Broken pin on external HD power supply

[handsomep]

I have an Iomega external HD which connects to the power supply via a 5 pin plug. One of the pins was completely bent and at the bottom of the jack, and when I tried to pull it straight, it broke (no surprise). Everything still works fine though. The pin that broke was separated from the other 4, so I guess it was a grounding pin? If that's the case, I was wondering how dangerous it is to operate the unit with a broken grounding pin (i.e. obviously it's there for a reason)? Thank you!

 

[nukemaster]

Check the power supply label to see if it list what that pin is for. After all 4 pins should still give you 12 volts + 5 volts and 2 grounds.

is it like this?
http://azsurplus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_15&products_id=82

If its the bottom pin, it would be a 12 volt pin, in that case, i am surprised it still works at all. Is it a small 2.5 inch drive or a larger 3.5 inch drive?

 

[handsomep]

Yes, the pins look just like in the above photo link (the Model Number of the AC adapter is in fact DA-30C01). The pin that is broken is the one labeled 1P (+12V). I googled the description on the invoice (5 years old btw) and it's an Iomega 33115. I found the specs here:
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Iomega_250GB_Platinum_Series_External_Hard_Drive_USB_2_0_FireWire/33115/ps/439383

Strangely enough, in the specs they say 4-pin. Maybe the 5th pin was supposed to be bent because it wasn't used? When I looked at I remember thinking how in the heck I could have bent it like that myself (it was completely bent and pushed flat against the bottom of the jack)!

Any thoughts on this?

 

[nukemaster]

They do not generally send out devices out with a bent pin. After all a 12 volt pin hitting the side of the plug can be a very bad thing if the shield is grounded.

I would normally say, if it works not to worry about it, but I do not see how it would even run on just 5 volts(it looks like a 3.5 inch drive to me).

 

[handsomep]

Strange, it seems to run perfectly. The specs in the above link refer to the connector as "4 pin". That seems like a pretty big coincidence. According to the photo for the model number of power adapter, there should be 5 pins. But the specs in the above link suggest a 4 pin connector. And what I had were 4 straight pins and one completely/perfectly bent pin. I could always write Iomega to satisfy my curiosity I guess. But the main issue I was concerned with was safety...

PS: In the past, I remember accidentally removing the USB of the external hd from my computer without stopping the device first (via the Safely Remove Hardware icon), and I would get a BSOD and have to reboot, but I'm guessing that has nothing to do with a bent pin?

 

[nukemaster]

Nope a BSOD would probably be windows trying to write to the drive then bang, its gone....crap BSOD....

I have removed many a drive without safe remove without issues. I do not think the power cable would cause that.

Does your power supply show the same diagram(with +12v on the bottom?) on it as well?

 

[handsomep]

The power supply is the same model number as in the image you linked to (DA-30C01), so yes, everything looks the same.

 

[nukemaster]

strange..... well it seems to work.