Seagate Freeagent External Drive - Connection issues

[UsernameTaken]

I have a hard drive that was damaged in shipping. I contacted Seagate and they said I could ship it to them for replacement but I wouldn't get my data back unless I paid them an exorbitant amount of money for their data recovery services. So I cracked it open. It appears to be in great shape, the only immediately apparent issue is that the mini-USB connector popped off. I don't know how to solder so I won't be fixing that at the moment, but I have a friend who could probably do it.

My problem is this: on the sticker it labels the connections SATA Power, SATA Data, and Jumper Block. The USB and Power connectors are soldered onto a PCB which is screwed and soldered directly to the hard drive. Could I just plug it into the wall socket with the external power and plug the SATA into the motherboard?

Could I just leave the hard drive on the floor of the computer case or something like that while I transfer the data from it, or could that cause data loss or failure? How would I mount the drive otherwise? The USB and power connectors protrude out the side - where the mount screws go - about 3/4 of an inch.

Basically is it worth it or is it possible to extract the data as it is now, or would it be better to get the USB connector fixed?



Here's the SATA connection, this is unused by the external enclosure:



Here's the external power connector, to the right of it is where the mini-USB connector was, and to the right of that is one of the mount screw holes.



Here's the underside view of the drive, the PCB is soldered and screwed in with Torx screws.

 

[UsernameTaken]

Is it just me or do the SATA connectors look odd?

My friend said he is not at all confident in his soldering skills but said he would do it as a last resort.

Really at a loss of what to do here. I'm not sure if I'll be able to connect it at all - internally or with another external enclosure.