I ordered a 30GB 1.8″ ZIF drive to replace the crappy 8GB SSD drive in my old Acer Aspire One netbook. When I got the drive (a Samsung HS030GB) I very quickly discovered that the ZIF ribbon cable that came stock with the netbook didn’t work with it. The problem, it seems, is that Samsung uses a non-standard ZIF connector that is incompatible with 0.35mm ZIF cables (which are the standard). So, I shaved down one end of the ribbon and promptly broke it. Then, being an idiot, ordered a replacement set of cables on eBay without checking the thickness first (the listing stated they were for Samsung drives, although I should have known better than take that at face value).
I got the new set of cables today and, of course, they were all 0.35mm thick as well. I tried a few techniques to try to make the ends thinner but eventually just ended up with a bunch of butchered ribbons.
Remember kids, always review the specs of the drive and cable *before* ordering!
So I’ve ordered another batch of cables, this time making sure that one end has the correct thickness. Hopefully I’ll have a working netbook in a few weeks.
Update: The new ZIF cable came in (ProTip: when ordering ZIF ribon cables, if you need a smaller-than-0.35mm end, look for one where one end is blue (as pictured above), and the other end is white. The white end will be the smaller size)! Surprisingly, it fit, and after making a few modifications to the case (mainly removing the screw mounts for the old SSD) the new drive just dropped right in to place. Xubuntu is now installing, so I finally have a functional netbook again!
