Trusting cheap back-up drives

On 06/04/2016 14:06, nospam wrote:
In article , Me
wrote:

Quoting me probably, where I've typed that drive controllers are direct
to USB - I should have typed that the HD has a USB socket soldered
direct to the drive control board which includes the bridge.

which hard drive is this?

As such there is no separate SATA to USB (or anything else) bridge board
in the enclosure.

highly, highly unlikely.

post a link to a photo of a teardown.


https://discussions.apple.com/servle...62/screenshot_
1168.jpg

Apparently becoming the norm in WD and Toshiba external 2.5 HD enclosures.

it's not becoming the norm.

I hope your correct, but I'm not so sure.

that drive is an exception and a very ****ed up one at that.

that photo helped me to identify it as a western digital wd10tmvw
mechanism marketed as a wdbacx0010bbk external drive. i can't find
specs for the former at wd's site, probably because it was never
marketed as a bare drive, but i did find the spec sheet for the
external which is mostly fluff.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3488/5735432702_9951ba5ecc_b.jpg
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/AAG/ENG/4178-705135.pdf

further digging indicates that the drive is actually sata (no surprise
there) with a custom usb bridge on the controller board and has known
issues with hairline cracks on the traces and/or cold solder joints,
likely because of repeated stress failure from plugging/unplugging a
usb cable directly to the controller board.

apparently, they designed it that way to make the external case
slightly smaller, as if that was a major issue.

it also appears to be discontinued.

There was at least also a 2TB version using a "wd20tmvw" drive with USB
soldered to the controller board. You'll find teardowns on youtube.

Toshiba have definitely done the same - I'm not sure if they've
"discontinued" them - here's a teardown on a Toshiba Canvio "Basics" 2TB
2.5 backup drive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vagCWvdCOVU

The case for the cheap 2TB Toshiba drive I've got looks much the same as
that, but it's thinner. If there's a separate sata to usb bridge board
in it, then it's going to have to be very tiny indeed, as if I lay a
standard 2.5 drive on top of the case, the USB socket would be hard up
against the bottom end of a standard drive. Possible I guess, but I
fear the worst.


western digital states pata and sata for internal drives and usb for
*external* drives:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/resources/drivecompatibility/

Any idea of what the 10 pin connector alongside may be?

i can't find specs for it other than it's a usb drive (it wasn't sold
as a bare drive), but it's probably jumpers for specific configurations
and/or testing purposes. end users would never see that anyway.

I'd kind of hoped that it might be pins allowing sata connection - in
case the on-board USB bridge failed. I don't like the idea of changing
a board - if you could even get one - when someone (not me I hope) had
important data on an external drive on which the USB had failed - ie due
to cracks or dry solder joints / flexing.

In article , Me
wrote:

https://discussions.apple.com/servle...415462/screens
hot_1168.jpg


Apparently becoming the norm in WD and Toshiba external 2.5 HD enclosures.
Any idea of what the 10 pin connector alongside may be?

The position of the USB in that photo and the small length of the cheap
Toshiba backup drive I've got here leads me to believe what's inside is
similar or identical to what's in that photo above. I'd open it up to
take a look - and post a photo, but it's defied my attempts to open the
case with a spudger tool - it seems glued together (though may not be).

either it's glued together or it has snaps that will break (by design)
if you open it.

I'm going to pass on trying to open it.

unless it's broken, why would you even consider opening it??

In article , Me
wrote:

that drive is an exception and a very ****ed up one at that.

that photo helped me to identify it as a western digital wd10tmvw
mechanism marketed as a wdbacx0010bbk external drive. i can't find
specs for the former at wd's site, probably because it was never
marketed as a bare drive, but i did find the spec sheet for the
external which is mostly fluff.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3488/5735432702_9951ba5ecc_b.jpg
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/AAG/ENG/4178-705135.pdf

further digging indicates that the drive is actually sata (no surprise
there) with a custom usb bridge on the controller board and has known
issues with hairline cracks on the traces and/or cold solder joints,
likely because of repeated stress failure from plugging/unplugging a
usb cable directly to the controller board.

apparently, they designed it that way to make the external case
slightly smaller, as if that was a major issue.

it also appears to be discontinued.

There was at least also a 2TB version using a "wd20tmvw" drive with USB
soldered to the controller board. You'll find teardowns on youtube.

Toshiba have definitely done the same - I'm not sure if they've
"discontinued" them - here's a teardown on a Toshiba Canvio "Basics" 2TB
2.5 backup drive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vagCWvdCOVU

The case for the cheap 2TB Toshiba drive I've got looks much the same as
that, but it's thinner. If there's a separate sata to usb bridge board
in it, then it's going to have to be very tiny indeed, as if I lay a
standard 2.5 drive on top of the case, the USB socket would be hard up
against the bottom end of a standard drive. Possible I guess, but I
fear the worst.

the solution is to buy bare drives and put them in an enclosure of your
choosing, or get a drive dock and not worry about enclosures at all.