hard disk 2 pins in 40 pin interface are bent

[whitewolf33]

hey ,

            could any one shed some light on the hard disk 40 pin interface working. i use a Fujitsu hard disk and in the 40 pin interface one pin (the one closer to jumper) is slightly bent and the pin immdtly below the bent pin is only half visible from outside(half plunged inside).Does this affect the mother board from recognising the hard disk ?
Thanx in advance

[soybean]

Here's one source with a technique for straightening a bent pin: It states, "If a pin is bent, straighten it with the end of a retracted mechanical pencil, reconnect the cables, turn on the computer, and try again."  I was going to suggest small needle-nose pliers for this, but apparently the mechanical pencil idea means retracting the lead so that the end of the pencil can be fitted on the pin and then tilted in whatever direction is necessary to straighten the pin.  

Regarding the pin that only "half visible from outside", I don't know what to tell you; I don't know whether it's safe to pull on it with small needle-nose pliers to see whether you can pull it back out to the normal position.  Are you absolutely sure part of it is not broken off?  

You might be able to find a shop that could repair it.  Of course, that might cost nearly as much as a new drive, depending on the size of the drive.  But, if you have valuable data that's at risk of being lost, the cost of repair may be worthwhile.

[whitewolf33]

Thanx very muj for ur time. I got the bent pin straightened but unable to pull the other half of the pin that is only half visible. I m sure it is not broken from its looks. But what i wonder is , the IDE cable fits perfectly into the 40 pin slot but BIOS doesnot detect the hard drive. Do u think the pins should be the reason for this?

[soybean]

I don't know whether the absence of electrical contact on one pin would render the drive inoperative or not.  However, I would not be surprised in the least if it did.  While you're waiting for other replies, you might try some searching via Google; this has surely happened many times and been discussed in other forums.

[Dilbert]

I'm surprised this hasn't been asked: What problems are you having?

[whitewolf33]

Hi Dilbert ,
 
                   My hard disk is not getting detected in the BIOS. I have tried putting the same hard disk as slave in other systems but still in vain , it is not getting detected. I figured that in the 40 pin interface ,the last pin was slightly bent and the one below has  half gone inside (but surely not broken), these two pins are very next to the jumper section. Could you please tell me whether this is the reason my hard disk is not being detected by BIOS ?And if so any possible solutions to do it myself?

[Rob Pomeroy]

The answer depends on which pin is shorted.  Here's a pinout chart for the IDE physical interface.  I imagine that you can do without one of the earth ("ground") pins, but losing any of the data pins will prevent the drive from working correctly.

[whitewolf33]

Thanks robpomeroy ,

                                 i found the link to be useful . it is PIN # 2 that is shortened but again not broken , and it perfectly fits into the BUS cable . I have  important files inside the hard disk which i am unable to access when the disk is not being detetced. could you please tell me any possible idea to make the hard disk to be detected and retrieve the file ?

[Rob Pomeroy]

Okay - you can try this, but it may wreck your IDE cable for all other purposes: put a tiny piece of conductive wire into the corresponding hole on the IDE cable.  Just long enough to reach the pin when everything is connected up.

[whitewolf33]

Sounds like a good idea to me. I will give a try with the conductive wire and will get back to you. Thanks very muj for ur help.

[whitewolf33]

Hi Rob,

              tried your idea of inserting a small conductive wire inside the BUS cable , in the correct slot, but still [size=14]it did not work[/size]. Could any one help me with retrieving the files inside the hard disk but the disk is not being detected neither as a Master nor as a slave by the BIOS. And all the power connections are still good and BUS cable is positioned correctly. Please do shed some light as those files are very important to me at this stage

[Rob Pomeroy]

It could be that the pins on the hard drive are not connecting well to the drive - quite likely if they've been mangled.  Rectifying this problem would involve some fairly delicate soldering - not something I'd attempt, personally.  Unless the data on the hard drive is precious, I would throw the hard drive away at this stage.

[akil]

HI white..
Have you got the right solution to your hard disk? bcos I also have the same probelm in my disk. my HDD also Fujitsu  ... But the pin which bent is diffrent from urs..
I tried to solve this probelm in many way.. but i cudnt solve it... One of my friend said it could be solved By disk managemet software bt he doesnt know how to use it??

So anyone pls give me a solution to solve it  ....

[whitewolf33]

hey Akil ,
 

                   i took the hard disk to the repair shop and the y starightened the bent pin and pulled the remainig half ,and all the pin are fine ,they even did some soldering work , buyt the disk is not being detected. i think my haard disk is gone. So the mechanic asked me to find a similar hard drive and get it bak to him sio tht he ll try chenging the disk and see whether the data could be transferred. hope u get this message.

[akil]

Oh yes white.. I think my HDD also has gone but my goodness is there no any important files on dat disk.. anyway white pls tell me if ur technician copy ur files into anothe disk...
Thanks 4 ur time white