External HDD Power/Data Connection Issue

[haggis88]

So whilst I'm not a total computing n00b, there are some things I definitely bow to superior wisdom on.

This is one of those things.

My Seagate 3TB external drive is probably coming up on 10 years old now, and it's been amazingly solid, hence why I've kept it for so long.

I was having an issue with it tonight where I could hear it try to start up and read, and right at the point where it usually showed up on my laptop as connected, it would stop spinning.

I thought it was a power issue, so tried a different outlet and a different power cable but same thing was happening.

This was when I noticed that the USB cable in the drive looked a bit wonky, so I took it out and the female piece attached to the PCB came off and fell inside the housing.

Here are some visuals:

101801
101802

Now first question, could this lack of connection be causing the drive to attempt to spin up and read, then stop when it notices there's nothing connected?

Second question, can I get a new power/data port to see if the drive will work again?

Third question, there's some data on there that I'd like to get back as I don't think it's backed up anywhere else even though a lot of it is...is this a simple process given the right equipment or what's the dealio?

[firebane]

Just a standard sata connection. Toss it into a computer but generally the behavior you are mentioning is that of a failed drive.

Being its a 3TB Segate and 10yrs old you probably have a model that was affected by an issue they had years ago.

Look up the model on Google to confirm, but the drive is probably toast

[taemo]

From my experience with external hard drives, the enclosure is the first to die and wont turn on. But by the sound of it the drive is getting powered and trying to be detected but failing. So I hate to say it but it seems like the drive is dead.

You can remove the 3.5” HDD and move it to another USB HDD adapter like this ( https://www.amazon.ca/Converter-Adapter-Support4TB-Include-2APower/dp/B075WY92BW/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Usb+hard+drive+adapter&qid=1632112984&sr=8-6 ) and see if it’s still healthy.

Otherwise there are some specialized recovery company in Calgary but they charge per volume of recovery.

[haggis88]

Just a standard sata connection.

Does the fact this had it's own power supply mean the USB to SATA cable I have won't be enough to power this guy?


But by the sound of it the drive is getting powered and trying to be detected but failing. So I hate to say it but it seems like the drive is dead

Well the usb was broken off the board, so it wouldn't be getting any sort of feedback from the laptop to tell it to continue reading? At least that's my hope anyway!



Otherwise there are some specialized recovery company in Calgary but they charge per volume of recovery.

Any idea how much? It wasn't 3TB full and I do have some of it backed up in other locations (although I assume they can't just pick and choose what to recover for you)

[taemo]

Does the fact this had it's own power supply mean the USB to SATA cable I have won't be enough to power this guy?

Well the usb was broken off the board, so it wouldn't be getting any sort of feedback from the laptop to tell it to continue reading? At least that's my hope anyway!

Any idea how much? It wasn't 3TB full and I do have some of it backed up in other locations (although I assume they can't just pick and choose what to recover for you)

if you can hear the drive spinning then it is getting power since the drive plugs into the board.
usb 3.0 cant power 3.5 HDD alone, it needs external power.
you're welcome to try the adapter I linked above but from your description it sounds like the drive is faulty.

it was 5+ years now when I helped someone with drive recovery but from what I recall it was close to 1000$ for 200-300GB of data.

[zipdoa]

I just recovered a bunch of data off some old 90's PC's this week. Having one of these handy will make it easy to connect it to your computer if you decide to rip the drive out of the enclosure and try to connect it manually.

Keep in mind this is a USBC version - you can get conventional USB as well:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08BRB4S2Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[haggis88]

if you can hear the drive spinning then it is getting power since the drive plugs into the board.
usb 3.0 cant power 3.5 HDD alone, it needs external power.
you're welcome to try the adapter I linked above but from your description it sounds like the drive is faulty.

it was 5+ years now when I helped someone with drive recovery but from what I recall it was close to 1000$ for 200-300GB of data.

So I got the SATA cable from the link you suggested and connected it up to my HDD

It spun up straight away and then as I could hear the laptop ready to start reading it, the HDD made its normal noises again and the computer recognised it

Now it's telling me I need to format the disk before I can use it. Is there a way to get around this? IE so I don't lose the data that is on there?

[haggis88]

So I got the SATA cable from the link you suggested and connected it up to my HDD

It spun up straight away and then as I could hear the laptop ready to start reading it, the HDD made its normal noises again and the computer recognised it

Now it's telling me I need to format the disk before I can use it. Is there a way to get around this? IE so I don't lose the data that is on there?

Okay, Data is still there...downloaded a recovery program after a google search and it finds what seems like everything on the drive in a RAW format.

Now this recovery program won't recover the data without payment, which of course I'm not against but I'd like to know I'm paying for a legit program

Any recommendations?