Usb port broken :(

is it possible to replace one of the usb ports myself on my r1?
it is physically broken so i would assume i need to solder it
and i couldnt find one on ebay but ill look elsewhere


any help would be great thanks guys


btw i bought it from someone on craigslist and forgot to check it the ports but i got it for 400 with broken hinges which were replaced free

 

which one?

 

its on the right side and its the the farthest from the headphone jacks

i attached a pic so you can see which one

 

Generally no, that cannot be repaired - that part needs to be replaced.

Luckily for you its the ones on the right - which are on a separate daughter board and can easily be replaced.

The 2 headphone jacks, mic, and 2 USB ports are all on the same board and it's not difficult to fix.

NEW Alienware M11X USB & Audio Jack Daughterboard PHY33 | eBay

 

Dell Alienware M11x Sub & Various Board

 

Dont feel bad my SD card slot is broken and have dells coffin here getting ready to send it in..

 

if i want to replace it how does it connect to the motherboard? is it just a connection cable?

sorry if its a noob question

 

just a connection cable. its pretty simple really.

 

thanks man

 

no problem =P

 

I know this post is a bit old but I jast had the exact problem... Here is a teardown video that shows how to get in there. The money is at 7:29!

Alienware M11x Teardown **READ SAFETY PRECAUTIONS PRIOR TO REPLACING PARTS** (Official Video) - YouTube

 

Can I ask for a USB port replacement if the warranty isn't expiring?

 

You can try to, worse thing that happens is they say "no" and your back where you started.

 

Assuming it's an M11xR1/M11xR2 you have.

Now all the old hands know where I'm going with this.....

It may be possible that a USB 3.0 daughter card will work in place of the original USB 2.0.

Can't say for sure, as no one has humored me by putting a USB 3.0 daughter card into an M11xR1/M11xR2.

Just an idea.

 

r1/r2 usb board wont work with the r3, so I assume the r3 board wont work with the r1/r2

 

Doh! That's a bit of a setback for your basic huddled masses, trying to breath free.

Anyway, Seagate has released a new 750GB hybrid SSD disk which may mean I can get my speed fix elsewhere.

 

hmmm nice, but I need 1tb at the very smallest

 

yea i broke the same port when i fell asleep with my R2 a year ago.

ended up jamming my mouse's usb plug all the way into my rig. the rear of the usb port is held in place by plastic which was cracked apart when the plug got jammed in. i was able to repair it myself, but had to improvise by soldering some spare wiring from the usb to the contacts on the opposite side of the circuit board. i also used solder to hold the cracked plastic back in place. it was a little tedious but everything turned out fine.

didn't have to call dell for service nor buy any new parts to replace

 

​

At the risk of going off piste here, sounds like someone needs a 'good' NAS.

I have 3TB+ of NAS 'always on' storage available to my Desktop,Notebook(s) and Android phone(s). Bit of configuring under Win7+ and the folders link into the library folder structure. eStrongs Inc works a treat on Android. Stream media no problems.
A good broadband plan, PPTP/OpenVPN/IPSec and you're good to go at the beach with yer knotted hanky on yer head and yer long pants 'slightly' rolled up.​

Sorry OP, I had a moment.... [No shadow of the bat...I'm good]

As the USB daughter card can be removed and worked on, for the more adventurous there may be opportunities to do self repairs as the above poster has done.

If it's under warranty I'd try that option first. Dell seems pity good with most things if you ask nicely.

 

Lol, I have a 3tb drive hooked up to my router, so I have plenty of storage at home, but when I dj I like to have all my music with me, and USB drive wont work due to lack of USB ports.

 

OK, sounds like someone needs to run a primary slave SATA off the main disk and then knock a hole through the side of the M11xR1 and install an eSATA.
And/or you have an IEEE 1394 port.

 

Too bad FireWire is dead.

 

Not dead, only resting.

If you're broken a USB port and/or you've run out of available USB ports, one can use IEEE 1394 400 HDD enclosures to support 2.5" or 3.5" SATA III HDD.

Disk access will max at 50MBsec, so read/write will be slower, but not much different to an external USB 2.0 disk.