Can I use epoxy on a harddrive?

[george41407]

I have a harddrive that had a bent contact pin on the IDE connector.
Using a needle nose plyers I was able to straighten it. But when I
plugged in the cable, the pin got shoved partway thru the connector,
coming out at the rear. This is a Quantum Fireball 20G, and the rear
of the pins are easily exposed. I just shoved it back in, and have
not removed that cable since. I just change the cable for now if I
swap drives. Before I remove that cable, can I put a small amount of
epoxy on that pin (in the rear of the plug)? I'm sure it will hold,
but I know that it will bridge across a few of the pins. so I want to
be sure it's not conductive electrically. I dont think it is, but I
wanted to ask. (I am referring to plain clear epoxy, not JB Weld,
which is stronger, but likely IS conductive). I'll just use that 5
minute drying stuff so that it dont run down onto the drive itself.
At least I know that if this board was to go bad, I do have another
identical working drive, so I can swap the boards on them to retrieve
data.

 

[the_slay_er]

I have a harddrive that had a bent contact pin on the IDE connector.
Using a needle nose plyers I was able to straighten it. But when I
plugged in the cable, the pin got shoved partway thru the connector,
coming out at the rear. This is a Quantum Fireball 20G, and the rear
of the pins are easily exposed. I just shoved it back in, and have
not removed that cable since. I just change the cable for now if I
swap drives. Before I remove that cable, can I put a small amount of
epoxy on that pin (in the rear of the plug)? I'm sure it will hold,
but I know that it will bridge across a few of the pins. so I want to
be sure it's not conductive electrically. I dont think it is, but I
wanted to ask. (I am referring to plain clear epoxy, not JB Weld,
which is stronger, but likely IS conductive). I'll just use that 5
minute drying stuff so that it dont run down onto the drive itself.
At least I know that if this board was to go bad, I do have another
identical working drive, so I can swap the boards on them to retrieve
data.

you could do some tests to find out if it is conductive first.... i know i
would.get a battery and a bulb and a bit of wire or even strip a torch for
testing purposes. the epoxy might be conductive while "not set" but i
imagine when set it wont conduct.

seems a good idea to me though . of course make sure the power is off before
applying the epoxy.

regards slayer.

 

[John Doe]

... I'll just use that 5 minute drying stuff so that it dont run
down onto the drive itself. At least I know that if this board was
to go bad, I do have another identical working drive, so I can swap
the boards on them to retrieve data.

Are you saying that you do not have a removable media copy of
important files? Any hard drive can fail at any time without notice
and destroy your data. How much do you value the information? Keep
removable media copies or risk losing it.

 

[John Doe]

....

you could do some tests to find out if it is conductive first.... i
know i would.get a battery and a bulb and a bit of wire or even
strip a torch for testing purposes. the epoxy might be conductive
while "not set" but i imagine when set it wont conduct.

Or, if possible use a continuity tester or a simple multimeter.

 

[Ed Cregger]

...

Or, if possible use a continuity tester or a simple multimeter.

Conductive epoxies are usually sold with lots of marketing hype expounding
upon the wonderful fact that their epoxy is conductive (Devcon).

If the epoxy is clear, there is an excellent chance that it is not
conductive.

I would take the other fellows advice and use a VOM or continuity checker to
verify that the cured epoxy is not conductive first. But, if I was stuck
without either device for testing, the fact that the resin and hardner are
both clear would be enough to give me a bit of confidence that the epoxy is
not conductive.

Ed Cregger

 

[Paul]

I have a harddrive that had a bent contact pin on the IDE connector.
Using a needle nose plyers I was able to straighten it. But when I
plugged in the cable, the pin got shoved partway thru the connector,
coming out at the rear. This is a Quantum Fireball 20G, and the rear
of the pins are easily exposed. I just shoved it back in, and have
not removed that cable since. I just change the cable for now if I
swap drives. Before I remove that cable, can I put a small amount of
epoxy on that pin (in the rear of the plug)? I'm sure it will hold,
but I know that it will bridge across a few of the pins. so I want to
be sure it's not conductive electrically. I dont think it is, but I
wanted to ask. (I am referring to plain clear epoxy, not JB Weld,
which is stronger, but likely IS conductive). I'll just use that 5
minute drying stuff so that it dont run down onto the drive itself.
At least I know that if this board was to go bad, I do have another
identical working drive, so I can swap the boards on them to retrieve
data.

Can you backup the data on the drive now ?

I would do that before carrying out your epoxy experiment.

If you accidentally get epoxy in the wrong place, you might
never be able to seat the cable again.

Paul

 

[Al Dykes]

I have a harddrive that had a bent contact pin on the IDE connector.
Using a needle nose plyers I was able to straighten it. But when I
plugged in the cable, the pin got shoved partway thru the connector,
coming out at the rear. This is a Quantum Fireball 20G, and the rear
of the pins are easily exposed. I just shoved it back in, and have
not removed that cable since. I just change the cable for now if I
swap drives. Before I remove that cable, can I put a small amount of
epoxy on that pin (in the rear of the plug)? I'm sure it will hold,
but I know that it will bridge across a few of the pins. so I want to
be sure it's not conductive electrically. I dont think it is, but I
wanted to ask. (I am referring to plain clear epoxy, not JB Weld,
which is stronger, but likely IS conductive). I'll just use that 5
minute drying stuff so that it dont run down onto the drive itself.
At least I know that if this board was to go bad, I do have another
identical working drive, so I can swap the boards on them to retrieve
data.

IMO, Epoxy the cable to the disk so you'll not forget and remove it by
that end, someday.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

I have a harddrive that had a bent contact pin on the IDE connector.
Using a needle nose plyers I was able to straighten it. But when I
plugged in the cable, the pin got shoved partway thru the connector,
coming out at the rear. This is a Quantum Fireball 20G, and the rear
of the pins are easily exposed. I just shoved it back in, and have
not removed that cable since. I just change the cable for now if I
swap drives. Before I remove that cable, can I put a small amount of
epoxy on that pin (in the rear of the plug)? I'm sure it will hold,
but I know that it will bridge across a few of the pins. so I want to
be sure it's not conductive electrically. I dont think it is, but I
wanted to ask. (I am referring to plain clear epoxy, not JB Weld,
which is stronger, but likely IS conductive). I'll just use that 5
minute drying stuff so that it dont run down onto the drive itself.
At least I know that if this board was to go bad, I do have another
identical working drive, so I can swap the boards on them to retrieve
data.

Do the pins go into holes drilled into the circuit board and are
soldered to those holes, or do the pins merely touch solder padson the
circuit board? Because with the former a pin that pushes in usually
cracks where it's bent. You may be able to solder it at the crack,
but it may be necessary to remove the part left in the connector and
push a longer one in there (rip one from a wire wrap socket if you
can't buy individual square pins) so you can solder it to the stub
sticking out of the circuit board. OTOH if the pin that was pushed in
is soldered to a pad on the circuit board, you may simply have to
resolder it to the pad, unless the pad ripped off.

I wouldn't use 5-minute epoxy because it has to be mixed more
accurately and thoroughly to cure hard, compared to regular epoxy.
Also I would epoxy the pin on both the front and back, for better
mechanical strength. It's easy to remove epoxy from pins after it
cures.

 

[Ed Cregger]

Do the pins go into holes drilled into the circuit board and are
soldered to those holes, or do the pins merely touch solder padson the
circuit board? Because with the former a pin that pushes in usually
cracks where it's bent. You may be able to solder it at the crack,
but it may be necessary to remove the part left in the connector and
push a longer one in there (rip one from a wire wrap socket if you
can't buy individual square pins) so you can solder it to the stub
sticking out of the circuit board. OTOH if the pin that was pushed in
is soldered to a pad on the circuit board, you may simply have to
resolder it to the pad, unless the pad ripped off.

I wouldn't use 5-minute epoxy because it has to be mixed more
accurately and thoroughly to cure hard, compared to regular epoxy.
Also I would epoxy the pin on both the front and back, for better
mechanical strength. It's easy to remove epoxy from pins after it
cures.

I have been using five minute epoxy regularly for 30 years. You do not have
to be concerned about it being particularly sensitive to mixing IF you mix
all epoxies properly in the first place.

Ed Cregger

 

[ProfGene]

I have a harddrive that had a bent contact pin on the IDE connector.
Using a needle nose plyers I was able to straighten it. But when I
plugged in the cable, the pin got shoved partway thru the connector,
coming out at the rear. This is a Quantum Fireball 20G, and the rear
of the pins are easily exposed. I just shoved it back in, and have
not removed that cable since. I just change the cable for now if I
swap drives. Before I remove that cable, can I put a small amount of
epoxy on that pin (in the rear of the plug)? I'm sure it will hold,
but I know that it will bridge across a few of the pins. so I want to
be sure it's not conductive electrically. I dont think it is, but I
wanted to ask. (I am referring to plain clear epoxy, not JB Weld,
which is stronger, but likely IS conductive). I'll just use that 5
minute drying stuff so that it dont run down onto the drive itself.
At least I know that if this board was to go bad, I do have another
identical working drive, so I can swap the boards on them to retrieve
data.

Next time you have a bent pin use a small screwdriver to straighten it
out as it will not cause damage if you do it carefully with minimal
pressure.