This doesn't seem, odd to me at all. If you're connecting the drive externally, it's communicating through USB rather than SSD communications. Totally different circuitry. So you just bypassed whatever was bad and used an alternate channel to get to your drive. There are further tests you can do with a multimeter, but to be honest, this sounds like a dead ringer for a board issue.
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This doesn't seem, odd to me at all. If you're connecting the drive externally, it's communicating through USB rather than SSD communications (I don't recall which exact type this model uses). But totally different circuitry. So you just bypassed whatever was bad and used an alternate channel to get to your drive. Which I would have suggested as a diagnostic step if you hadn't done so already. [br]
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There are further tests you can do with a multimeter, but to be honest, this sounds like a dead ringer for a board issue, and I don't know that further diags are needed.
As for boards, any of the ones you linked should be compatible. All the peripherals are identical, it's just the board itself that's different. So upgrade away! In fact I would encourage it, especially given the age of this hardware already. You'll get better life out of it with some upgraded specs.
This doesn't seem, odd to me at all. If you're connecting the drive externally, it's communicating through USB rather than SSD communications. Totally different circuitry. So you just bypassed whatever was bad and used an alternate channel to get to your drive. There are further tests you can do with a multimeter, but to be honest, this sounds like a dead ringer for a board issue.
As for boards, any of the ones you linked should be compatible. All the peripherals are identical, it's just the board itself that's different. So upgrade away! In fact I would encourage it, especially given the age of this hardware already. You'll get better life out of it with some upgraded specs.