WD Elements SE 500GB USB 3.0 Hard Drive Disassembly
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- Опубликовано: 30 дек 2012
- Wanting to upgrade my PS3 Slim to a 500GB drive, I tear down a Western Digital external hard drive only to discover it's NOT a SATA drive! Disassembly not required!
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I'm glad I watched your video before making the same discovery myself-thanks for posting!
Thanks for having posted that video. I had the intention to buy this drive in order to do the same thing; external drives being often cheaper than buying an internal one. Swaping the drives like you intended to do usually works but some WD 2.5 drives have the hardware specifically dedicated for external use only. That makes them pretty small but non reusable in laptops.
Thanks for confirming that. My drive case is the same , but it has a USB *mini* socket on it and I cannot locate the cable! I've got tons of other cable variations, so I thought I would break open the case and put it in a dock I just bought, then I suddenly had a thought, and you have confirmed it! Western Digital's documentation was totally inadequate to find the proper specifications of these drives!
it happened to me too , i was shocked when i saw the interface is a usb 3 ,not a sata with usb3 converter like it used to be done before
thanks. you didn't get to solve your own problem but you rilly did help mine :)
Thanks for the video...helpful in dismantling my 1TB external drive...quite painless
Thanks for this, it helped me out nicely
thank you for this video
Yes I use it as my alternative storage for my laptop now, plugged in through USB2. It has fast transfers and is nice and quiet.
Mine looks identical to yours except it is 320GB capacity.
Confirmed that it does use a standard SATA drive, so after opening it and dumping the SATA to USB adapter card I now have a nice replacement HDD for an old computer.
I noticed some consumers hate this drive due to its apparent unreliability - what I found with my drive is that it's very sensitive to low (< 4.8V) voltage at the computer's USB port, even though the internal HDD itself is fine. I wonder how many people have junked what was a working drive...
I just convinced my wife to let me put her WD Elements USB 2.0 1TB drive into a USB 3.0 case. Once I took it out I had the same problem with the fixed usb connector. Not fair WD!
I guess it actually is a SATA drive but it doesn't feature a SATA connector for, I think, economical purposes. It is not required and several goldpins are much cheaper than a pair of SATA connectors. I think that you could modify it using a SATA socket from any old broken HDD.
thanks for sharing this vid..i learn a lot...
what is the maximum capacity that supports the ps3? 2 TB could? I wanted to disassemble my external 2Tb hard drive and put it internally to my PS3 Super Slim.
Anyone had any luck removing the fixed usb connector connected to the hard drive? Mine is broken but i believe that its only these "connectors" that is broken and the disk itself is still working.
just open mine because it was dead- hoping it might be replaceable like the larger models, but i guess the port is built in to keep it small.
should i remove the ss flash adapter to put it in ps3
It's crazy how things change in just a few years. I'm thinking about doing this with my ps4 and replacing its stock 500gb with 1tb. 120gb's like nothing now. I'm hoping that the newer wd external hdd's don't have a soldered USB port like yours did.
How and which compatible case, to use removed hdd from the casing.
tq so much for uploading this video man... very helpful... lol
Can the motor be unscrewed from this drive?
You prevented me tooo from doing this, thanks :D its not sata
are there any micro usb b to sata converter?
Toh kya isse Mai internal ki trah use nahi kr Sakta no sata point
This External Hard disk is originally IDE and the connector turn into USB during the process time you can notice the remaning pins next to USB on board
I have the exact same model!
EN: I have this type (exactly-exactly), but my 1TB version. Small question - can i paste in my ASUS (typical notebook) book (for upgrade space)? Interfaces are incompatible? I suppose... no... facepalm.jpg (Judging by jacks)
RU: У меня есть такой (точь в точь) но у меня теробайтная версия - на ноутбук не поставить? Не подойдёт?
Судя по гнёздам это жульство не пройдёт, *Рука лицо.jpg
thanks
can't take the head off of the drive?
me too have the same hard disk but there is a problem that the hard disks light is only on but not blinking and not connecting to my pc... pls give me solution for that
don't buy an external hdd to replace the ps3 hdd, just buy 2.5 internal hdd for laptops I think it would fit perfectly without the hustle.
Just did the same mistake.. opened a 2TB WD external... bummer..
Nearly bought this drive thinking I could use it on a PS3 because I googled your video without watching it, please change the title to DOESN'T work in PS3... luckily they were out of stock!
I just opened my hard drive, exact version, 500gb. a bit surprised that the interface are usb3.0 instead of sata. Damn, now I don't even know what to do with this broken drive.
Actually its IDE which is converted into usb
Can I put I on my ps3
Is it worth buying?
Very good explanation video! But, I have a "DUMMY-FOR-HARD-DRIVES" question from me to you: (ha!) I still own the Western Digital 320GB version external drive, that I have had a number of years now, but for the LIFE of me, I do not know if this line of external drives from W.D. are "Mechanical" drives or "SSD" drives. I am almost 100% sure you would have the answer to my "DUMMY" question. Much thanks Cory!!!
BolsaChicaRadio
you mean you own a 320GB version of a WD Elements, as shown in the video? These are all mechanical, ie. Hard Disk Drives
@@AdamAmbrus OK, got it; thank!
BCRadio
Does the hard disk work on PS3 super slim?
hi, i have the same hard drive, it dropped and when i connect it to my laptop you can here it ticking over trying to connect, but it wont come up on my laptop.
ellen s if it's ticking then that means it's litterly broken :/ you won't be able to get any data from there :(
Bummer, ive hung onto it for a year incase it could be fixed :(
if you haven't thrown it out yet you can search on RUclips for repair ticking hard drive maybe you can get some " working tips" there
Need help with wd to download wd 5000
Will WD Elements Portable 1TB USB 3.0 detect and recognized in TV's..??
msharath Manju I don't see why it shouldn't, but it really depends on how you format it I think.
It depends on the File System format that your TV supports
Im sorry im not expert on things like this but can i put this as an internal hardrive on my laptop?
No. The interface is hardwired usb 3. No SATA adapter.
What type of screwdriver do I need to open a WD 500gb hard drive desktop? Thanks in advance?
You can still mount it as internal desktop expansion storage and plug it internally to a USB3 port.
What cable should you use for this?
Sorry to say but in July 2020 this information is no longer correct 🙁
The Disk Management Tool no longer recognizes a WD Elements drive removed from it’s enclosure 🙁
most likely it is doa. i had 3 wd elements that died on me. they all the green brand harddrive.
Hello. Is he still alive?:)
Son of a... How in the world did WD think this was a good idea? What a piece of junk.
Agreed i hate DW because of that
They do it for security, also so you can't shuck their drives. Lol ;d
@Fairplay wat? It's a physical and firmware level of security. You can't just plug the drive into SATA and read it.. you have to use the USB 3.0 connection, which goes via a controller which allows or denies access to the drive itself until you correctly input the password.
Unless you know how to bypass this hardware level of security, by for example desoldering the controller and applying your own to connect to SATA, your data is practically safe from being read.. but as we always say "There's always a way in.."
@Fairplay I agree, but then if someone managed to get ahold of your hard drive which held critical information, I'd prefer they have no access to it.
Can I install this drive into my laptop?
No, not unless you have a USB 3.0 connector in there for it. Even then these are thicker than a standard laptop hard drive. If it was a SATA drive you might have a small chance to make it work
I`m actually about to do the same thing here. It looks like you given up too soon. I believe you can use this hdd to replace the ps3 one. Ever you tryed to remove that circuit board? It looks like its just a piece attached /connected to the HDD. I can`t see why it should be different from the other 2.5'' HDD.
trust me it is soldered directly to it
If you can finish a video in 3 minutes instead of 5, do it. Chances are, nobody's watching this video for your stellar narration nor for the reason why you decided to take the thing apart. Viewers just want to see you take that thing apart, so get about it already!
He *did*. I had this video on double speed! (As usual.)
Thanks for video! But where's your socks? :-D
Hahaha yeah wasn't wearing any. And... it's possible I wasn't wearing any pants either LOL
Also said "only have one hand", as the knife awkwardly pushes the drive around the table, but I got a glimpse of the allegedly missing hand not much later! ;)
it's an 3.5' hard drive or 2.5'?
2.5
you can play games from this hard ?
No, in my experience WD drives are piece of junk unless you just wanna use it as it is.
I just stated wathcing this and saw you only had to pry it open to also find it was not sata so i could use it in a laptop rip i thought by the end of the video you might have fixed the problme lol
Or you could buy a USB to sata converter.
not worth it with the USB bottleneck
IS IT A 2.5 INCH HDD?
Yes
Fucks sake.. I love WD. But I'm considering moving to Shitgate just so I can use the drives out of their casing.. :f
Nah Toshiba Travelstars
It's a 2.5" drive...
I got.problems w my Wd hard drive
I have old WD Elements 1TB 2.0 big brick.Unreliable and slow piece of crap from first day! It has serious issues with drivers and controller.
Curious how USB storage drivers were an issue. Are you able to elaborate on what you meant?
this is why you buy a hard drive and not a backup device......duhhhh
DW external drivers are piece of junk. Buy Seagate instead they are soldered like DW.
I encountered problem like yours 2 years ago
Screwdriver bit 🙄 it's called a slot head or flat bit 😂
Seriously, is there something interresting in this video? Why posting that without even be able to use the WD hard drive connecting.
Peter Slym because sometimes you need to know what you're opening. I assumed it was SATA internals before I opened it, and was shocked that it wasn't.
Posting that helps other people not have to break open a case for no benefit.
it gives awareness to people whose planning to buy external memory...I have the same problem....for sure if only I saw this video prior of buying WD external memory, I will definitely choose other brands