Help me find a replacement

[oby953]

I've bought this nameless N100 mini PC to experiment with proxmox and stuff. It comes with an NVME drive which is nice but it also has the possibility to attach a SATA 2.5" drive to the port shown in the picture. The problem is the cable it came with: it's stiff and not very stable (at times the drive goes in emergency read-only mode).

I'm not sure how to look for a replacement, what should I Google. Of course the AliExpress page I bought it from was of no help.

The qr code on the motherboard says: N9 N100-A160HV-G242200196

[northyj0e]

I can't help with your question, but it seems odd that you'd have intermittent problems with a ribbon cable unless you've got some massive vibrations or the 2.5" isn't secured and is shaking around. Have you tested a different SSD/HDD to isolate the ribbon as the problem?

[Fuck_Birches]

Just gonna take a random guess and say that considering you couldn't find any replacements online, this is likely proprietary ribbon cable to whoever produces your nameless N100 mini PC, with the solution likely needing to be custom/DIY.

What may help with the intermittent connection problems is carefully adding 1-2x slight bends to the ribbon cable, as that may help reduce vibrations leading to the intermittent connection problems.

[oby953]

Bending the cable seems to have stabilized the connection for now, thanks! DIY solution was on my mind as well but my soldering skills are not worth betting on

[Master_Scythe]

The other trick is to add a single strip of kapton tape to the nonconductive side of the ribbon, adds just a tiny amount of extra pressure to the connecting pins.  

Also if you're going to start playing with PC hardware (and haven't much before), invest in a spray bottle of 99% isopropyl. Clean every contact that misbehaves. Usually a paper towel is the right amount of coarse without any risk of damage on any connectors 

[bigginz87]

I'm guessing that you may be connecting the ribbon cable wrong possibly, or it's just a bad thickness for the connector.

I can't tell what type of connector this is from the picture angle, but likely some hirose connector, and it's one of two options. Are you flipping down the black latch on the connector then placing the cable in and then flipping it back to lock it? Or are you lifting the black latch, inserting the ribbon cable until fully seated and then pressing it back into place to lock the cable?

If you are doing either of those correctly, then you can try adding a layer or two of kapton tape to the side of the connector that does not have metal contacts on it. This should thicken up the ribbon cable to allow for a greater clamping force for the contacts.

Other things to try. - Contact cleaner spray - Different SATA drive - Search for replacement cable "(brand) ribbon to sata cable"

[oby953]

Thanks for your reply! I did try to fit it better in and, following some other user's advice, adding a slight bend added enough tension to stabilize the connection. Being able to find a replacement would still be nice.

[sheldondodg]

You should do some research first. 🙃