- May 19, 2016
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So the other day I realised that my external Western Digital MyBook hard disk (2009 model, one of those that needs its own power adaptor) was unmounting and mounting every half an hour or so. I checked the back of the hard disk and realised that the mini USB port was loose. In a short while it was completely broken off.
I then started reading about WD MyBooks and all sorts of problems you might have when something as simple as a mini usb port breaks off. This is supposedly because WD MyBooks have hardware encryption, and if soldering the port back in somehow fails (i.e. if you cannot use the same circuit board any more), then you can forget about recovering your irreplaceable data without paying >700 bucks.
I thought, and I really did think it was not that stupid, "if I just hold this mini USB port steadily for a few minutes on exactly the spot where it broke off from, I might save some of my very important data". I did this, and the WD seemed like it was powering up/working twice in ten seconds. Then all of a sudden my laptop (Sony Vaio SVS1513C5E) shutdown. It wouldn't turn on and the green light that's up when the power adaptor is connected was not there anymore. The weirdest thing is that after this happened, somehow Vaio's hard disk continued working for more than 10 hours --I could hear it working when I put my ear on the bottom of the case.
I took my laptop and WD hard disk to a repair shop and the employee told me he could easily fix the WD hard disk (broken usb port) and he'd need to have a look at the laptop. A few hours later he said the chipset was fried and that was the only part he needed to order to fix the issue. Other small components that were damaged/destroyed he had in his store. He said in total it'd cost me 200 Euro, or something in that ballpark.
Now at this point I have a few questions:
1- Why would the internal hard disk continue to work/be powered when the rest of the laptop was completely off and unresponsive even to the power cable being attached (no 'charging light')?
2- Is it really possible that the damage is predominantly on the chipset and the rest of the main components are in shape, other than those small components that he said he could replace (I assume he means a few small electronic units on the motherboard). If so, how?
3- What are the consequences of having a new chipset? He said the one he'll order costs 125 Euro. He also said that the chances of repair was 50-50: sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In case it doesn't, will the laptop still be approachable by another repairman?
Thank you very much in advance for going through my post and answering my questions.
Edit: the external HD is fixed and working.
I then started reading about WD MyBooks and all sorts of problems you might have when something as simple as a mini usb port breaks off. This is supposedly because WD MyBooks have hardware encryption, and if soldering the port back in somehow fails (i.e. if you cannot use the same circuit board any more), then you can forget about recovering your irreplaceable data without paying >700 bucks.
I thought, and I really did think it was not that stupid, "if I just hold this mini USB port steadily for a few minutes on exactly the spot where it broke off from, I might save some of my very important data". I did this, and the WD seemed like it was powering up/working twice in ten seconds. Then all of a sudden my laptop (Sony Vaio SVS1513C5E) shutdown. It wouldn't turn on and the green light that's up when the power adaptor is connected was not there anymore. The weirdest thing is that after this happened, somehow Vaio's hard disk continued working for more than 10 hours --I could hear it working when I put my ear on the bottom of the case.
I took my laptop and WD hard disk to a repair shop and the employee told me he could easily fix the WD hard disk (broken usb port) and he'd need to have a look at the laptop. A few hours later he said the chipset was fried and that was the only part he needed to order to fix the issue. Other small components that were damaged/destroyed he had in his store. He said in total it'd cost me 200 Euro, or something in that ballpark.
Now at this point I have a few questions:
1- Why would the internal hard disk continue to work/be powered when the rest of the laptop was completely off and unresponsive even to the power cable being attached (no 'charging light')?
2- Is it really possible that the damage is predominantly on the chipset and the rest of the main components are in shape, other than those small components that he said he could replace (I assume he means a few small electronic units on the motherboard). If so, how?
3- What are the consequences of having a new chipset? He said the one he'll order costs 125 Euro. He also said that the chances of repair was 50-50: sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In case it doesn't, will the laptop still be approachable by another repairman?
Thank you very much in advance for going through my post and answering my questions.
Edit: the external HD is fixed and working.
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