Problem with Hard Drive

[KentonBomb]

I have had an interesting problem with my Hard Drive.

About 6 months ago, someone stupid (Yes, me) accidently tried to connect the ribbon cable to my HD backwards. This, of course, smashed in one of my pins. So I did what anybody would do. I soldered it back in place.

It looks 100% Fine, but the HD doesn't show up in the BIOS, nor can I boot from it. For the past 6 Months, I've been running my PC from a Linux LiveCD, But i have since installed Linux to a 1GB USB drive. Not exactly alot of space.

Does anybody know what's wrong?

I don't think I created a Solder Bridge. It looks pretty clean to me. :dunno:

[sunils]

It is said that when you solder the pin, it will work fine. Let me consult some hardware engineers.

[port5900]

LOL@sunils
Kenton you screwed up ya drive, And why were you pluging it backwards?
Its dead and you got to get a new one. you can prolly get a new one for $60 off newegg.com

edit-I just found one on there for $43, 80GB, cheapest one there.
edit again- nope found a cheaper one there for $38. And yea
port5900 is for vnc's -=)

[Livewire]

LOL@sunils
Kenton you screwed up ya drive, And why were you pluging it backwards?
Its dead and you got to get a new one. you can prolly get a new one for $60 off newegg.com

edit-I just found one on there for $43, 80GB, cheapest one there.
edit again- nope found a cheaper one there for $38. And yea
port5900 is for vnc's -=)

I'm not psoitive the drive is dead.

I don't believe that pin is making a proper connection though; there's a chance that soldering it in place burned something inside the board itself (or the trace on the board) which is resulting in a broken connection, just not at the pin.


I'm honestly not sure how to fix it or further identify the problem though. If it's not showing up in bios though, you're pretty screwed (pardon the bluntness; if bios can't see it, nothing will, so once you can find whats stopping it from showing up you're better off, I just can't tell from the description what's busted.)

[MaestroFX1]

I think your drive uses PATA interface.
I plug the that IDE cable into "other-one" IDE slot of your motherboard.
Else try to use PATA-USB interface changer, it may work.

[Livewire]

I think your drive uses PATA interface.
I plug the that IDE cable into "other-one" IDE slot of your motherboard.
Else try to use PATA-USB interface changer, it may work.

Not to be a nay-say or anything but if you read the post, the motherboard isn't where it sounds like it got plugged in backwards - it got plugged in backwards at the HD itself.

If that's the case moving it to the other slot on the motherboard (if it even has another slot, some of the newer boards add extra SATA and leave it at 1 IDE/PATA slot) won't help - it'll still be broken at the hard drive

[MaestroFX1]

Well Mate!
How did you find, that you plug it the other way?(I guess when it didn't work in the bios,isn't ?)

[DefecTalisman]

If you soldered the pin back on(hell knows how as they are small jobies) without a heat sync you can say goodbye to that drive. Never solder anything without syncing the heat. The heat the soldering iron creates is way to hot and goes down the traces and into the components.

For all IDE drives : The red line on the IDE cable should be on the same side as the power supply jack. If there is a recognition notch on the cable you shouldn't be able to plug it in the wrong way. Also the red cable on the power cable should always be next to the IDE cable, so basically all red cables sit next to each other.

[GamingX]

If the pin's gone then I'm almost sure the hard disk's gone. I did the same thing when I first bought my system. I connected the cable backwards and the pin broke. Though it showed up in the bios when I installed the OS and after it asked me to restart the PC, it again started installing the OS. So, nothing was getting written onto the hard disk. I had to get a replacement.

[mygorillanet]

I guess I can only sing the same song that most have already done. If the pin is soldered back in place but the hdd isnt being detected, this means the connection/trace was broken when the pin broke and you soldered the pin back onto a numb interface or when you soldered the pin back, you did not do it correctly.(spaces, dirt, etc)

solution: desolder, check traces and resolder.

Best to solder with an iron of only up to 30w. Higher wattage might damage the pcb by even just being too close to it. Do not use so-called soldering guns. These have very high wattage and generate most of their heat by passing an electrical current through a wire. Because of this, the wire carries a stray voltage that could damage circuits and components.

Heat the soldered spot and use a solder sucker or solder wick to remove the molten solder immediately. Solder suckers come in most pc tool sets if you own one. Solder suckers usually look like large syringes. There is a spring loaded plunger, and a button to release it. The plunger is pushed down. When you want to suck up the solder, you position the nozzle over the molten solder and hit the button. The plunger moves up, creating a vacuum and sucking up the solder.

Clean the pcb on your hdd where you are to desolder. Desolder then find the exact location of the trace of interest. Broken traces can easily be jumpered with thin filament wires soldered in place.

It is a meticulous task but is do-able. Just be sure to protect yourself whence you begin. You know, goggles, well ventilated rooms, magnifying glass if needed and take your time.

I have done quite a number of desolderings and solderings myself and your best weapon is being prepared with all the right tools plus patience.

Good luck!