Hey there!

I'm a fool and managed to break the pins on one of my Exos X18 drives and would like to repair it. I'm not familiar with this sort of thing and am struggling to both find which part I need and where I can get it from, and stumbled upon these forums on my journey.

I figure that the only part which needs to be replaced is the SATA connector interface itself. If I can't find just that part, I imagine I can maybe find a donor board which I can desolder it from. Just replacing the connector seems like a much, much easier soldering job for my novice self - the other approach would be replacing some tiny-ass little chips, right?

This one looked like a match so I placed an order, but it was cancelled (don't think they had stock): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008243380296.html

I've also found this one, but it's hard to tell from the photos: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008920835677.html

Are there any kind souls around who'd be able to advise?

(I miss forums, forums rule!)

I would remove the broken connector by using hot air station (after filling all pins soldering points with low melt solder and flux).
Then i will bring a donor connector by removing it from donor pcb, if possible without using hot air, so i would not risk to melt the plastic on the connector just by using a normal soldering iron and again with low melt soldering and flux. Only by using a good technique it will possible to remove the good connector from donor pcb and soldering it on your patient pcb by using the hot air without riking to melt the plastic.
For soldering the connector on patient pcb is important to use leaded solder (not the low melt).

Or just get identical donor pcb and transfer the rom!

_________________
My firmware database:
https://mega.nz/folder/O01DkBRI

From my experience, I can say that replacing this connector is far from as easy as it might seem. Without experience, you'll likely be unable to replace it without damaging it the first time. As a donor, I'd recommend searching online (eBay, Facebook Marketplace) for a similar Seagate helium disk in a faulty condition—it doesn't necessarily have to be the same model or capacity, as long as it has the same connector. A faulty disk usually costs a few dollars.

The easiest way to remove the connector from a damaged board is to cut the contacts with an x-acto knife or flush cutters, then desolder the remaining contacts from the board one by one.

The easiest way to remove it from the donor board is with low-temperature solder. After desoldering, you'll have to spend a long time cleaning it out of the connector, otherwise the solder will become brittle over time.

How do you know if the connector is compatible? It's very easy: Seagate has a nine-digit number stamped on the connector. The number is the same - and so is the connector.

Also, the connector doesn't necessarily need to be replaced. You can slightly modify the connector by trimming off excess plastic, cutting off and desoldering broken contacts. Then, cut the connector off the signal cable and solder the cable directly to the board (be careful not to solder it upside down). To prevent the cable from being torn out, you can hot glue it. Yes, from an aesthetic and perfectionist standpoint, this isn't the best option, but from a technical standpoint, the drive will function as before, which is more than enough for data recovery or further use of the drive.