Hey,


I have a hard drive that I use in a laptop that I removed and plugged into a USB to laptop HD converter to remove files and manage the device on a faster computer. Anyway... once I placed the HD back into the laptop, I must of forced it into the pin slots too hard and a pin was thus bent and not allowing access to it. So I tried to bend it back gently and alas, the pin broke.. oh no.

So, what are my options here? The drive itself is fine, but now it won't sync itself with any computer because of this broken pin. I need the files located on this drive.

What should I do? Got any advice?

Soldering iron and precision.

There's probably a company in your area which can handle this.

why you do this your self, for that contact such kind of hard drive company, so hard drive company will give you proper solution, if you will you your self it will change to damage if you are not take care of this.

I laughed when I read your post. Sorry MrRaza, I was just picturing the situation.

Was the pin broken on the HD or on the laptop slot? If it's on the laptop it would be easier to fix (soldering iron) than if it was on the HD itself.

If it's on the HD I would take it to a specialist HD data recovery person. Forget the soldering iron nonsense, if the data is worth something you will have to pay for it to get to the data.

:-\

[quote author=Invert link=topic=17822.msg182267#msg182267 date=1239315721]
I laughed when I read your post. Sorry MrRaza, I was just picturing the situation.

Was the pin broken on the HD or on the laptop slot? If it's on the laptop it would be easier to fix (soldering iron) than if it was on the HD itself.

If it's on the HD I would take it to a specialist HD data recovery person. Forget the soldering iron nonsense, if the data is worth something you will have to pay for it to get to the data.

:-\
[/quote]

Or do what the specialist will do.  Depending on what is broken, locate and buy the exact model part, either individually or buying the same model hard drive.  Then cannibalize the new hdd parts and replace/repair the broken component.  I have done this with IDE drives in the past.  Usually the processing card which is bolted onto the back of the drive is removable and replacable directly.

Thanks for the advice, I'll give the manufacture a call, hopefully they can let me know the best way to get this resolved.

The pin on the hard drive itself is broken off, I'm assuming as I pulled the "teather" to place the drive into it's slot on the bottom of the laptop, pins got crushed.

I wouldn't mind paying for the data back as long as it's not a massive amount. It is somewhat valuable, having all of my college notes on there, CCNA/CCNP, and CISSP information. I'm going to take it to a local computer store that has some equipment that can modify hardware componets and see what they think of it.

Grok had some good advice that I didn't think of before. I'll look into some exact models online and see what the prices are.

Thanks!

[quote author=MrRaza link=topic=17822.msg182365#msg182365 date=1239827788]
Thanks for the advice, I'll give the manufacture a call, hopefully they can let me know the best way to get this resolved.

The pin on the hard drive itself is broken off, I'm assuming as I pulled the "teather" to place the drive into it's slot on the bottom of the laptop, pins got crushed.

I wouldn't mind paying for the data back as long as it's not a massive amount. It is somewhat valuable, having all of my college notes on there, CCNA/CCNP, and CISSP information. I'm going to take it to a local computer store that has some equipment that can modify hardware componets and see what they think of it.

Grok had some good advice that I didn't think of before. I'll look into some exact models online and see what the prices are.

Thanks!
[/quote]

The amount is irrelevant with a broken pin.  It'd be all just as easily retrievable.  What is the mfr name and model number of drive?  URL to the drive specifications (diagram) on the mfr website would be helpful too.  Does the drive support dual interfaces?  I really think your problem is very minor and you have probably no real expense in getting it fixed.