Broken USB connector

WD External and Portable SSD External SSD for Windows
1

Hi folks,

Was moving the WD elements 1.5 TB hard drive and the connection port of the drive became dislodged.  Inside there is a chrome metal slip with two bends in it shaped like an S that appears to have been broken off.  It looks like it needs to be re soldered.  Anyone familiar with this?

Thanks.

2

Opening the drive voids the warranty. Sometimes a port can be soldered back on. I believe you can connect an Elements as an internal. You can try finding a matching board on Ebay or from here  

https://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/70/session/L3RpbWUvMTM5MDMyNjIwNS9zaWQvZVBrTU9YS2w%3D 

Joe

3

Thanks but the warranty had already expired.  Could you please explain more about your solution?  Is it unrepairable and do I need to do data recovery?

4

I’m fairly certain you can simply connect the Elements up as an internal drive or use it in a third party enclosure. If the drive isn’t damaged or corrupt it should be readable. Elements is a simple plug and play drive. The problem is with drives that come with Smartware those are hardware encrypted and need a replacement board to decrypt data. Try running a search about connecting an Elements as an internal and see what you find. I don’t know much more.

Joe

5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhHnswJZM4E

I found this video that seems to answer the question but it’s not clear enough.

As I said, two things came discconnected, the USB and that metal bar.  It’s not an 

encrypted hard drive.