Broken hard drive "enclosure"

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Nov 10, 2015
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So a couple of weeks ago (or a month not really sure) i was on holiday and tried to access my data, i noticed that i had to push on the USB stick to get the computer to "recognize" my hard drive, i was fine with this as i did not need to push with much pressure to get to my data, I kept doing that and realized golden stuff fell out of the USB port, but the hard drive kept on working, so i just dismissed it. when we got back home, recently (a week ago) my hard drive started needing HARD PRESSURE to get it to be recognized, then i need to shake the USB stick up and down to get it to recognize it, i started to wonder if something's wrong with the hard drive, i left it for one day (because it had been stressing me out a lot to plug it in and out, i started to sweat during the process) the next day i woke up, i plugged it in normally, would not work, shaked it up and down and even pushed hard on the USB stick but no avail, i instantly panicked with myself and got really stressed. The USB port had several gold pins missing and started smoking (no smoke though, just smell) so i started to wonder whether the enclosure was dead or if the hard drive was dead, I got myself a SATA to USB cable to check but I CANT CRACK THIS HARD DRIVE OPEN NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY. There are no screws anywhere, which is an obvious indication that they don't want you digging in. My hard drive is a Toshiba Canvio something. I don't want to end up in a problem bigger than my current one. I have no idea what to do.
 
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cha11enger

cha11enger

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Jul 25, 2013
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I have a few ideas for what happened and what you can do:

First off, if it starts taking more and more pressure to get a device to recognize, stop and check for damaged parts or noticeable difference between a good USB port and a bad one. If you start jamming the USB plugin really hard, your putting your entire computer at risk (that is why you smelt burning smells) and could do absolute nothing, to completely destroying your PC.

Don't panic, if your PC is running fine and you don't smell anything anymore, its probably ok, but before you go plugging other devices into that port, I advise you just don't use it. The reason you can't open you Hard Drive is because you probably have a Passport drive (meant for traveling) and is not easily accessible for end-user repairs.

anyways, enough with the risk factors, here are some things you could do:

1. Check the cable for repairable pins/plates (the gold stuff you saw was the gold contact plates getting its coating scraped off, which shows that there was a lot of pressure involved) and see if you can (only if you know what you are doing) repair them (unless the cable itself is dead completely).

2. try a different USB port on your computer

3. if the cable itself is replaceable, just replace it with a new one.

3. try a different device in the same port, make sure not to jam it even if it works if you do!

4. take your PC to a repair shop for inspection of both the Hard Drive and PC.

5. little advanced, but quite simple as what this will be about is actually replacing the USB plug on the Hard Drive. (considering this Hard Drive is self powered via the USB cable, this should work. also the fact you got a cable adapter that works the same way, is also a vital component as it will act as the replacement USB Plugin.
But, I need more info before I continue. Like, How is the Hard Drive powered? is it a passport drive? Is the cable itself replaceable? how much did you manage to take apart?

A little bit more info regarding PC system specs, the Hard Drvie (HDD) info itself etc would be great.
 
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Nov 10, 2015
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I think you've got the USB Ports confused, i'm talking about the USB Port in the Hard Drive that's smoking, the USB Port in the computer is fine (at least i think) i can plug other stuff in it and they work. Im jamming the end of the USB that goes into the hard drive really hard, not the part that goes into the computer. The cable itself is fine, it's the hard drive USB "port" with missing golden pins. I tried a different USB Port and it had zero effect, i'm pretty sure the problem is with the Hard Drive enclosure, since the old USB cable stopped working i said "cable fault" i bought a new cable and had it working for a couple of a minutes (with shaking and pushing in) then it failed. As i said before i've tried different devices in the same port, still working. I'd take it to the place i bought it but they said "i can't get warranty/guarantee with the hard drive" which means i'll have to take it to some special repair centre or something and shill out a few pounds. The hard drive is powered by a USB, one side fitting in the computer and the other fitting in the USB Slot in the hard drive. The cable itself is replaceable but i do not think it is the cable at fault. I have no idea whether it's a passport or anything, i couldn't take apart anything in fear of making the problem worse than current. my PC is a Windows 10, Asus X Series (not really sure of the number) and i don't really know much about my hard drive, i found a picture of it and some specifications of it too, don't know if it will help, but here goes nothing.. http://www.junglee.com/Toshiba-Canvio-HDTP110AK3AA-2-5-Inch-External/dp/B00BZ0QUN0

Again, i'm pretty sure the problem is with the enclosure and the computer and data is fine.

Thanks for responding.
 
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cha11enger

cha11enger

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Jul 25, 2013
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Try the Cable on a different device, say a printer or whatever you can find. If im correct it is this kind of cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Newpowerking-Canvio-Simple-Portable-HDTP110AK3AA/dp/B016YGA8Q4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1447275853&sr=1-1&keywords=HDTP110AK3AA If its not then its this kind.http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-USB-2-0-Cable--Male/dp/B00NH11KIK/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1447275949&sr=1-3&keywords=USB+to

From what you said, its the port on the HDD itself. This makes it a little harder now because the port on the HDD is not entirely replaceable.
So no warranty? strange unless you damaged it yourself or went past the 3 years. Try contacting Toshiba if you can get them to repair it... in the end, if they cant pull it apart, no one can without damaging it. So that being said, try and peel of any stickers hiding any screws and work from there. I don't know much about how they fit together an External drive but there is a way to take it apart.
 
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Nov 10, 2015
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4,510


It's the Newpowerrking Canvio USB, absoulately no warranty or guarantee since they said it's a hard drive. I just sent my hard drive to some "Data Recovery Center" (they didn't accept just taking it out of it's casing and sending it back to me, or replacing it,meaning i had to buy a new hard drive for them to transfer the data to, still curious how they're gonna crack it open.
 
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