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This is from a long time ago — so I'm probably unable to provide clear details — but I accidentally did something really dumb with a family member's external hard drive.

If I am remembering the details as correctly as I can, but I think it was a Western Digital drive, one of those My Passport models probably, I don't know which one for sure. I think what happened was is I was cleaning up and absentmindedly plugged in a cable into it and into a computer thinking it was fine because it fit.

I believe what I foolishly did was plug in a USB 2.0 to Micro-B External HDD cable into it but the cable it took was a USB 3.0 to Micro-B External HDD cable. I just remember that ports were similar but just that cable I plugged into it was so like half the size of the actual port on the drive.

So ever since I did that, the drive doesn't seem to power on/be recognized by the computer anymore. Is this drive beyond saving? I was never able to find anything that could help me determine if I had accidentally completely toasted the drive or if the only thing I broke was like the plug interface, so that it just wasn't receiving power and perhaps the data on the drive itself was still accessible in some way.

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    USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. That isn’t the cause of the failure.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:00
  • I think I didn't clarify the difference in plugs clearly enough. I think the drive has a female version of this plug (amazon.com/AmazonBasics-USB-3-0-Cable-Male/dp/B00NH13G5A) and the cable I used was this plug (amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Male-Micro-Cable-Black/dp/B071S5NPG9)
    – Reveiller
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:10
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    That doesn’t change my statement
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:13
  • So the difference in plugs wouldn't have caused any sort power or electricity issue then? I'm not trying to say you're wrong or anything, don't get me wrong, I'm just trying to understand
    – Reveiller
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:17
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    A USB 3.0 device simply won't work with a USB 2.0 if it requires more power than USB 2.0 can provide. You certainly could have damaged the connectors if you forced the connector into the port.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:47

1 Answer 1

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So the actual Hard Drive will almost certainly be just fine. What you probably damaged is the plastic enclosure and the connections. You can simply remove the HDD from its enclosure. This is not meant to be done, but it is usually pretty easy, given the right tools. The top and bottom of the enclosure will just click together with plastic clips, so you can just break it apart. Very gently, so as not to damage the actual HDD. You can then get a HDD reader, enclosure, etc. from Amazon for $10-20. Like this one I've linked too.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hdd+reader&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Or just throw it into a PC and use it as an external drive.

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  • Would enclosures like this work? I've read that WD external drives tend to have the like USB interfaces built in and so it's not like a regular SATA hard drive or something, so would it plug in and work with these? Or would I have to find a special one, if those exist?
    – Reveiller
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:26
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    That depends on the HDD. Just open up the enclosure, and see what the back looks like. If it is a standard HDD then you should be good. If not, you can surely get a reader that will work. I have never seen one that wasn't just standard, but I also have not seen every type of HDD on the planet either.
    – coltmorgan
    Commented Dec 3, 2020 at 3:31

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