HDD installation issue

[mknabster]

Hey guys, I just bought a bigger hard drive for my MBP, and when following the youtube video, some pins snapped off of the SATA connector, which I have here in the pics.

This is what the 4 pins snapped off of:

What are my options with fixing this?

 

[DaFlake]

Looks like you will need a new ribbon cable. I don't know of a home repair for this at all. Probably best to just buy a new one.

 

[mknabster]

Where would I get the cable from and how much would it cost?

 

[DaFlake]

Apple and I have no clue.

 

[mknabster]

Is there a part # I should be looking for, or the technical term for it that you might know of? I hope it's not too much, and I hope i don't have to send it away to them, they are going to charge so much to put that back together i'm sure.

 

[DaFlake]

It is a ribbon cable. Just take it (the broken part) in along with the model of your computer and ask them to get you one. I wouldn't think that it would be too much.

 

[chscag]

DaFlake:

Are you sure it's the ribbon cable that needs to be replaced? The photo he included is not very clear but it looks like he snapped off pins on the male connector that receives the ribbon cable? My eyes are probably older than yours so forgive me if I'm seeing things...

Regards.

 

[DaFlake]

Good catch actually... I am trying to remember how that sucker connects up now (been a while). I was thinking that he pulled the pins out of the top piece but I guess now I'm not sure....

Could need a new board instead.

To get this right I would take it to Apple.

 

[Kevin6432]

You won't need a new board. This is EXACTLY what happened to me when I put my hard drive in. Part of the cable is actually still there on the board. You will need to pry that off....gently. It made my upgrade a little more expensive, but you live and learn, and sometimes it just happens.

If your MBP is the early 2008 model 2.5ghz, than this is the exact part that you will need: MacBook Pro 15" (Model A1260) Hard Drive Cable (922-8364) - iFixit


I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes!

 

[mknabster]

Hey guys, I ended up buying the part from Powerbookmedic.com for $42 including shipping. I think this time i'm going to have a friend help me put it back together, just to be on the safe side. Now is there a piece that's stuck on the board that I need to get off, judging by the first picture, or is that how it's supposed to look?

 

[mknabster]

Just to let you guys know, I found where the broken off piece was on the motherboard, and was able to replace it. Upon testing if my OSX disc saw the drive, it did, so it was a success, despite my minor setback. Thanks for your help guys in discovering what that part was called!

 

[DaFlake]

Glad to hear it! He got me second guessing on it but I am glad that you got it sorted.

 

[mknabster]

Yea, i'm actually typing on it right now. I was looking at the Serial-ATA in system profiler, and it lists the drive as being an Intel with a speed of 1.5Gigabit. Now I thought they were 3 Gigabits, and the drive is the 7200rpm 500GB Seagate. It's curious that it's reading it as an Intel.