External harddrive, cable burnt between PCB and HDD

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
P

plokijuhygtfrdeswaq

Reputable
Aug 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Dear all,
I have a LACIE Rugged external hard drive (bought in 2008 I believe) that suddenly stopped working completely (no response anywhere when I plug it into either my laptop or desktop). Quite possibly, the reason lies in that I used a power supply that once came with a USB-hub rather than the original LACIE one. The original power supply somehow went lost, the one I used has worked for years with the drive.

Opening the LACIE cover inside I found a Fujitsu N124, MHY2250BH drive [photo]. I do not see any damage on the circuit board [photo], but the end of the cable where it connected to the drive itself has spectacularly melted and two of the metal connector bits (belonging to the power-related pins of the 22 pin sata connection) had got covered in burnt rubber, which I scraped away a bit [see photo]. I also cleaned some burnt rubber off the connecting parts [photo].

http://imgur.com/b0AZgCb,Dae2yBC,lizy8Yo,OZyvfdK,BJo82yi,UPf6xGl,UfXykOH,Tdwy3nC#1
http://imgur.com/b0AZgCb,Dae2yBC,lizy8Yo,OZyvfdK,BJo82yi,UPf6xGl,UfXykOH,Tdwy3nC#3
http://imgur.com/b0AZgCb,Dae2yBC,lizy8Yo,OZyvfdK,BJo82yi,UPf6xGl,UfXykOH,Tdwy3nC#4
http://imgur.com/b0AZgCb,Dae2yBC,lizy8Yo,OZyvfdK,BJo82yi,UPf6xGl,UfXykOH,Tdwy3nC#6

What can I do to salvage my data? I think I understand that the PCB part on an external harddrive cannot be bypassed by just plugging it into a USB-SATA adapter or docking station, since most external HDD’s are put together to prevent that, right? I saw on a site called http://www.donordrives.com that for Fujitsu “PCB adaptation is not required, but occasionally, a firmware chip transfer is required.” Don’t know what to make of this exactly, I suppose it indicates how to approach the PCB repair/ replacement. But does that fit the diagnosis? I have seen posts where people are recommended to take out the TVS diode on the PCB when reporting similar power-supply problems, but could it be that the problem lies not with the PCB but in the cable and should I rather try to get hold of a replacement cable connecting the PCb and the drive? I hope I can retrieve my data, but am entirely new to all these issues (and to this forum which seems very effective btw!)

Any ideas? Many thanks!!
 
Solution
F
If the drive's SATA power pins are heat affected, then IMHO any new cable, or USB dock, will eventually develop a bad connection, too. Whenever I've encountered an appliance with such damage (eg a stove), I've always replaced both sets of connectors.
Sort by date Sort by votes
F

fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
9,302
702
36,390
The JMicron bridge PCB has two fuses (LF150) plus two zero-ohm resistors nearby. I would check their resistances with a multimeter. BTW, your bridge PCB does not appear to incorporate encryption, so you should be able to access your data via a direct SATA connection. That said, I would not power up the HDD until we have seen and measured the other side of its PCB.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
9,302
702
36,390
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

plokijuhygtfrdeswaq

Reputable
Aug 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Thanks fzabkar! I’m a nitwit when it comes to electronics (please be patient ;-) ). This is what I did: put my multimeter on the 200 Ohm range and measured the two fuses and two zero-ohm resistors: the figures that show up on each of them start very high and then go down quickly to sort of stabilise at 0.06 (depending on how long you wait it goes down very slowly from 0.06 to 0.03 or so..). Does that make any sense or am I doing things wrong? I’ve searched for info on what figures should come up doing this, but could not find very much [I did run into a “HDD TVS diode FAQ”, that you yourself put together, or at least referred to, which was helpful!]. If you or anyone else can help out further, that’d be great!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

plokijuhygtfrdeswaq

Reputable
Aug 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Thanks! I checked the "N" component (the fuse close to the SATA pins): same as with the checks on the other board. Values starting quite high then immediately stabilising at 0.06 and going down slowly to 0.04. So I imagine this is regular too...
If you have any further ideas I'd be grateful!

One thing I wondered about, supposing we/ you conclude that the disc seems fine and that the cable connection melted but left no damage elsewhere. In that case I could maybe replace the cable to the HDD itself, put the whole thing back together and subsequently wonder whether I should plug in the adapter Ive been using.. (- did this adapter cause the melted cable or not?). The adapter I used when it stopped functioning and had used for years also is 5V and had the same pin as the original one? (LACIE has this list where it tells you what replacement charger to buy [https://www.lacie.com/imgstore/more/PowerSupply_compat.pdf], and I can't work out whether there's actually anything different with the adapter I have.)
Or, as you remarked earlier, I could probably connect the HDD directly to a SATA adapter or dock (as there seems no encryption) to save the data. Should this latter option be safe(r) power-supply wise, or not? What would be the safest option you think... ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
9,302
702
36,390
I just want to make sure you are measuring correctly.

If you hold the probes apart in the air, do you get an "OL" or "1" in the display?

If you touch the probes together, do you get "0.0"?

If so, then it would appear that the drive's fuse is OK, in which case one would have to wonder why the power connections melted. What resistance do you measure between the fuse and a ground point such as a screw hole?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

plokijuhygtfrdeswaq

Reputable
Aug 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Quite right. When I hold the probes apart the display reads '1'. When I put them together the same thing as with the fuses: going down to 0.08 and slowly down further to 0.05 or so.. When I put one probe on one side of the fuse and the other on a ground point the value is '1'. Any ideas? Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
9,302
702
36,390
ISTM that your measurements are correct, and that there is no short at the +5V supply to the drive. Therefore I have no idea as to why the cable melted other than a possible high resistance connection which may have caused heat buildup in the connector.

If it were my drive, I would hardwire a Molex power connector to the +5V and ground pins, and then power the drive from the PSU in your computer. But that requires some soldering work.

Sorry, I can't suggest anything else.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

plokijuhygtfrdeswaq

Reputable
Aug 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
Thanks! I will see if I manage to do as you suggest (no idea who could do the soldering for me though..). Otherwise I may just try the SATA dock/ cable-to-USB option, which leaves the HDD PCB as a risk factor, but takes out some parts where the problem may have come from, including the melted cable. Am I wrong to think that's worth a try?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
9,302
702
36,390
If the drive's SATA power pins are heat affected, then IMHO any new cable, or USB dock, will eventually develop a bad connection, too. Whenever I've encountered an appliance with such damage (eg a stove), I've always replaced both sets of connectors.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
P

plokijuhygtfrdeswaq

Reputable
Aug 9, 2014
7
0
4,510
That makes perfect sense. If I decide to have a go with the cable or dock that would purely be for the occasion (of getting the data safe). For getting the drive back in action I would go with your solution. Many thanks for all your help with this!!!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom