Hard Drive Cable Without Bracket

Mijn probleem

My hard drive cable on my mid 2012 MacBook Pro 13" failed again.

Mijn oplossing

It was a bit tricky to replace. There were 2 tricks to it. In the ends it worked just fine.

Mijn advies

The two tricks: The two hardest parts are getting the LED/sensor hooked up (the small cable) and folding the cable. 1) For the LED/sensor the iFixIt Pictures are too low res. But there is a ZIF sensor (zero insertion force). First stare under light at the ZIF connector on the replacment cable. You can see that there is a little part of it in the back that is folded up. This acts like a lever to clamp down the male part of that connection which is what remains attached to the old bracket (the part that didn't come with the "no bracket" kit). You need to fold up that part on the old cable. 2nd trick is to use a razer blade to separate the sticky adhesive on the old cable ZIF connector, after that you can pull it away. The second trick is the following: It's hard to fold the cable- you need to create 2 "stair steps" by folding on the lines. The folding lines are on the back of the cable near the screw holes in the middle. There is probably a more rational way of folding (probably using a spudger or needle) but I just used my fingers. In addition- I think it is easier not to expose the adhesive on the small cable. Other than this the repair is easy. But these 2 things I figured out took a while