CF29 & after market hard drive connectors

So I ruined a couple CF-29 hard drive connectors by pushing in the hard drive caddy too hard when it wasn't lined up properly. So I purchase some off ebay (You can do a search for "CF29 Hard Drive connector" and a bunch pop up).

Here is an example of one: New Panasonic Toughbook CF 18 CF 29 CF 1 IDE HDD Hard Disk Drive Connector Cable | eBay

So I ordered 3, and right away I noticed that are built wrong. The connectors on the original ones are facing the same side on the cable. These are opposite on one end. To make it work, I have to basically fold the end in half and cut the end of the plastic cover that goes around the hard drive.

I can't get the CF-29s to see the hard drive at all. I've tried numerous hard drives and CF29's (I have a pile of about 20 here) ... I'm pretty sure they are socketing correctly, because the computer will just shut off if I'm in the BIOS and yank the hard drive caddy out.

Has anyone ever used these or know of some trick I'm missing? There are about a dozen sellers on eBay (all from China/Hong Kong) selling the exact same cables, so I'm assuming they are supposed to work......

Tyler

 

Fold the end over that shows at the end of the caddy,,, see photos









Bob

 

I am away today but I have pictures of the cheap china cable to show you the difference. The 18 cable is different than the 29

 

The cheap Chinese stuff is strong on eBay. It is getting harder and harder to find OEM unless you order direct from Heartland... Or a trusted forum member!

 

If you still have your old cable look at the black end of the cable and the china one. The black end on the 29 is a little higher than the 18 so if you have the 18 one it is not sticking out far enough to get good contact. This happened to me a couple years ago...after a day of messing with it I took my other 29 and took the cable out to compare it to the china one, I was P@#$%D. The only things I have like coming from China is the Toughbook badges and the bottom stickers. The port covers don't even have the rubber seal around the sides to keep out water or dirt...what junk.

 

Are you saying the OEM 29 and 18 cables are different or the China ones?

 

The OEM 29 and 18 are different. The china 29 and 18 are the same size as the oem 18.