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    advice needed on ata/ide adapter

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by jisaac, May 16, 2008.

  1. jisaac

    jisaac Notebook Deity

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    i need to know if in general laptops have 'blocked' pins in their hd connections. I need to know this cos i bought a cf to ide adapter that was described as 44pins like normal hard drive, however when i tried to install it i realised that it wouldn't fit becuase unlike on normal hard drives there were no missing pins, and due to the blocked pin hole in the hd connector it meant that the cf to ide adapter would not fit in. Does anyone remember if when they changed their laptop hd the connector in the laptop had any blocked pins?
    thanks
     
    jisaac, May 16, 2008
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  2. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    I just checked the hard drive in my Toshiba L25. The hard drive itself has only 43 pins, the center one missing. However, the laptop itself doesn't have anything clearly blocking that pins location. My computer is from 2005 I think.
     
    Gregory, May 16, 2008
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  3. jisaac

    jisaac Notebook Deity

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    can anyone confirm greg's info that in your laptop hd connector there are no blocked pin holes
     
    jisaac, May 16, 2008
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  4. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    mine all have a blocking pin. I have never seen a laptop which does not have a blocking pin.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, May 16, 2008
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  5. jisaac

    jisaac Notebook Deity

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    lol crap....
    can anyone explain to me the purpose of cf to ide adapters than do not have a missing pin? I suppose these would be used in other perhaps more specialist embedded applications...
    thanks anyway
     
    jisaac, May 16, 2008
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  6. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    I wonder why mine isn't blocked? I seriously just checked it this morning before posting.
     
    Gregory, May 16, 2008
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  7. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    It may because, my systems are Dell's and Clevo's not Toshiba's.
    I have never owned a Toshiba laptop, so i cannot speak for them.

    The blocking pin has been used by many over the years, becuase it was a guide, so that one would install the harddrive correctly, and if they did not, they would see that the drive would not fit properly. Than the user would simply flip the drive and it would slide into the adaptor perfectly.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, May 16, 2008
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  8. Gregory

    Gregory disassemble?

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    K-Tron, so the origional poster could just snip the pin off and it wouldn't do any harm?
     
    Gregory, May 16, 2008
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  9. bigozone

    bigozone JellyRoll touring now

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    i'd start by bending the blocking pin 90deg so that the other pins will make contact... then verify the CF device works properly....

    but in all likely hood that pin is inactive and could be clipped.. i just like to verify before i do permant mods that are hard for unskilled solderers to repair

    just my take,
    bigO
     
    bigozone, May 16, 2008
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  10. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    Alternatively, I would consider drilling a suitable hole in the connector block.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, May 16, 2008
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