So I've recently come across an old external hard drive of mine (Samsung S2 Portable 500GB HM502JX) where the USB plug attached to the PCB broke off.

When it happened I had a frustrating time trying to disassemble it, as is evident in the attached photos. I feel I may have compromised the drive entirely from my handy work.

Is it worth trying to solder the broken USB plug back into place or would I have to replace the PCB (if it is at all possible with the current state its in).

Any advice or ideas would be much appreciated.

The pcb is the least of your worries. The disk itself is likely trash now. The pcb comes off without removing the cover of the drive, so was there a reason for opening it up in the first place? The cover is bent as well, so unless you have important data, and you are willing to spent good $$ at a DR lab, I would vote for binning it.

I suggest you swap the PCB, cover, HDA and platters.

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Sabo Computer Repairs & Data Recovery

I'd say ignorance and desperation were behind my ill-fated attempt to troubleshoot. Embarking on attempting to recovery it myself would probably lead to more of the same so I may look into a DR lab.

If you had to ballpark it, what would you say is the damage on it?

Your feeling is correct, case went from cheap pcb repair or swap to a $$$$ disaster where partial recovery would be a excellent result.

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Digitalsupport Data Recovery
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Say, $3K for a partial recovery, if any. (It would've been a max $300 initially)

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It would have cost US$50 if you had sent the PCB to hdd-parts.com, or maybe even less if you had engaged the services of your local TV/audio repair shop.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.