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Replace HD Head?

2K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  JohnWill 
#1 ·
Hello, I recently got a 80GB Hard Drive and took my other 40GB out but then decided to put it back in. While putting it back in, one of the pins got damaged and broke. I was wondering if theres a way around this. I have a spare Hard Drive which I can replace the head of it with the 40GB one if its possible. I have also still got the broken pin from the Hard Drive.
Thanks!
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the link.
Now I need Mr.JohnWill's help replacing the connector.
 
#6 ·
If you have an old broken drive, you first need to desolder the connector from that one. Obviously, damage to the MB may occur, but since the drive is dead anyway... :)

Next, you need to remove the connector from the drive in need of a repair. I find the easiest way to remove these connectors is to cut them apart BEFORE desoldering and leave just the ends of the pins sticking up on the connector side of the board. That way, you can remove the pins one-at-a-time, which is far easier than removing a whole connector.

The tools required will be a good soldering iron with a 650-700F temperature range, a solder sucker, and probably solder wick to clean-up.
 
#7 ·
I just took a look at one of the more modern drives in my dead drive pile, and the job of replacing the connector on that one would be easy. The Maxtor connector has fingers that solder on each side of the board, so by just lifting them one-at-a-time and removing the connector, you could have a connector to replace a broken one. I was thinking of an older drive when I did my repair, and it was more work because it was a through-hole connector with hidden pins, so I had to hack the connector up to remove it.

Perhaps a picture of the connector from the top and bottom of the board would help us give you accurate advice. :)
 
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