Messed Up HDD Pin - HELP!!!

[Funky]

I was working under my desk in the dark, trying to hook up this old ATA HDD to back it up, and I plugged the cable upside down... Guess what.. It pushed one of the pins in, and now the hard drive wont work. Bios recognizes it, but the computer doesn't even boot with it in as a slave. I've attached a picture of this consequence of my retardation for you guys to see. Do you guys know how this can be fixed, or who can fix it? It's got some very important stuff in it that I can't loose.
The rest of the HDD is intact and in working order.

Funky :sad:

[Lawndart]

Sounds like you need a new connector, and it shouldn't be too hard to replace I'd imagine, although you may want to have a computer expert look at doing it. At least you know the disc itself is intact and your files are safe (for now) on it... Just gotta find a way to access them.

[Tineras]

Why don't you see if you can find a broken one to buy (of the same exact model)? Just make sure that the disk itself is what is damaged. You could then replace the entire board on the hard drive and it should work. I have had luck doing this in the past.

You could also put an ad up on craigslist for someone with circuit board soldering experience. If someone has a hot-air soldering gun, they could replace the whole connector in a matter of minutes.

[Funky]

My finals just started so I haven't had time to get back to the hard drive, but yes, I'm gonna try to see if I can take the aluminum plate off to see the board. I'll let you know what happens...

Funky

[Redstormer]

My finals just started so I haven't had time to get back to the hard drive, but yes, I'm gonna try to see if I can take the aluminum plate off to see the board. I'll let you know what happens...

Funky

Good luck with your finals!! :smile:

[T_Flight]

OH NO! :bigeyes: Whatever you do, do NOT remove the cover plate.

Read This: Hard Drives are Built in clean rooms, that would be comparable to the NASA clean room where satelites are prepped and they are dust free. If you open it, you will destroy the drive. People have successfull built clean rooms using vaccum pumps and a box, but it was basically to see if they could successfully do it.

The Read/Write Head on Drives is so close to the surface of the drive that a speck of dust on there at 7200 rpm or 10000 rpm (whatever the spindle speed is would be like the read write head colliding with a freight train. It would detroy the head, and the disk surface.

It's possible that drive may be ruined...BUT, there is a small chance that somebody good (somebody really good) could get in there and completely replace rthe connector. That assumes they have the proper tools, solder, proper connector, and the skill to get it right the first time. That somebody would be somebody who has either done this before, or somebody with SMT copmponent soldering experience. Don't let anyone experiement here if you want that data back. Only somebody that is highly skilled at soldering critical components like this should be allowed to lay hands on that drive.

I am giving you advice just like this was my drive, and what I would do if it were mine. I have experience with computers, and have built them for years, and wouldn;t attempt this myself. I've even soldered mods to motherborads with SMT resistors and I wouldn't attempt this.

I would strongly recommend you find a pro to do it. earch around your area or on tech sites. If you do it online, get tio know the individual and make sure they are trustworthy, and check their past posts to make sure they really know their stuff.

[Funky]

T-flight I really appreciate your concern. The plate I have yet to find time to unscrew is simply a thin aluminum sheet that covers the board, and is not supposed to expose the internals. Exposing the internals was my main concern, but after some research, it appears that this is how I can even get to the board. Many HDDs don't have this plate, but all of my seagates seem to have them, so I think its a seagate thing. I'm just doing this to take a peak, and figure out if the pin is simply pushed in, or completely broken.

Here are the screws I'm talking about:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k293/falcon790/Junk%20for%20internet/One%20Time%20Use%20Garbage/IMG_0289.jpg

Thanks for the heads up tho :wink2:

Funky

[T_Flight]

:rofl Whew! Man, that freaked me out when I saw that. I was like this guy---> :bigeyes: OHHHH NOOOOOO, Please Don't! hehe

Yeah, that would be OK I guess. I'd still be careful, and on another note, that pretty much voids any warranty, but the problem here is the data. If you send it in they will not guarantee they will preserve the data, and will more than likely wipe it to diagnose it.

It's also possible that once that IC Cover Plate is removed you may be able to fix the puin that got pushed through. My bet is it's still in there. I just hope it didn't touch anything else inside there with the power plug attatched. You might wanna check for collateral damage like a burnt smell right after you remove the cover, and check for any bad/burnt traces or components on the IC board itself while your in there.

BTW, this is high up on the Ninja Levels Of uB3r133tness! hahaha