Replace USB receptacle hardware?

[joocy]

I have a Sony Vaio VGN-N250e that I use for music. Recently it dropped from about 4ft at a show and mangled its only two USB receptacles. The plastic bar inside each receptacle broke off in the plugs that were plugged in at the time. Electronically the motherboard seems to be fine, because when it first happened, I was able to jam the plugs back in and get them to work. However, the four metal conductors are bent and the plastic bars are gone.

As a temporary fix I got an expresscard USB adapter, but is really sucks and I can only get my audio interface to work [unreliably] with an alternative driver. I could buy a firewire audio interface or a new notebook, but I'd rather not spend the money. I would like to try to replace the receptacles. My question is, how feasible is this, given my skillset, which is as follows.

I have assembled my own desktop machines since the 1990's. I've done memory and drive upgrades on notebooks, but never had one further apart than that. I have done a lot of simple electronics builds and repairs (guitar amps, effects, etc). My soldering skills are very solid. I don't have a good desoldering station but if this were an audio repair, I'd just cut out the bad hardware and remove the feet individually.

The things I'm most worried about are:
I don't know my way around the interior of a notebook. I assume it's much tighter than a desktop and harder to assemble
I don't know how much heat the MOBO can take. I assume there are some things that can get fried easily
How big are the traces for the USB receptacles?
Where can I get help sourcing the parts?

Does anyone have any other ideas? The idea that I might have to scrap a lot of expensive hardware because of a simple mechanical connection is driving me bonkers.

 

[frozenlead]

Don't get so worried - taking apart a notebook is much easier than you think. Just be careful, look for screws, and take your time. It all comes apart quite nicely.

You can replace the USB sockets, so long as Sony used standard sized connectors (usually they're in pairs). You can pick up replacement modules on the internet - radio shack might even sell some.

As for how big the leads are...they aren't that big. I'm going to guess 5mm...that's just a guess though. You can get the job done, though, with a regular iron and some force.

Don't worry about the heat issue. As long as you disconnect all of the components from the motherboard, you should be okay. Solid caps (which should be on your board) are more tolerant to high heat. I can't think of any other component that would break under the pressure...just don't melt the board, okay?