watch the video you will see at 3:29 into the video it shows how to remove the screw that holds the adapter aboard to the Hard Drive. Once he unscrews it you can see he gently unplugs it from the external, my problem is the plug on the adpater has come COMPLETELY off, the moment i unscrewed it, i was going to gently pull it out but it wasnt even attached to the adapter AT ALL, so i first moved the chip aside and I pulled out the now useless black plug that was "plugged" into the external and now it's all by itself.

So what i now need to know is, is it possible to buy a new adpater or is there a way to get the black plug BACK onto the adapter? its seems like it was solded onto the circuit adaptor so im guess it would have to be resolded or something? Sorry im not 100% good with computers yet

Any help at all would be much appreciated!!! Thanks!

 

[bubbatentoe]

Looks like normal 3.5" hard drive to me.

Go to your trusty computer shop (take the hard drive with you) and buy a new external housing.
Get them to put the drive into the housing.
If it doesn't work tell them THEY broke it.

 

[Yotch]

You could ask one of the TV or monitor repair places just to solder the connector back onto the board for you or you could alternatively purchase a new case with controller card for <R100. IkonicIT has one listed for R80 in their Hot Deals section. You could also try to telephone Sonic Informed (www.sonicinformed.co.za) to see whether they could supply you with just a controller card but it probably will not fit in the Samsung box without some type of modification.
http://www.ikonicit.co.za/drives-an...s-external-hard-drive-enclosure-3.5-sata.html
http://www.123crt.co.za

 

[Hugh Jass]

Looks like normal 3.5" hard drive to me.

Go to your trusty computer shop (take the hard drive with you) and buy a new external housing.
Get them to put the drive into the housing.
If it doesn't work tell them THEY broke it.

I hope you aren't serious?

 

[Lament]

I hope you aren't serious?

Jinne i hate it when people do this, im in the IT sector myself (software support), someone will call me saying the internet is not working, so i go there and change the proxy, 5 minutes later my manager will call me demanding to know what i did, now the printer is not working, the persons archives are missing and and and.....and im like, all i did was change the proxy, i did not even go into outlook, and the client will be like, no, it worked, now it’s not, YOU BROKE IT!!
And this has happed a few times, probably happens to all us IT Support guys

 

[SouthBit]

Ok, so from what you've described it sounds like the adapter card between the HDD itself and the external case is damaged. Can you upload a picture so we can see exactly what state it's in?
Another issue you need to consider is the fact that it (the HDD) has been dropped. Was it switched on when it was dropped? If so, then there's a very high chance that the actual HDD itself is damaged. The read/write heads could be damaged, as well as the platter/s and motor. If it was switched off, you might have a bit more luck.
If the drive itself is somehow OK, them maybe all you need is some basic repairs on the adapter.

 

[ponder]

So what i now need to know is, is it possible to buy a new adpater or is there a way to get the black plug BACK onto the adapter? its seems like it was solded onto the circuit adaptor so im guess it would have to be resolded or something? Sorry im not 100% good with computers yet

Any help at all would be much appreciated!!! Thanks!

1. Before proceeding connect the drive to your computer via it's SATA port and test it to see if it actually still works fine. You can run Seatools diagnostics on it. Pointless fixing the other stuff the drive sustained damage.

2. I doubt you will be able to buy an adapter board unless you go secondhand on eBay.

3. Solder the connector back onto the board (or get someone else to do it) but this will only work if the tracks/pads have not been ripped from the PCB. Maybe post a decent pic of the board & connector so we can assess the damage.

4. It's probably easier/cheaper to just go and buy a new external enclosure (any brand will do) for the drive if 3 above is not viable.