is it possible to replace the usb port on an ipac?

[aldub516]

So... im an idiot and was careless. I was grabbing some spare parts and didnt realize a usb cord got caught.. Thus, i broke the usb port on my ultimate io

The port itself is there, i broked the little black connector inside. Am i crap outta luck? or can this be saved with some solder job? I included a pic of the broken piece

[Nephasth]

Yup. Do I think you can do it? Nope.

[JDFan]

As Nephasth said -- Yes it can be done by removing the old piece and soldering in a new one -- but based on the fact you had to ask it is likely going to need better soldering skills than you possess (otherwise you would not have had to ask !! )

[aldub516]

As they say.. When in doubt, Google it out. Can one at least perhaps point me to the port or hardware id need? And I'll work on the install. This is how I learn new skills what's the worst that
Can happen, I break a broken thing?

[Nephasth]

It is not broken. Just simply in need of repair.

[aldub516]

Well I would like to learn how to repair something new so if there's any pointers, I'll take em. I'll be doing my research in my own time. From what I imagine the process would be melting out the old solder to remove the old port. And replacing with a new one.  Even a simple nudge in the way of the actual port type would help

[big10p]

Just nick a port off something else (most people have stuff lying around with USB ports that they no longer need, use, or is otherwise broken). I suggest you also check out youtube for tuts on soldering/de-soldering.

[aldub516]

i see quite a few things i have with similar looking usbs laying around. But id assume there is some particular one id have to use? Difference in pins, etc? I dont see me just ripping off a random usb port and fitting it in. thank you for that input and im for sure going to do my online tutorials. I look forward to finally having a reason to learn how to solder.

[blacketj]

To have the best chance at success you are going to need a hot air rework station. Not really a beginner's piece of equipment.

1. use hot air to remove broken port. You must be gentle. If you are not patient and move to fast, you could lift one of the pads. Then you really are hosed.

2. Use desoldering braid and soldering iron to clean old solder off of pads.

3. Search electronic supply sites for mini USB ports. Read data sheets to find a port with the same footprint as the busted one. A set of digital calipers will help you feel more confident that you are ordering exactly what you need.

4. Buy a small amount of soldering paste.

5. Apply a sparse amount of solder paste to each pad. If you apply too much you will end up with a solder bridge under the component and will probably have to start over.

6. Place new port on the pads.

7. Use hot air tool to slowly heat the component. Once the solder melts, keep the heat on it for a few more seconds to let it soak. But don't keep the heat on it too long or you could damage it.

8. Let it go cool and then use the continuity tester mode of a multimeter to check for shorts. If there is a short try and remove the bridge with a very fine tip on a soldering iron. If that doesn't work, start from the beginning.

9. Plug it in to your computer. If it works, crack a beer and pat yourself on the back. Otherwise shrug and have a beer anyway.

If you don't have any of these tools or supplies you are looking at at least a $200 investment to get decent stuff.

Not impossible, but a pretty steep climb for a beginner. Good luck.

[Brian12]

Maybe you should see if anyone would be willing to fix it for you if you pay for the part (or use same part) and shipping to them and back...

[aldub516]

I decided  to just start at the parts I understand. Which is the beer part. In all seriousness it does appear to be a little past my point of expertise. I shall look into a repair job from someone. It's not that urgent right now. Just sucks having a broken 100$ ipac. Thank you for the honest advice though!!

[big10p]

It's a pain but it happens. I managed to break a J-PAC.

[aldub516]

i was being careles.. One of those "i know something is going to happen but im going to be stupid and not correct it now" moments.. something fell and tugged the cord.

[Malenko]

i see quite a few things i have with similar looking usbs laying around. But id assume there is some particular one id have to use? Difference in pins, etc? I dont see me just ripping off a random usb port and fitting it in.

What does the U in USB stand for?
UNIVERSAL ,its a STANDARD for a reason.
Neph hit the nail on the head.  Save up for a new one , ya know, just in case.

[AndyWarne]

I can do this for you if you need.

The easiest way to remove these is not to use any fancy rework station etc. Just apply more solder so there is a large blob of solder covering all 5 of the pins. So then you have 3 solder points to deal with, the two mountings and the 5 pin blob. Heat up each in turn in rotation very quickly while applying pressure on the connector until it comes out.

Then clean the holes using a cheap solder sucker.

[aldub516]

thank you andy. I actually watched a few videos where people were carefully able to remove these with patience and a good heat gun.. I will continue to research this and one day play around with it.

and to malenko, thank you for always being one of the more helpful ones.. With that being said.. yes, the U in USB is UNIVERSAL.. That still doesnt necessarily mean that you can grab and old hard drive and rip out the usb port and pop it into an ipac arcade controller... or rip one out of an old phone and throw it in an ipac. While that may or may not be the case, most non-pros wouldnt assume that every single mini usb port in the world can be plucked off and thrown onto another board.. theres probably millions of items that have mini usb ports in them, it is somewhat reasonable for one to assume that they arent all the exact same. Im not in a rush to do this. I have other spare ipac2/ultimates i can use. I just had this one sitting around and figured id try to fix it or atleast learn the process. Im going to use my working ultimate i/o in this project. If i need one for a future build for someone, they can simply pay for it like everything else. I do feel like i got a reasonable amount of tips here.. Thank you all!! Ill one day let you know how it goes

[Malenko]

and to malenko, thank you for always being one of the more helpful ones.. With that being said.. yes, the U in USB is UNIVERSAL.. That still doesnt necessarily mean that you can grab and old hard drive and rip out the usb port and pop it into an ipac arcade controller

If its the same USB style connector it means exactly that. Glad to be of help.

[SavannahLion]

and to malenko, thank you for always being one of the more helpful ones.. With that being said.. yes, the U in USB is UNIVERSAL.. That still doesnt necessarily mean that you can grab and old hard drive and rip out the usb port and pop it into an ipac arcade controller

If its the same USB style connector it means exactly that. Glad to be of help.

Um... any old hard drive? You're going for an external one right?

Just sayin' cause those drives inside the case aren't exactly USB based.

[aldub516]

........... Never mind. I was using it as an example to demonstrate the thinking that not every usb will fit any application.

[JDFan]

and to malenko, thank you for always being one of the more helpful ones.. With that being said.. yes, the U in USB is UNIVERSAL.. That still doesnt necessarily mean that you can grab and old hard drive and rip out the usb port and pop it into an ipac arcade controller

If its the same USB style connector it means exactly that. Glad to be of help.

Unless of course DELL or HP got involved and switched a couple of the wiring pinouts to keep there units propeitary like their Powersupply connectors and MOBOs !!

[burn_654]

Personally if I was at a loss for finding the right connector (or found it was too difficult to remove), I'd just chop the end off an old usb cable and solder the 4 wires to the bottom solder points underneath the socket.

[Tithis]

That's what I ended up with with an ultrastik that I broke the connector off of. Hacked usb cable and soldered it the right pins and then covered them with some hot glue so they don't break off. It's ugly as hell, but it works.

[Malenko]

Unless of course DELL or HP got involved and switched a couple of the wiring pinouts to keep there units propeitary like their Powersupply connectors and MOBOs !!

The connector shapes vary (and even those are standardized) , the pin outs don't. aldub516 didn't seem to mind it when I hunted down an art tutorial to help him create his art, but I don't give him the answer he wants this time and I'm the jerk.

[aldub516]

Wait.. Are you implying that I said something negative to what you answered to me? Or are you referring to something someone else said... My only reply directed at you was "and to malenko, thank you for always being one of the more helpful ones.. With that being said.. yes, the U in USB is UNIVERSAL.. That still doesnt necessarily mean that you can grab and old hard drive and rip out the usb port and pop it into an ipac arcade controller... or rip one out of an old phone and throw it in an ipac"

Reading that over I don't see how that was taken as anything other than a positive thank you for your help? And an explanation of why the UNIVERSAL acronym didnt exactly answer my question, in which I politely explained why it's not such an obvious answer with millions of different items using the same port.. I'm sorry if you feel offended or something. I'm not sure what I said to make you feel like I didn't appreciate the help or make you out to be a "jerk".. My one and only comment to you started with a thank you followed by my explaining of my understanding of USB ports. Please feel free to let me know what I did to be rude sir

[JDFan]

Unless of course DELL or HP got involved and switched a couple of the wiring pinouts to keep there units propeitary like their Powersupply connectors and MOBOs !!

The connector shapes vary (and even those are standardized) , the pin outs don't. aldub516 didn't seem to mind it when I hunted down an art tutorial to help him create his art, but I don't give him the answer he wants this time and I'm the jerk.

Yes I know was just trying to show that even if you suspect that something is standard you have to be wary at times -- remember the MOBO connectors from Dell ATX Powersupplies that would blow up the mobo on non Dell MOBOs if connected due to Dell swapping a couple of their connector locations on their MOBOs and PSUs in order to make people only buy Dell powersupplies for Dell MOBOs ?? (if you plugged a non Dell ATX PSU into a Dell MOBO it would not power up but if you plugged a Dell PSU into a non Dell MOBO the MOBO would be shorted out and destroyed due to swapping pinouts. ) See Here for more info on what changes they made ( http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339053 )

So he was probably a bit wary of whether the USB standard is a "Universal Standard" or a mostly Universal standard like the ATX powersupplies !!

[Malenko]

@aldub I thought you were being sarcastic, I misread it. I apologize!

@JDFan they werent ATX standard power supplies, they used the ATX style connector but the manuals stated the pin outs were different and that practice was short lived Sadly Ive been doing IT for 20 years now :/

[JDFan]

@JDFan they werent ATX standard power supplies, they used the ATX style connector but the manuals stated the pin outs were different and that practice was short lived Sadly Ive been doing IT for 20 years now :/

YEs they were non standard ATX but Dell did not advertise that aspect and sold them as Dell ATX systems so that regular consumers did not realize they were different and if you looked at it they used identical connectors so it was often assumed that they were ATX Standard and people only found out they were different once they plugged things in - resulting in a non powered system if it was a Dell with a standard ATX replacement supply or a fried MOBO and PSU if it was a Dell PSU plugged into a non Dell system.
As mentioned in the linked article

It seems that starting after September of 1998 Dell defected from the cause of industry standardization and began using specially modified Intel supplied ATX motherboards with custom wired power connectors. Of course they also had custom power supplies made that duplicated the non-standard pinout of the motherboard power connectors.

An even bigger crime than simply using non-standard power connectors is that only the pinout is non-standard, the connectors look like and are keyed the same as is dictated by true ATX. There is nothing to prevent you from plugging the Dell non-standard power supply into a new industry standard ATX motherboard you installed in your Dell case as an upgrade, or even plugging a new upgraded industry standard ATX power supply into your existing Dell motherboard. But mixing either a new ATX board with the Dell supply or a new ATX supply with the existing Dell board is a recipe for silicon toast

SO all I was saying is that anyone who remembers that and is not sure if the USB standard has had the same happen is likely to ask or wonder if there are any non standard USB implementations as well !

[Malenko]

SO all I was saying is that anyone who remembers that and is not sure if the USB standard has had the same happen is likely to ask or wonder if there are any non standard USB implementations as well !

I read the article and I was already aware, all I was saying is that the manuals for those PCs said the pinout wasn't ATX and that you couldn't use an ATX PS in them. Dell relied on the end user to not RTFM which is a pretty safe bet

[JDFan]

SO all I was saying is that anyone who remembers that and is not sure if the USB standard has had the same happen is likely to ask or wonder if there are any non standard USB implementations as well !

I read the article and I was already aware, all I was saying is that the manuals for those PCs said the pinout wasn't ATX and that you couldn't use an ATX PS in them. Dell relied on the end user to not RTFM which is a pretty safe bet

Perhaps - but if you had a non Dell system there was nothing in the manual stating that a Dell PSU would fry your MOBO if you used one on your ATX system and the fact that it merely made a Dell system not power up but would fry a competitors MOBO wasn't just a chance thing but well planned out at Dell !

[DeLuSioNal29]

Best bet here:  If Andy offered to do it for you I'd take him up on the offer.  That's great customer service right there.

D

[Malenko]

SO all I was saying is that anyone who remembers that and is not sure if the USB standard has had the same happen is likely to ask or wonder if there are any non standard USB implementations as well !

I read the article and I was already aware, all I was saying is that the manuals for those PCs said the pinout wasn't ATX and that you couldn't use an ATX PS in them. Dell relied on the end user to not RTFM which is a pretty safe bet

Perhaps - but if you had a non Dell system there was nothing in the manual stating that a Dell PSU would fry your MOBO if you used one on your ATX system and the fact that it merely made a Dell system not power up but would fry a competitors MOBO wasn't just a chance thing but well planned out at Dell !

Pffft if you pull a part from a Dell PC to fix or upgrade your main rig, you deserved silicon toast :p

[Slippyblade]

Best bet here:  If Andy offered to do it for you I'd take him up on the offer.  That's great customer service right there.

Yeah - I'm very confused why this thread is still going and debating various fixes when the guy who makes the things has already offered to fix it.  Andy offered to fix it.  Do the following...

1) Say, "Thank you Andy!"
2) Box it up and mail it to Andy
3) Receive fixed product from OEM

[Malenko]

Best bet here:  If Andy offered to do it for you I'd take him up on the offer.  That's great customer service right there.

Yeah - I'm very confused why this thread is still going and debating various fixes when the guy who makes the things has already offered to fix it.  Andy offered to fix it.  Do the following...

1) Say, "Thank you Andy!"
2) Box it up and mail it to Andy
3) Receive fixed product from OEM

I thought we were making fun of Dell since Andy said he'd fix it?

[yotsuya]

Best bet here:  If Andy offered to do it for you I'd take him up on the offer.  That's great customer service right there.

D

Best advice all day!

[Slippyblade]

I thought we were making fun of Dell since Andy said he'd fix it?

D'oh!

[aldub516]

All good great malenko lol.. I was just like wtf? I believe this post has reached its limit of productivity and answers. I will probably send it to andy. Thank you all for the wide array of answers and dell information lol. This place rocks.

[SavannahLion]

I had one of these Dell PC's. I picked it up after a company went belly up sometime around early 2000ish? For about $5, it wasn't too bad.

In any case, my primary computers were all far more powerful, so I attempted to use the Dell as a simple file server. Unfortunately, it bit the dust before the year was over so I cannibalized the Dell for parts and, yep, you guessed it. I used the Dell PSU in another spare computer I had sitting around. Smoked the motherboard. Did a bit of research and that's when I found out about the proprietary pinout ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---.

I gathered all the original parts, went outside, shot it all up a few times, then tossed the remains into the dumpster.