I snapped a USB header pin?!

reubenno

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Sep 2, 2012
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Hello,
I am having a bit of a crisis regarding my usb header pins on my Asrock Extreme4 z77 motherboard. Upon placing the header cable back into the motherboard I noticed that 3 of the pins had been bent at a 90 degree angle into the board. I attempted to bend one back but ended up snapping it off and I am afraid that the same thing will happen to the other two pins. I would like to keep the front USB 3.0 headers and I was wondering if there was an option that would let me do this. I have seen USB 2.0 convertors and this looks like a plausible option but would I be able to keep the USB 3.0 speeds or would it switch down?

Thanks
 

Zooshooter

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Feb 8, 2013
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Given that you broke off a pin, the header is no longer going to work. I suggest switching to a different header to plug your front ports in to. You could also try an internal PCI card like this, which has a 2-pin header for front-panel type connectors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815805001

Although I suppose it largely depends on which header you're using, whether it's 20-pin or just the standard 9-pin.
 
Solution

reubenno

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Sep 2, 2012
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Okay thanks, I have 4 USB 3.0 ports on the back of my PC and 2 USB 2.0 so i've decided just to buy a convertor to USB 2.0 for the front as it seems like the best option and its only around £4 to fix.