Seagate portablel HD USB connector - can it be fixed?

[silver_foxx]

Long shot, but my Seagate external HD is acting up, I have to press the cable into the connected hard and hold it at angle so that it works, seems the connector installed on the HD is sick - can it be replaced?

 

[ponder]

Will have to see what it looks like on the inside. Sometimes you can get away with resoldering the connector pcb pins.

 

[Sonic2k]

Yep can be fixed, as long as the damage to the PCB is not too severe.

 

[silver_foxx]

Thanx for the responses. Do I just open it up and check if the pins are not too badly damaged, and solder it back if they're not? Got nothing to lose really, so Imna try. Any good youtube tutorial?

 

[kidcolt]

If it is still under warranty... return it. Otherwise buy a new 3rd party bay and move the drive across to it.

 

[Sonic2k]

Thanx for the responses. Do I just open it up and check if the pins are not too badly damaged, and solder it back if they're not? Got nothing to lose really, so Imna try. Any good youtube tutorial?

The problem is those parts are surface mount and you need the right tools to remove and replace.

 

[silver_foxx]

If it is still under warranty... return it. Otherwise buy a new 3rd party bay and move the drive across to it.

Sounds like a good plan, can get at any repair shop?

 

[kidcolt]

Sounds like a good plan, can get at any repair shop?

Yes, I normal just pick up mine by Matrix Warehouse. A 2.5" USB3 enclosure cost me +-R150 the last time I bought one.

 

[silver_foxx]

Yes, I normal just pick up mine by Matrix Warehouse. A 2.5" USB3 enclosure cost me +-R150 the last time I bought one.

Many Thanx ;-)

 

[igeorge]

Thanx for the responses. Do I just open it up and check if the pins are not too badly damaged, and solder it back if they're not? Got nothing to lose really, so Imna try. Any good youtube tutorial?

It might be the ground pin on the surface mount connector - if not designed/soldered correctly (and that's usually the case), its the weakest connection due to the ground vias. Reflowing should work, but you'll need a microscope ideally. The USB3 connector and cable is probably the worst idea of the past 5 years! So much stress put on a SMT connector by a massively inflexible cable. I try to use a std microusb cable, unless transferring large qt's of data.