Correct sized enclosure for Seagate portable ext hard drive

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jevvv

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#100492 12-Apr-2012 12:23

Hi all,

Someone in our house managed to kill the usb port on the side of my Seagate portable external hard drive. Thankfully it is only the port that's been ripped off, which means I can put the hard drive into a new enclosure.

So my question is how do I find the right enclosure? The drive is a 2.5" and is about 14.5mm thick which seems quite a lot thicker than a lot of the enclosures themselves.

Do you have any suggestions?

Sorry if I put this in the wrong forum.

--

jevvv

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#608199 12-Apr-2012 12:50

A quick look around suggests enclosures don't commonly come that high. Probably easier to buy a new drive, it's probably pretty old anyway at that height.

jevvv

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#608215 12-Apr-2012 13:10

Darn - I was hoping you weren't going to say that.

I've only had it a year :( Story of my life.

In reality what I need is the green board that plugs in, with the small usb port on it... the usb port got ripped off the board

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#608230 12-Apr-2012 13:34

And here's where it gets real interesting when looking for replacement external case's

is it
A: A standard 2.5" SATA/IDE HDD or
B: is the usb and related controller a part of the HDD's PCB

Seagate have been known to use both you'll need to pull it out and take a look if it's the second case you may be SOL unless you know someone handy with a soldering iron

also see here

[url]http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/external-storage/other/auction-464056436.htm[url]

alexx

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#608232 12-Apr-2012 13:40

Most enclosures seem to support the 9.5mm height 2.5 inch drive and don't allow 12mm or larger.
Does the drive itself have a standard SATA connector?

If the drive itself is a good one and has a SATA interface, I see two main options:

1. Get an enclosure for a 3.5 inch drive - you will most likely need some sort of mounting kit to install the smaller 2.5 inch drive.
2. Sell the drive on the Offers and Wanted forum (or Trademe) and get a new drive.

#include <standard.disclaimer>

jevvv

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#608233 12-Apr-2012 13:40

I suppose now is the time to put up a (rather blurry) photo:

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timmmay

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#608236 12-Apr-2012 13:48

Is it SATA or IDE?

jevvv

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#608240 12-Apr-2012 13:54

Um - last I looked I thought that was SATA

This is the picture on Wikipedia that matches the connector on my drive
The caption says SATA connector on a hard drive:

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#608241 12-Apr-2012 13:55

Yep that's sata

jevvv

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#608242 12-Apr-2012 13:58

alexx: Most enclosures seem to support the 9.5mm height 2.5 inch drive and don't allow 12mm or larger.

Yeah, shame that. Seems Seagate went and did their own thing that way :grrr:

1. Get an enclosure for a 3.5 inch drive - you will most likely need some sort of mounting kit to install the smaller 2.5 inch drive

I suppose I could jury rig a mounting kit - the key factor being "hold this [insert applicable object] firmly here" so that stuff lines up and doesn't wobble around ;)

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jevvv

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#608244 12-Apr-2012 13:59

timmmay: Yep that's sata

Thanks timmmay - I was hoping I hadn't gone crosseyed and forgotten something :)

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#608246 12-Apr-2012 14:05

3.5" enclosure and expanding foam from the hardware store? You can get mounting kits for about $10 which are probably a cleaner solution.

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=8297920

jevvv

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#608257 12-Apr-2012 14:25

Sounding more and more like a plan to me Timmmay.

Nah I wouldn't go the expanding foam route, I'd use timber wedges...

Ooooo - I could to a steam punk hdd enclosure! Really all I need is the board to plug into the hdd, as long as it has a usb port on it I guess

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jevvv

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#608300 12-Apr-2012 15:12

My son would be keen for me to SteamPunk the drive I'm sure ;)

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#608319 12-Apr-2012 15:43

Would you like me to try and solder the connector back on? Some of the copper tracks on the circuit board might have been ripped up, but should be fixable. I've been doing electronics for 26 years (since age 13) and in Auckland. I would need only the green circuit board and connector, not the drive/case.

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jevvv

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#608355 12-Apr-2012 16:58

That sounds like an even better plan Niel! Thank you for the offer. Yes a couple of the tracks seem to have been lifted a bit.

Can I post it to you - the board and the connector, so you can have a look and let me know if it's do-able?

Thanks,
j

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