Question How to fix a broken sata port on SSD or transfer data off of it without using the 7pin sata connector?

[xnick101]

Can anyone help me fix my SSD? This is my 2 TB SSD with everything I ever have owned on it. The SSD was connected and got jammed in an odd way in my PC case when I was moving it around yesterday. The plastic piece of the SATA connector snapped off inside the SATA cable. The pins are completely intact though. I took the SSD apart and the plastic connector and pins are soldered straight onto the logic board. I thought maybe I could just change the plastic piece but it seems like I cannot myself. Can anyone help me figure out how to fix this? Or be able to transfer the data off of it? I don't mind buying a different drive if I can get the data off.

 

[Lutfij]

You could contact NorthRidgeFix(if you're located in the U.S.A). I'm not affiliated with them, just watch a lot of his repair videos but with that plastic guide missing, I think the drive is...best off in the hands of a data recovery specialist.

 

[xnick101]

Thanks for the recommendation. Yeah, I went to a few local computer repair shops today and none of them could solder. It was a surprise to me.

 

[Karadjgne]

The guide is exactly that, a guide. I'd do 2 things. Purchase another 2Tb drive and Super-glue/epoxy the guide back onto the drive, it's only needing to be enough to protect the pins once.

Plug both drives in and boot up. Then clone the old drive to the new drive. Once positive the new drive is solid, format/clean then remove the old drive and dispose of it.

 

[TerryLaze]

I have used a sata drive with that part broken before without doing anything just put the drive in a place it won't move at all and connect the sata cable to it, if all pins make contact it will show up and work normally, until it moves even a little bit and disconnects.
It should be enough to copy your stuff over.

The super glue method sounds good, should make a much more stable connection.

 

[fzabkar]

You don't actually need to replace the connector. Just glue a replacement SATA connector on top of the existing one and solder 7 wires between the two connectors. You can cut the replacement connector from an old HDD PCB with a hacksaw. It won't be pretty, but you will have access to your data. That's all that a data recovery shop would do.

 

[xnick101]

The guide is exactly that, a guide. I'd do 2 things. Purchase another 2Tb drive and Super-glue/epoxy the guide back onto the drive, it's only needing to be enough to protect the pins once.

Plug both drives in and boot up. Then clone the old drive to the new drive. Once positive the new drive is solid, format/clean then remove the old drive and dispose of it.

The guide is stuck inside the SATA cable. That plastic is super cheap. I tried to get it out with a small flathead and the plastic started just falling apart. Although I found a few videos where put cut the guide off of old HDDs and stuck it into the sata port and plugged it in. Sometimes it works.

 

[xnick101]

I have used a sata drive with that part broken before without doing anything just put the drive in a place it won't move at all and connect the sata cable to it, if all pins make contact it will show up and work normally, until it moves even a little bit and disconnects.
It should be enough to copy your stuff over.

The super glue method sounds good, should make a much more stable connection.

I will try that! Thanks!

 

[xnick101]

Update:

I GOT IT WORKING!!! I was going to try cutting off the plastic piece on a spare HDD I had and I was going to glue it on and try that. I ordered a SATA to USB connector because it would be easier to test if it's working from the USB rather than rebooting the PC every time to check. Bought this cable on amazon for $9 and since the power SATA connector plastic connector is still there, it holds it in tight enough that it works perfectly for even the missing one. I transferred everything over to a new SSD already. The link is below if this ever happens to anyone else.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7WDZGT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[Karadjgne]

Cool 👍

 

[DSzymborski]

Update:

I GOT IT WORKING!!! I was going to try cutting off the plastic piece on a spare HDD I had and I was going to glue it on and try that. I ordered a SATA to USB connector because it would be easier to test if it's working from the USB rather than rebooting the PC every time to check. Bought this cable on amazon for $9 and since the power SATA connector plastic connector is still there, it holds it in tight enough that it works perfectly for even the missing one. I transferred everything over to a new SSD already. The link is below if this ever happens to anyone else.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7WDZGT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Do back up your data in the future; the best time to protect data is before something like this happens! If a drive breaking in some way ever causes data loss, your backup plan is inadequate.

 

[xnick101]

Do back up your data in the future; the best time to protect data is before something like this happens! If a drive breaking in some way ever causes data loss, your backup plan is inadequate.

Suggestions for backup?

 

[USAFRet]

Suggestions for backup?

What is your backup situation at home?

What is your backup situation at home? And if you don't do that, why not? Every single day, I read multiple threads here of "How do I get my stuff back?" or "That drive had 5 years of photos of my kids!!" Be it a dead drive, dropped phone, virus, accidental deletion, formatting the wrong...

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