Ed Chu Loc: Las Vegas NV

apparently I didn't realize the difference between Prime photo storage and Amazon drive; don't even know how I got Drive originally; my mistake, thanks

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

be sure to have at least 2 external hard drives for back up; if one should fail, you still have the other. Now it's time for me do some long postponed back ups!

rcdovala

While I agree that a new case would fix the problem, the first issue that the OP is going to face is getting the drive out of the existing case. Most external drives are encapsulated in a rather tough plastic case and it will be a challenge to remove the drive. It can be done with the proper tools.

was_a_guru

This would work for you. You will have to disassemble (carefully) your current external HD and remove the internal HD from it. That would then fit in the Sabrent enclosure in this Amazon link (https://smile.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Lay-Flat-Docking-EC-DFFN/dp/B013WODZH0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1522687867&sr=8-7&keywords=sabrent+usb+3.0+to+sata+ide+adapter&dpID=41dUhJSh6hL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch)

The internal HD should look similar to the attached picture.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

I have never had a problem removing hard drive from external enclosures, even not tearing them up. If the USB plug a broken it shouldn't matter how it is taken out.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Be very careful removing the drive from the old enclosure. Some of the external cases (Seagate an example) are not simple or easy to see how they come apart. You need to be particularly carefully with how the drive is attached through its SATA connections at the end of the drive as it is easy to break them. Note that some drives won't even be screwed in anymore and only held by pins. Basically just be careful. Once (foolishly but the price was good) I bought a few Seagate external drives to refit into a PC. They were some of the hardest drives I have ever seen to remove and in fact I doubt they were ever meant to be removed again. I have to admit my removal was made harder by trying not to damage the cases so they could be reused but after the first couple I gave up on that idea.

rcdovala

I agree but a certain amount of care should be used in extracting the hard drive from the case. You should avoid shocking the hard drive so using a hammer and chisel would not be my first choice in splitting the case open. A gentler approach might be to use a rotary saw blade in a Dremel to split the case along its seams. I'm sure there are other safe ways of accomplishing this task. You may want to share your method with the UHH members.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Hard drives today will take a fair amount of shock, but yes you have to be careful, a tiny screwdriver would go a long way in splitting the enclosure, they just snap together.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I don't know what they charge, but Best Buy's "Geek Squad" would be another source of help.

rcdovala

That is not the case with my Hitachi and HGST enclosures. Each enclosure has a plastic band surrounding the edge of the enclosure and is chemically bonded to the enclosure. I'm only disputing your claim that the enclosures merely snap together in the event other UHH members are struggling to get their enclosures apart. I'm not trying to be argumentative.

RE Loc: California

Thank you Gene51, I appreciate the information and the link!

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

My point is that if the USB port is damaged, it doesn't matter how you remove the drive, even destroying the case.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

When you think about this it really stinks. I bet that at least 90% of people who buy an additional drive only have a single drive and think that (most people are too optimistic for their own good) this is all they need for backup. This is not just photographers but everybody who does any sort of backup, or uses an extra drive for additional storage. So when your laptop/PC goes tits up (excuse the expression) and you then require stuff back from your backup drive and you find that, for some reason, you can't read the drive you go through the procedure above of trying to remove the drive on the off chance that you can hopefully still access the data. BUT the manufacturers have carefully made the drive extremely hard to remove (and this is for their own convenience, not yours) making the possibility of losing data even more stressful. Bottom line -
You need two identical copies of the data stored not one. Even with two copies, especially if stored in the same room, you can lose everything. But with good drives (5 year warranty WD Black drives) mounted in separately purchased housings with one of them stored in the garage (unless it is part of your house) you vastly increase your chances of having at least one good copy of your data (assuming that you make both copies at the same time of course).

rcdovala

I totally agree.

RE Loc: California

I appreciate all the help! I have managed to extract the drive from the casing without doing any damage to it. I did buy a cable, however since I did not totally understand what I was doing I bought a cable that will not work (I needed one that worked with HDD). I am now trying to find a case that will fit this 4tb Seagate back up I have, there are a lot of cases available but I don't think they will fit this drive. I do have some of it backed up on a smaller hd, but no where near all of it. I will update when I get a case and let you all know if I was able to retrieve my photo's. Thanks again everyone!