Case in point, then: the player has the replacement cable which has too short a distance between the IDE board connector and the first drive connector. The unit has had the impact, the sled moved (as designed) but then swung around the (too short) cable. Since the disk connector is in the line of the moment inertia of the sled/disk, this connector won't come off. Since the IDE header connector is at right angles to the moment, the result is the connector tries to pull off and a large sideways force is applied to the connector on the board.

Results:

- in some cases, the disk connector tries to twist off the disk, but not completely
- the IDE connector either pulls off completely, or the header is damaged, sometimes by bending over towards the front of the unit, or by breaking tracks/solder.
- in some cases, the display cable gets chafed by the "scissor" action of the sled
- in some cases, a mark is made on the back of the display board at the opposite end behind the pushbuttons

Solution:

-open the unit, remove the sled screws and remove drives on the sled by CAREFULLY removing the IDE cable from the board header. DO NOT pull the cable or grip the top of the connector.

- crop approx. 0.5mm from the two large solder lugs for the rotary control protruding from the back of the display board (Mk2A/RIOCar only). Ensure that any cropped metal is retrieved and not allowed to fall into the case or onto the main board

- remove the drives from the sled, dab a drop of superglue under the flange of each end of each shock mount (4 x 2)

- using a Dremel and 2mm reamer, lengthen the drive mounting holes in the sled to the REAR of the sled by 2mm, creating long oval holes (8x)

- re-install the drives further back on the sled so that the lower edge of the drive connector moulding lines up with the front edge of the sled. Ensure that you use the correct diameter 0.5mm thick fibre insulator washers to hold the drives off the sled. Use a single drop of loctite (blue) to hold each of the screws tight. Do them up finger tight with the correct Philips No. 1 screw driver.

- use a new drive cable with an extra connector spaced 5mm further upstream for the first disk drive (second unchanged, cable length unchanged)

- run a bead of hot glue along the bottom of the drive connector/disk to hold it in place

- make a slight pinch to the jumper on the slave drive to ensure a good electrical contact

- dab a blob of hot glue on the jumper to hold it in place

- place a bead of thin plastic beading, 0.5mm diameter, between the pins along the length of the IDE header (slimline connector types ONLY). This ensures that you do not push the back off the connector by forcing it too far down onto the pins.

- (optional) put a blob of glue at each end of the IDE connector to hold it onto the board.

I'm going to post this in expanded form with photos sometime soon. Why am I giving this advice out when I have only just posted to say "Don't DIY"? Because these are modifications that are primarily mechanical, and are precautionary to avoid a lot of the typical failures I have to repair. I still advise - DON'T DIY.

I can carry out this sort of modification work for you if required, and will have the modified cables available by the end of January.