External hard drive port broken

DvB

The USB 3 port on my 500GB Toshiba external hard drive broke this morning, broke as in broke free of the board & fell back into the casing & can now be heard rattling around inside so I am unable to connect the cable to it.

Is it possible to get this repaired in order to access the data? I have personal information on it so I don't want to just exchange it for a replacement (its still under warranty & the store said they'll replace it but cant repair it) so was wondering if I could get the data off it prior to replacement?

Any help greatly appreciated.

davo2001

Contact the manufacturer, they should allow you to open the casing for data recovery and still hold onto the warranty, they would most likely replace it for you directly then.

DvB

davo2001 wrote: »

Contact the manufacturer, they should allow you to open the casing for data recovery and still hold onto the warranty, they would most likely replace it for you directly then.

I've just sopen to the manufacturer now & they have stated if I attempt to repair or open the encasing their warranty is void & they wont replace it.

If I go down that route, I was just advised to get a generic 2.5" enclosure that you can get in a number of different electronics stores & move the card from the old drive to the new one, is anyone familiar with these & is it as easy as it sounds to transfer the drives over?

riclad

See http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog_v2.cgi?type=product&id=29584

you may need a powered caddy, about 35 euro .
ie usb power from cable may not be enough for that drive.
You simply open case with small screw driver,
remove hardrive,
place inside the caddy.
Check is it 2.5inch or 3. 5inch drive,
theres 2.5 or 3.5inch caddys.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/buy-hard-drives-and-memory/hard-drive-enclosures-and-docks#page=1

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/components-upgrades/internal-hard-drives/enclosures/715_7053_70057_xx_xx/xx-criteria.html

maybe you could just put it back in, glue port back with superglue .

yoyo

davo2001 wrote: »

Contact the manufacturer, they should allow you to open the casing for data recovery and still hold onto the warranty, they would most likely replace it for you directly then.

External hard drive manufacturers do not allow you to open the cases and doing so will void the warranty (I am not sure of any manufacturer which have such a clause allowing you to do it). It is up to the end user to keep adequate backups of their files and content in the event the enclosure or drive itself fails.

Nick

bonzodog2

If your data is valuable or personal/sensitive, I would just get a caddy and put the drive inside into it, forget the warranty. However, check elsewhere (google, youtube etc) to see if the drive is standard, I came across an external drive recently that had the USB port as part of the drive circuit board, it wasn't a standard SATA drive

DvB

bonzodog2 wrote: »

If your data is valuable or personal/sensitive, I would just get a caddy and put the drive inside into it, forget the warranty. However, check elsewhere (google, youtube etc) to see if the drive is standard, I came across an external drive recently that had the USB port as part of the drive circuit board, it wasn't a standard SATA drive

That's exactly what I've decided to do, the data is more important to me than the cost of a new external hard drive TBH.

If nothing else, this has taught me to back up more often, once a week hasn't saved me today!!

Thnaks for all the replies folks, much appreciated.

davo2001

Push it with the manufacturer, insist that it is their faulty device that has left you in this situation and insist that you are allowed to open the unit for data recovery, insist that you have the case escalated to a manager for authorization. Say you will go on social media, leave bad reviews etc. Believe me, if you argue enough they will do it for you.

Source: I work for one of the large HDD manufacturers ;-)

mathepac

davo2001 wrote: »

Contact the manufacturer, they should allow you to open the casing for data recovery and still hold onto the warranty, they would most likely replace it for you directly then.

Wrong - OP has no contract with the manufacturer, the contract is with the organisation that sold him the device.

davo2001

mathepac wrote: »

Wrong - OP has no contract with the manufacturer, the contract is with the organisation that sold him the device.

Depending on when the HDD was purchased. 1st yr warranty is with retailer, 2nd yr warranty is usually with the manufacturer directly.

mathepac

davo2001 wrote: »

Depending on when the HDD was purchased. 1st yr warranty is with retailer, 2nd yr warranty is usually with the manufacturer directly.

I repeat, the purchaser's contract is with the retailer exclusively. The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 applies here. This 1 year retailer 2nd year manufacturer warranty is nonsense and has no legal basis in Irish consumer legislation.

davo2001

*Sigh*

You can repeat all you want, i have first hand experience and work for such a company. Eitherway, it's up to the OP.

davo2001

*sigh*

You can repeat all you want, I have first hand experience at this and work for such a company. Eitherway, it's up to the OP as to what avenue he/she wants to go down.

mathepac

davo2001 wrote: »

*sigh*

You can repeat all you want, I have first hand experience at this and work for such a company. Eitherway, it's up to the OP as to what avenue he/she wants to go down.

I couldn't give a fiddler's fart who you purport to work for. If you want to check out consumer protection law and rights, try here.

The law is clear - the only contract that exists is between the retailer and the purchaser. Any other warranties / guarantees are in addition to those enshrined in law and in the case of a customer seeking recourse for a defective product, they sue the seller. Any warranty / guarantee the manufacturer offers in no way reduces or transfers the obligations incumbent on the seller.

yoyo

Lets get back on topic.

riclad

if data,s that important to you there,s no point in going back to the shop ,
98 per cent of external drives are simply sata drives ,
Which can be removed and placed inside a caddy,
it could be 3.5 or 2,5inch drive.
Post the ,model no here,
eg sony 670k .
in my experience ANY 3.5 inch sata drive, or ide ata drive
WILL require a caddy with external power supply ,
eg a caddy with usb cable will not power up a 3.5inch drive properly.
Older drives pre 2008 may use an ide ATA interface,
eg not sata interface.

DvB

I swapped the drive over into a new enclosure last night & it works perfectly & I can still use it as an external HD, the new enclosure had a far better/solid USB port into the bargain & transfer rates are fine. Happy days.

As the data was far more sensitive than the €70 I spent on the thing had it not worked I would have simply destroyed the drive after taking it out of its original casing & then purchased a replacement, but thankfully for the price of the new enclosure there was no need.

Again, Thanks for all the replies, oh & FWIW the original manufacturer said they'd replace it as well if I sent it directly to them & they informed me they destroy them rather than attempt repair &/or access, its company policy under the protection of data act. Either way, no need in the end.