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Soldering For Non-Solderers?
DanielMarkham asks: "A few months ago I bought a 4GB USB drive from jmtek Online. I really liked the drive -- heck, 4 GBs were awesome! But over time, using it in my tablet PC, the connectors started loosening up between the USB plug and the IC. Eventually, the part that plugs into the computer came loose from the rest of the drive. So, now I've got six-hundred bucks worth of useless plastic. I don't know anything about circuit board repair, so I'm in a bit of a fix. As I understand it, the 90-day return period has timed-out, and there's not much I can do in the way of a refund. But all of my data is still on there, I just need some way to re-connect the USB plug to the circuit board. I guess that would involve soldering? Do you guys have any idea how I could get the USB drive fixed without spending a lot of time or money?"
You should just have someone solder it for you. It would probably cost like $50 or so to take it to a shop and have them resolder the traces. Seriously. Don't even think about trying it as your first job because you will likely end up getting too much solder everywhere and the part will become useless, and a repair all the more costly (if possible). Find some geeky friends that mod X-Boxen and have them look at it. I bet you know someone that would do it for a bag of grass or a night of drinking or something along those lines. Just don't try to do it yourself, especially if you have never soldered before in your life. Its like asking "I've never tried it before, but how do I rebuild my tranny?" Not really recommended without proper tools, knowledge and experience.
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