Acer DA061L Boxer AM2 61 - Broke SATA pins

[Laurakitty]

On my Acer DA061L Boxer AM2 61 motherboard, the SATA connector pins are broke. What should I do?

[bdub]

if the connector on the motherboard is physically damaged, there's not much recourse but change to another port that isn't damaged... if ALL of them are broke, you need to use another way to attach hdd's to your system, and that is a card that plugs into one of the open expansion slots on the motherboard. or possibly use an esata port on the back i/o area, if there is one.

from what i can see, there are two sata ports on that mobo. are they both physically broken (snapped off)?

[Laurakitty]

Nope. Just the plastic covering and the pins on SATA 2 are all broke off. Will I need to replace the motherboard?

[bdub]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acer-DA061L-Box ... 0647005835

in this picture there are two sata ports... one is above the ram clasp (as pictured), and the other is to the right of that ram clasp. you don't have both those ports?

[Laurakitty]

Yes.

[bdub]

well, then you either need a pci-e card that has an internal sata connector to run to the hdd (you will also have to re-install the OS, most likely, but maybe not)... or, yes, another mobo will do. maybe someone has a trick to fixing those ports, but they are factory soldered, and very hard to replace.

there's also the possibility of attching that hdd to the esata port on the back i/o area... if there is an esata port back there.

[Karlsweldt]

If the pins have broken off, it is possible to replace the socket for a SATA port. But you would need to purchase a new socket from an electronics supplier, or scavenge one from a bad board. Then the problem of ensuring the connections are proper. The sockets are keyed with a 'lip' on one end of the tongue in the slot, to match the cable plug. You would have to note another exact board model to determine how the sockets are oriented.
Would be less of a hassle to just add a device card, and disable the on-board feature.