HDD GURU FORUMS

Hello,
Got an interesting case of a HASP dongle, that had broken connector but also + and - are shorted. Can't figure out why. Need help and advice.

ISTM that the "Monster" chip (SC515580JDWE) must be the culprit, assuming you have excluded the serial EEPROM (24WC16WI).

CAT24WC16WI, Catalyst Semiconductor, 1.8V - 5.5V, 16-Kbit serial EEPROM, SOIC-8:
https://www.usbid.com/assets/datasheets/A8/cat24wc.pdf
https://www.dataman.com/media/datasheet/Catalyst_(CSI)/CAT24WCxx.pdf

you should be able to get a replacement from the company that the license is for.

HaQue wrote:you should be able to get a replacement from the company that the license is for.

The date code on the dongle ICs is 2005.

short of a HASP emu, not sure what else you could do. What software is it for?

Semiconductor looks good. Pads on PCB are shorted.
Didn't get any info about software or hardware it comes from. Just a question if it can be fixed/ cloned.

I don't see what else you could do other than to determine which pins of the "Monster" IC are connected to +5V and isolate them. If the short goes away when you do this, then this will confirm that this IC is the culprit. I presume that you have measured the other capacitors, ie C4 and C5.

Yes, C4 and C5 are ok. Found the one that makes them shorted.
Black one - makes them shorted
red ones are shorted with +
yellow - diode

I think that dongle is stuffed. If it is the Freescale MCU then replacing it is not an option as this is where the protection lies. some basic info by Cyberghost here: https://forum.exetools.com/showthread.php?t=12252

HaQue wrote:If it is the Freescale MCU ...

Ah, that's the logo that I couldn't remember. And Motorola did use the "SC" prefix for custom ICs, or custom versions of its off-the-shelf ICs.