More computer problems

[fbhjr]

The Apple people would not swap the drive for me. They said if I did it myself then they would reinstall the system software.

That seemed like a good deal.

Yes, the instructions looked complex:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2309+and+2374+Hard+Drive+Replacement/1634

But, I’ve done lots of electronics work over the years. I thought I could do it.

But, when reaching into the half open thing to deal with one of the connectors, I bent a pin. Can you see it?

I could tell it was bent, but couldn’t see it well enough to fix.

My wife went to the store and bought me a magnifying glass to look at it. I tried to bend the pin back with some tweezers.
It came right off.


I put the rest of it together. As my wife said, sometimes there are redundant pins on a connector.
I guess not this one. It wouldn’t even turn on when I was done.

So, now it’s really, really broken.

I guess the good news is that Apple is introducing new products in 6 days.
That will be cheap. Right?

I am sad about this.

Comments

[opakele.livejournal.com]

I'd call it a valiant effort. Your resourcefulness is admirable.

[newlifeinstpaul.livejournal.com]

FuuUUUU

Seriously, whose idea was THAT? Worst ever.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I tried to pay Apple to repair it, but they said it was too old and I had to do it myself or find some 3rd party to do it.
Even though my wife works at a college that is mostly Apple products, in the IT department, none of them wanted to help. I believe "good luck with that" was the exact quote.

So, I tried it myself. It almost worked...

[newlifeinstpaul.livejournal.com]

Oh, wait. Is that a 40-pin PATA connector? Those were common way back in the day. But quality hardware vendors generally surrounded them with brackets to prevent flexing. Damn that Foxconn!

Given that's your hard drive, a new system would feel lightning fast. Especially if it boots from an SSD.

Then again, there's no telling what Apple charges for that. In the PC world, they're cheap enough for booting every desktop in our house. Plus one of my laptops...

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

One of the help files I found on it started with "they never intended you to do this..."
And, clearly that's true. No guide around the connector and no good way to access it. It wasn't even clear to me if they were vertical or horizontal pins looking down through the opening I had to work with.

But, it's done now. Sad.

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

i'm sorry no one at Cross would help. :( and GAH pin snapping off. as other commenter said, at least a new one is going to seem amazing after having to deal with this.

[meathiel]

Awww ... sorry ...

[anigo.livejournal.com]

That sick feeling when you reach in and... ugh.. shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

Been there. Empathize with you, my friend.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's pretty much it.
Magnifying glass & reading glasses, flash light in my teeth and the finest tweezers we have to try and bend that pin back in place, and off it came.
I hate when that happens.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

If you can identify a common circuit on each side of the connector, you can add a jumper wire to a more-accessible spot on each side of the broken pin. I can guide you through it if you are interested. Best if you have a microscope though.

[pallid-regina.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

darn

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ugh, sorry about that! That's one reason why I'm always worried about opening my computer and trying to do something inside of it...

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

So sorry. That sucks.