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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : "I just need a replacement USB cable"....
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Dear God......   Yeah....just need a new USB cable.... To say nothing of the fact that the socket on this external HDD is TOTALLY munted...  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| hhtg1968 Senior Member  Joined: 25/05/2023 Location: GermanyPosts: 123 |
i think, it is not clear that a new cable will solve the situation... perhaps: https://www.ebay.de/itm/323964078434?hash=item4b6dc38962:g:CrUAAOSwFB9j80um&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8O1RrrKURdgJcOdUaopS9dRD%2BjcS%2FmCw8BAuihM7XhuKzicUOhFmunJ1Vcl3gphBrzy4o4pycatnjNyzjM14qoKV2uGGgm%2B%2BVtlGcv6urK8lPA4Z%2FonbkZl5FZqRRqJNAvwawYykkteXOjnWFONf4MZ1ozHL%2FdYCL4IQ1KpbTtZj6oH4mpYuzMgzbXjvNS96UJN1r3arO5BMtXJ5Pzewj2oE2Iq7zTNFHGJ20701uHzHEmKWh1v6SLrs6rfz3fgFh8E0sAPYdnXQvDhO%2BMpr1mdZ%2BTkqpgbw6IfVSe%2BOEzlrs%2Fr1%2BNxI8%2FgMbQK615KYmw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9KK_KicYg but: most of the plugs are only for charging not for data... |
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Mixtel90 Guru  Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
For what they cost it's probably cheaper to replace the entire drive than to spend time messing about replacing the socket. USB-C fixes the problem of forcing the plug in upside down anyway. :) Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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atmega8 Guru Joined: 19/11/2013 Location: GermanyPosts: 722 |
IFIXIT, open it and solder a USB Cable on the PCB. FIXED |
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Plasmamac Guru Joined: 31/01/2019 Location: GermanyPosts: 554 |
 Try this Plasma |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
External USB3 CD/DVD writer with adapters. 22 UKP. It's not worth opening the case for that. Chuck it in the bin and get a huge upgrade. :) ebay UK Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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stanleyella Guru Joined: 25/06/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2129 |
Sata to usb is cheap. I'm wary of usb ssd cases as I had a ssd fail in one.  |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
Oops... it's an external HDD, not a CD isn't it? :) I'd fix that by buying a new USB-C / USB3 case and moving the drive over. Still way cheaper than the labour charges to mess about trying to fix the old one. It'll also be way faster if the PC has a USB3 socket on it. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Thanks for all the comments, chums, but this is a WD drive - one of those short ones that is about the same size as a 2.5" HDD, and the USB interface is PART OF THE HDD PCB. You CANNOT remove the drive, and put it in any other kind of case, you cannot use those SATA to USB adaptor cables - there IS no SATA port to connect to on these drives. I seem to recall reading somewhere where you CAN solder to certain points on the PCB to get access, but as Mick and others have said, is it really worth it? Probably not. It is a 750GB drive, so I guess it depends on how much stuff is on it and of what value it is, to work out if recovery is worth the effort. At this stage, they think all they need is a new cable. They won't be prepared for me to tell them the drive is going to be very hard to even use again, cos of how badly damaged the socket on it is. EDIT: Here are a couple of photos. Moving to another case or using a SATA cable are impossible on these WD designs.   I have no idea what the dual-row of pins are for, but I seem to recall they are NOT the SATA interface. I will have a we look around on Mr. Google, cos I know I have seen people hack these drives to get access, but it was years ago. Note how you can't even access the back of the USB socket, so even soldering a cut-off USB cable to the PCB is not really even possible at first glance. Edited 2023-06-23 10:36 by Grogster Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Andrew_G Guru Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 847 |
Hi Grogs, Possibly yet another daft idea but, only if you enjoy a challenge: How healthy are the pins in the socket? Can you pare back any interfering plastic, get a USB plug to make contact and wedge it in place - at least long enough to retrieve the data? If that works you might leave the wedge(es) in place and glue it in permanently? (Edit: It may even be possible to use the glue to make a bigger plug to fill the whole of the butchered socket so it still removable?) Cheers, Andrew Edited 2023-06-23 11:22 by Andrew_G |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Excellent idea, Andrew, I will make the attempt. At the moment, the micro-USB plug won't even slide in there, as the plastic carrying the contacts, is bent hard against the chassis of the socket. As you say though, I might be able to use a knife to GENTLY bend it back out just a tad. I only need a fraction of a mm, to be able to get the shell of the micro-USB plug in there, then we MIGHT be able connect to the drive. I like your glue idea, and if the above works, I would indeed secure the plug permanently in place - and tell them to buy a new external USB HDD and copy everything off this one ASAFP!!!! Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
I've never seen a drive like that before. How weird... Now I hope I never do! Were they used for something special or was it just WD trying to make the smallest possible external drive? Yep, I think it's an attempt to back it up and then sling it job. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Just WD trying to make the smallest possible external drive. I can't see any other reason for it. Personally, I think they are a horrible idea, cos there is no way to simply connect the drive to any SATA adaptor/port to try to rescue the data. Annoyingly, WD still do this with the modern USB3 type drives in many of their external USB drives, so it is not a design they have had 2nd thoughts about. Plugging a USB cable into my problem one DID WORK!   I am copying everything off it now, to a more standard HDD with a STANDARD f-ing SATA port. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
Excellent news! It's a horrible design. About the only way to make it worse would be to use micro USB. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
IT IS MICRO USB!!!! The socket on it is so phucked up, you might not have spotted that. I hate these external HDD's, and WD should know better. Their INTERNAL drives are fine, cos they adopt standard SATA connectors. I would never use one of their EXTERNAL USB drives for this reason, cos they are STILL doing it this way for spinning HDD's on USB. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
It's that badly mangled I thought it was a mini... lol Maybe it was a micro to mini conversion. :) Nope, I'll avoid those like the plague. SATA only for me. Far easier to work with. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3150 |
Apologies if this is too OT, but on the subject of something you can plug in to copy over large amounts of data, is it possible that this 2TB micro SD card for $4.68US plus $1.68 shipping is legit? There are many similar. If they are fake, there ought to be some way to get Aliexpress to shut down this particular ploy. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6798 |
It's guaranteed fake. At that price, from "Sun toy store" what would anyone expect? I like the way they almost copied the Samsung design and colour scheme though. :) I think the rules might be a bit different in China. AE seems to merely offer a marketplace, they appear to take no responsibility for what is sold there. Rather like Amazon Marketplace, where you are dealing with the seller and not Amazon. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| stanleyella Guru Joined: 25/06/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2129 |
I bought a 2TB usb drive recently but it really is 16GB. When it fills up it deletes the contents of the first file but not the file, so you don't know until you try to open it. I got a refund. |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3150 |
LOL. I've gotten refunds on items not delivered regularly, and not working as advertised mostly, with requests for a refund sometimes escalated from an unwilling seller up to Aliex. With thousands of sellers, maybe tens of thousands of sellers, the name of the store is no very good indication of the kind of goods they sell--and they evolve over time. You take your chances, but I've gotten several thousand pieces of kit from aliex with over 500 orders since 2019--most of it as advertised. I'll run h2testw on the SD card when it arrives, and will expect to get a refund if it's fake (which is very likely, I know). ~ Edited 2023-06-24 02:07 by lizby PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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