How Can You Straighten HDD Pins?

racerx509 writes: "I just did something thats probably going to cost me much. I was reinstalling my hdd after trying to ghost the partition for another pc, when I jammed the cable in wrong. The cable is keyed and the keyed side was in correctlty, so I figured that it was going in right. However, I have severly bent several of the pins. The HDD will no longer detect even after I attempted to straighten the pins. Pin #11 has receded into the aperature and pins #15 and #16 are seriously bent. I've straightened them out with tweezers as much as I can, but it looks like this drive is gone. I would replace it, but i have some very important data on it. Does anyone know of a way I could straigten the pins and pull receded ones? If not, what about a good data recovery service in the Atlanta area?"

Comments

use the force

[TheGratefulNet]

the magnetic force, that is.

the connector pins are metal, therefore magnetic. just use a strong pencil-style magnet and you should be able to pull those sunken pins out thru the plastic just fine.

Re:use the force

[TheGratefulNet]

uhm, guys. it was a joke.

guess it wasn't obvious enough. I didn't figure ANYONE would dare take a magnet even within 10 feet of a drive!

have to admit - moding it to 'informative' is even funnier than my actual post!

Ho-To fix broken pins.

[hazen_vs]

Check out AMP here., they make connectors of all sorts, probably even make the same part.


1.Disconnect the Controller ie: remove it from the drive case and unplug the header, (the armature connection.
2.Ground yourself (get rid of any static on your hands) or wear a geek strap.
3.Un soulder the eide connector (that is if it's the seperate type) and then get a new one. They cost about 2$us ea.
4. Re-soulder the new connector


Depending on the style of connector (make, type of drive) It may be a seperate EIDE connector, however if you can determine the part number and make you can probably purchase one from either Digi-Key or Newark Electronics, they are usually made by either AMP (div. of Tyco electronics) or one of two other connector manufacterers. although I'm pretty sure AMP makes them too. But for your sake you should contact the drive manufaterer and ask them directly as they may actually give you the part number of the connector you need and were to buy it.

Hopefully you didn't fry anything by attempting to plug it back in.
And if you did follow the first post. and replace controllers but be sure to get the exact model you already have, then you pull a switch a roo with the controllers and image your old data and RMA the drive.

If none of the other good advice here works...

[fooguy]

If you're not handy with a soldering iron, or some of the other approaches listed don't help, this one is pretty easy and has worked every time I've done it:

-Buy a harddrive of the exact same make and model
-Unscrew and disconnect the controller board from the drive. It should be held with about 4 tiny screws and one ribbon cable. Don't snap this cable too you ape!
-Transplant the controller board, reconnecting the tiny cable correctly and actually screwing all the screws back in (I'm not good about screws).
-Plug it in and go to town.

Back in the old days (circa 1998) I worked in a computer store while I was in college. For some people, the two or three hundred dollars for another drive (to throw away) was cheaper than data recovery when they'd screwed it up.

Good luck.