is this broken Compact flash adaptor a danger to my CF card?

I have a Compact Flash card..

and infact 2 CF-IDE adaptors. Both got broken in the same way - I
don't know if it's the cards's fault or the adaptor or both.

THe adaptor is like a circuit board. With male ide and male CF.

When I pushed the card in(it only slid in one way), so once it reached
the pins..

It didn't quite go.. When I pushed it a bit more, the left-most pin
pushed out..

The pins actually look like they may still be connected to the circuit
board.. They have this flexible bit of metal that almost lets them
survive it..
But if it did disconnect or went wrong somehow..

I am wondering if it could damage the card..

I know that on some of these pins the card receives power. I am
hoping that worst case scenario, it gets no power.

Also, does anybody know of good quality adaptors? And if maybe it was
the card's fault?

It went in eventually.. After the pin got pushed out, the card was
going in, and I just pushed the pin back inward.

I am fairly sure it's ok.. but don't really want to break the card. I
don't have any low capacity cards at the moment to test it..

thanks

On Wed, 28 May 2008 22:32:40 -0700 (PDT),
"jameshanley39@yahoo.co.uk" <jameshanley39@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

>I have a Compact Flash card..
>
>and infact 2 CF-IDE adaptors. Both got broken in the same way - I
>don't know if it's the cards's fault or the adaptor or both.
>
>THe adaptor is like a circuit board. With male ide and male CF.
>
>When I pushed the card in(it only slid in one way), so once it reached
>the pins..
>
>It didn't quite go.. When I pushed it a bit more, the left-most pin
>pushed out..

One thing to determine might be why... if the adapter is
defective or broken it might be best to retire it, but if
you can get the pin straight again you might just put a bit
of epoxy behind the slot on it to fix it in place, making
sure it isn't shorting out against anything else before
applying the epoxy. Examine the card for irregularities
too, something obviously wasn't lining up properly.



>
>The pins actually look like they may still be connected to the circuit
>board.. They have this flexible bit of metal that almost lets them
>survive it..
>But if it did disconnect or went wrong somehow..

You need to try and push it back into it's original
position. Next take a magnifying glass and strong light and
examine the area. If it disconnected, it may be possible to
solder it back down, though these adapters are cheaper than
they used to be, some are now under $5 at
http://www.dealextreme.com though it can take a few weeks to
receive some items. Ebay may also have some though with
ebay you'll tend to pay a double due to the shipping charge.

>
>I am wondering if it could damage the card..

You could web search for the CF slot pinout and ID the pin
that is effected and go from there. If it doesn't look like
it is shorting out on anything it probably isn't... we can't
see your card.

>
>I know that on some of these pins the card receives power. I am
>hoping that worst case scenario, it gets no power.
>
>Also, does anybody know of good quality adaptors? And if maybe it was
>the card's fault?

You'll have to examine them both to determine this. Maybe
the plastic rails on the slot were loose and it just got
inserted a little backwards, or that one pin somehow got
accidentally bent before the card was inserted. If the card
is ok, the pin is put back in original position, and the
solder joint and trace+pad to it wasn't torn, you're good to
go.


>
>It went in eventually.. After the pin got pushed out, the card was
>going in, and I just pushed the pin back inward.
>
>I am fairly sure it's ok.. but don't really want to break the card. I
>don't have any low capacity cards at the moment to test it..

If it looks ok now, all you can do is try it or throw it
out. Probably fine, but then again a small CF card or new
adapter are cheap... it's your call.

On May 30, 12:20*am, kony <s...@spam.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 28 May 2008 22:32:40 -0700 (PDT),
> "jameshanle...@yahoo.co.uk" <jameshanle...@yahoo.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> >I have a Compact Flash card..
>
> >and infact 2 CF-IDE adaptors. Both got broken in the same way - I
> >don't know if it's the cards's fault or the adaptor or both.
>
> >THe adaptor is like a circuit board. With male ide and male CF.
>
> >When I pushed the card in(it only slid in one way), so once it reached
> >the pins..
>
> >It didn't quite go.. When I pushed it a bit more, the left-most pin
> >pushed out..
>
> One thing to determine might be why... if the adapter is
> defective or broken it might be best to retire it, but if
> you can get the pin straight again you might just put a bit
> of epoxy behind the slot on it to fix it in place, making
> sure it isn't shorting out against anything else before
> applying the epoxy. *Examine the card for irregularities
> too, something obviously wasn't lining up properly.
>
>
>
> >The pins actually look like they may still be connected to the circuit
> >board.. *They have this flexible bit of metal that almost lets them
> >survive it..
> >But if it did disconnect or went wrong somehow..
>
> You need to try and push it back into it's original
> position. *Next take a magnifying glass and strong light and
> examine the area. *If it disconnected, it may be possible to
> solder it back down, though these adapters are cheaper than
> they used to be, some are now under $5 athttp://www.dealextreme.comthough it can take a few weeks to
> receive some items. *Ebay may also have some though with
> ebay you'll tend to pay a double due to the shipping charge.
>
>
>
> >I am wondering if it could damage the card..
>
> You could web search for the CF slot pinout and ID the pin
> that is effected and go from there. *If it doesn't look like
> it is shorting out on anything it probably isn't... we can't
> see your card.
>
>
>
> >I know that on some of these pins the card receives power. *I am
> >hoping that worst case scenario, it gets no power.
>
> >Also, does anybody know of good quality adaptors? *And if maybe it was
> >the card's fault?
>
> You'll have to examine them both to determine this. *Maybe
> the plastic rails on the slot were loose and it just got
> inserted a little backwards, or that one pin somehow got
> accidentally bent before the card was inserted. *If the card
> is ok, the pin is put back in original position, and the
> solder joint and trace+pad to it wasn't torn, you're good to
> go.
>
>
>
> >It went in eventually.. After the pin got pushed out, the card was
> >going in, and I just pushed the pin back inward.
>
> >I am fairly sure it's ok.. but don't really want to break the card. *I
> >don't have any low capacity cards at the moment to test it..
>
> If it looks ok now, all you can do is try it or throw it
> out. *Probably fine, but then again a small CF card or new
> adapter are cheap... it's your call.

thanks..
I will get some cheap cards and try them. To test the adaptor.

The DMA supporting adaptors aren't quite as cheap.. Maybe 10UKP, but
they are probably better quality too. I will buy some more cheap
adaptors to test if a card is difficult too!

On Thu, 29 May 2008 21:47:35 -0700 (PDT),
"jameshanley39@yahoo.co.uk" <jameshanley39@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:


>thanks..
>I will get some cheap cards and try them. To test the adaptor.
>
>The DMA supporting adaptors aren't quite as cheap.. Maybe 10UKP, but
>they are probably better quality too. I will buy some more cheap
>adaptors to test if a card is difficult too!

I've heard conflicting things about whether some of the
cheap adapters support DMA, a few of those on the
http://www.dealextreme.com website are clearly listed - as
well as their included documentation mentioning, DMA
support.

I don't know if there is really much difference in use
between a cheap and expensive adapter since one of the main
features of a CF card was supposed to be direct support for
IDE mode. Some other differences might matter as much like
where the mounting holes are, IF it even has mounting holes.
That's one thing I overlooked once, ordered an adapter then
when it came to mount it I realized there was no way to do
so! It did have tiny holes at the corners of the CF slot
but I'd wanted a normal full sized hole that could take a
6-32 screw into a brass standoff like another one I have,
has.