Messed Up HDD Pin - HELP!!

[funky]

What's up tom's hardware community! New member here (was recommended this site by another member), and it's a sad thing that my my first appearance coincides by this problem I just created.
Working under my desk in the dark, trying to hook up this old ATA HDD to back it up, I plugged the cable upside down and guess what.. It pushed one of the pins in, and now the hard drive wont work. Bios recognizes it, but the computer doesn't even boot with it in as a slave. I've attached a picture of this consequence of my retardation for you guys to see. Do you guys know how this can be fixed, or who can fix it? (trying the search function didn't help) It's got some very important stuff in it that I can't loose.
The rest of the HDD is intact and in working order.

Funky

 

[sub mesa]

Try to pull it back. this is a mechanical defect, if you can restore it, either with tools or with components from another identical disk, you can access your data again.

 

[croc]

I've never seen a totally missing pin unless it was broken at the base. Usually an IDE connector is soldered directly to the electronics, so I doubt that even removing the controller card will help much. But unless you have an identical drive, there will be no harm trying... You can't be any worse off than now.

 

[sub mesa]

If it is what i think it is, its not broken off but just 'pushed through' towards the electronics PCB.

Ive had this problem once, and i could just push it back again. The connector was weak though, so i never removed the cable again, fearing it wouldn't work after anymore.

 

[funky]

Thanks for the quick replies!
A little bit of it was sticking out, and I tried grabbing it using nose needle pliers, but then it disappeared... I have a feeling it's broken . The back is completely enclosed, unlike some other ones where the board is visible, so I don't really have any way of knowing what's going on inside.

I have another similar HDD that I might be able to use parts off of, but first, are these the screws I should get off to access the board without exposing the actual disks to the environment?

Funky

 

[curnel_D]

First off, if you can find an exact match to the drive, you can replace the control board and get it working. You can usually find these control boards on google or ebay. They arent cheap by any means for what they are, but if you have irreplacable data, you gotta do what you gotta do.

But matching it with an exact model number is crucial, otherwise you'll just be wasting money. And at this point, it's basically your only option.


As for the screw, removing those two will be fine. It's the other side that would expose the platters. This side will just come down to your black aluminum base, and the contact pads for the control board.

 

[Paperdoc]

Yeah, removing those screws to un-mount the PC board will not open the disk area. As you do this, watch carefully for loose parts. You have not said you have found the missing pin, so just maybe it is inside. It is even possible that it is simply dislodged from its normal mounting position in the connector body and could be repositioned. If so, check also that it is electrically connected with solder to its right spot.

If you can't actually fix this connector with the missing pin, one option certainly is to find an exact replacement PC board for exactly this HDD model AND version number. Here's another MAYBE thought, though. Does it look like you could actually unsolder the faulty connector from the PC board, then replace it with the connector from another old HDD? When you replace the whole PC board it really is important to match up the replacement from EXACTLY the same drive. But connectors themselves are not so picky - they're pretty much standardized and interchangeable.

 

[funky]

cool. I do have an HDD very similar to this one, but of a lesser capacity, so I guess that won't work. Right now I am finishing up my finals, which is why I haven't taken the HDD apart yet. I am pretty sure I can solder the missing pin back into it's place, but I'll have to wait until next week once I'm done with the finals.

I'll be back with some pictures of the board soon...

 

[funky]

So, thorough my absence, I've tried multiple different approaches to "fix" my issue but none have worked. After taking off the back plate, I noticed that the pin was broken, and no where to be found. After taking it to my aunt (an electrical engineer) she also confirmed that the pin could not be soldered back in place by a human - due to the precision required. I even tried to plug it in with the other very similar board that I had, and got the same error - I know that was a risky move, but I just had to!

I think my only other option is to get a duplicate drive for its board. they're up for grabs starting at ~$30. I'll be back with more updates...