Repairing a USB jumpdrive

So I did a really dumb thing today. I've been working on a project for work for about two weeks and have been saving all of my work on this handy little USB jumpdrive. It's been nice to use so I can take the project from home to work and then back again. But today I wasn't thinking and accidentally hit the jumpdrive while it was still plugged in. I almost snapped the USB connector clean off. I bent it back into place but it doesn't work anymore. Of course, I was horrified. There's two weeks worth of work trapped on this drive that I can't access. So, I broke into it. After getting the plastic casing off and looking at the circuit board, I spot the problem. Three of the four metal connectors connecting to the USB connecter (can I say connector one more time?) to the circuit board snapped. But as far I can tell, that's all the damage that has been done.

Now, from what I know, this seems like it can be fixed with some solder. But I've never soldered anything in my life. I'm worried the job might be too small or I could completely damage the rest of the device. Anybody have any suggestions on what I should do? Soldering tips? Other solutions?

I also have two pictures to illustrate my problem. The first pic shows where I need to solder. Three of those connectors have been severed (though it's hard to tell in this pic). The second pic compares the size of the jumpdrive to a quarter so you can get a sense of the size.






Thanks

Post edited by: corpocracy, at: 2008/08/16 03:20

Post edited by: corpocracy, at: 2008/08/16 03:21

Corpocracy, welcome to the forum

I am not sure soldering isn't going to hurt the information stored in the device - I would think the melting of the iron cannot be good for it. Why don't you take it to a computer specialized technician and let him decide (because honestly I think it would be better if those pins could be replaced rather than soldered).

Greetings corpocracy, welcome to the Forum !

I'll go along with Jeffie on "get pro help", specially if you aren't all that practiced in soldering. And it does look like it's fixable!

What I mean by that, is that the circuits probably can be bridged where it will operate. BUT, the circuit board may not be! Once you get it pushed back into the USB connector the first time and it boots, I'd have another Drive setting right next to it, and xFer that info over immediately. That Pro may be able to do that for you.

Let us know how it goes!

Have a good Day !
S.W.

Post edited by: SWHouston, at: 2008/08/16 16:20