[NITRO 5] Accidentally removed HDD from sata connection cable. Would really appreciate help.

Hi everyone.

So, long story short, there was some kind of a loose screw that came off inside my Acer Nitro 5 an515-53 (bought it just a few weeks ago), very basic common stuff, so I thought I'll just disassemble it and re-screw it.

However, before I got to the loose screw, right after I opened the cover, the HDD cable (Not the one that you insert into the HDD itself, but the small one (I'll include the pics)) came off from its slot. It happened because the HDD itself was still screwed onto the cover (wasn't even planning to take it off), and I was applying some force to the cover since it was quite sturdily attached. This, of course, causes the cable to be unplugged.

Now when I try to turn it on it says "no bootable device", so the HDD isn't registering anymore.

Am I screwed? I couldn't find any threads online with others having same issue, and there's no visible slot that the cable could be going in. Here are some pics:

1.)Cable I was taking about https://imgur.com/ilAvRUC

2.)Without Cover
https://imgur.com/7aGzCZK

Where do I even connect it? Would appreciate all the help. Thanks.

Accepted answers

All comments

GiorgiM

UPDATE: I managed to identify the correct slot to insert the cable in, but for whatever reason the computer won't recognize it (Says "No bootable Device). I tried to go to bios and change the boot priority from UEFI to legacy as advised in numerous guides, but only UEFI shows up. I guess my situation is worse, wherein the harddrive is simply not recognized. Loose plugging isn't an issue because I tested for that several times.

I'm baffled as to how this small issue could've turned into such a mess. I guess I'll have to go to a computer repair shop today.

Redfan

sadly I think you might have voided the warranty by doing that, that's the risk of doing upgrades yourself, any damage will not be covered by warranty. you will need a new cable to connect the hdd to the mobo since the cable is dead, might likely be able to salvage the HDD I really doubt there's damage there but you will need a new cable for it. oddly someone doing a live youtube review of this computer did the exact same thing while taking the back off and eded up killing the connection between the hdd and the mobo, it would seem that its a very delicate cable.

tl;dr
you need a new cable to connect the hdd to the mobo and I think you might have voided the warranty.

JJV123

I have the same issue and could not find help anywhere on line. I’m surprised ACER would design their computers this way.
GiorgiM, how did you finally fix the problem?

GiorgiM

JJV123 said:

I have the same issue and could not find help anywhere on line. I’m surprised ACER would design their computers this way.
GiorgiM, how did you finally fix the problem?

Hey, I fixed it by re-inserting the cable into the slot. If you don't know where the slot is, it's right on the motherboard's left section, is very small and can be closed/opened like a hood of a car.

After you insert it, see if it boots, and if it doesn't, rotate the cable head and see if it boots that way. This was the part that was causing me the trouble. I was inserting the cable from the side that I thought was intuitive to be inserted from, and when it did not work, I thought the cable was damaged during disassemble process and ordered a new HDD cable, when all I had to do was spin it around. Needless to say this was extremely frustrating.

P.S. if you try the cable from the both sides and it still doesn't work, or if you have any other reasons to think it needs to be replaced, here's where I bought the cable - https://www.impactcomputers.com/50.q3hn2.002.html (Keep in mind that this was for my model - an515-53. It may or may not work for other particular Nitro 5 models).

Hope this helps