How do I connect a hard drive with a broken SATA connector?

I recently bought a 2.5" internal HHD for my desktop computer. During the install I broke the plastic part off the SATA connecter port leaving only the bare pins. For an illustration see below (not the actual HHD):

Where I broke the plastic off

The plastic from that sata connect was then stuck in the SATA cable that had originally broken the plastic piece off. I was able to plug the cable back in and secure temporally with electrical tape. The hard drive works fine no issues with the setup I have. However I would like a more permanent solution.

What are people thoughts on hot gluing the sata cable to the hard drive effective making the cable a fixture of the hard drive and not removable? Glue doesn't conduct so I don't think it would have adverse effects and the glue comes out of the gun at roughly 193C which is much hotter than even the max temps of my cpu of around 37c.So it would seem that it would be a vaible option.

Will this work? More effective solutions?

Nick

Posted 2011-12-14T01:06:15.927

Reputation: 1 471

2How is 193C cooler than 37C? – Dennis – 2011-12-14T01:16:45.937

I don't think the heat from the glue would be an issue if it is not touching anything heat sensitive, and the connectors wouldn't be. But I think there are other issues with using hot glue which I explain in my answer. – thomasrutter – 2011-12-14T01:20:05.250

1I did this once to a HDD and effected essentially the same quick fix you have. Four years on and I haven't had any trouble. – Andrew Lambert – 2011-12-14T01:22:05.793

Forget Super (too brittle) and Hot glue (too soft); use some five-minute Epoxy. :)

– Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2011-12-14T01:31:44.447

1@Dennis: It's not. If it was, his scheme wouldn't work since the heat from the computer would melt the glue. (But it's a non-issue -- the glue is too soft.) – David Schwartz – 2011-12-14T01:44:55.787

Answers

You mention both super glue, and hot glue.

Unfortunately I'm not sure if either will be a good solution.

Superglue is good for a nice clean break and is ideal on plastic. It may be the better of the two, but only if the surface area between the two is flat, clean and smooth (shiny). It won't hold on textured or uneven surfaces unless it meshes perfectly with the other surface. So it's really only strongest when you are repairing an actual break.

Hot glue is good when there are textured, large surfaces and you don't mind it flexing. It's good for felt or some other textured fabrics because of this, but can also be used on wood, cardboard etc especially if it's textured. I think it would be too fiddly to use on something so small and I don't think it would hold small bits of plastic.

If it were me, I would be looking at either replacing the drive, or making do (we haven't seen a photo of your current solution, maybe it's not too bad), or a solution including wire or cable ties if that's possible.

thomasrutter

Posted 2011-12-14T01:06:15.927

Reputation: 1 473

2I hot glued it and it has been working perfectly. It seemed to bond well with the plastic on the drive. Thanks for the help! – Nick – 2011-12-28T05:49:11.110

Hot glue will work if electrical tape works, and is not a bad idea for a solution.

Putting the hard drive in a dock is a slightly better idea. In a dock gravity and the weight of the drive causes the connection to the dock itself. The dock pictured even has esata out.

An even better idea than that would be soldering on a new terminal. That would require a continuity meter and a fine soldering tip.

Evan Carroll

Posted 2011-12-14T01:06:15.927

Reputation: 1