90sgamer Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Hello All! I recently decided to do some dust clean-up inside my laptop case, and while removing the hard drive, I nicked the PCB with a flathead screwdriver Whatever material the circuit tracks are made of (I think its copper) is exposed, and it is shinier than the other parts of the track. I was doing some reading, and some people on forums said it isn't a big issue, others said it could eventually lead to circuit failure... I booted up windows and it ran fine for about 10 minutes and then I shut it down, just to be safe. What do you guys think? Is it bad? Sorry, these jpegs are kind of big but I wanted to post the best pics of the scratch that I could. Thanks! Edit: FYI: Its a Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 2.5" Drive Edited February 3, 2012 by 90sgamer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysion Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Well I'd say you got lucky! It looks like it nearly got severed I don' think there's any thing you can really do about that. I know my laptop has a little plastic tray cover to stop shorts from forming and if you don't, place some tap or a sticker on it so it can't happen. Back up your files if you unsure but it looks fine to me! Edited February 3, 2012 by Mysion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheGamer11 Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 I scratched the top layer of those yokes and the mobo has been working normally cause the cuts aren't touching so no shortcircuting... but HDD's are more sensitive, can you back it up if other people say it's ok? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 You've just scratched the laquer and as long as the copper tracks aren't broken, and they look fine to me in the photo, it won't ever be a problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 I'd put clear nail polish over it to protect it from oxidation and more damage. Other than that, you're good to go. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
90sgamer Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Thankfully all I had on there was a fresh Win 7 install. I keep all of my files on an external drive. @Mysion - Yeah, the original hard drive had a plastic cover too, but this hard drive I bought off of newegg over the summer didn't have one. I heard that you can seal the scratch with superglue so the copper is no longer exposed, is that safe? I think is should be fine as it isn't conductive. The scratch looks so minor from a glance, but using my camera. you can really see that damage. Hopefully Paul is right I have not actually damaged the circuitry. My main concern was from reading that moisture can get into the copper circuitry and change its electrical properties so it could burn out when it heats up (or something like that). I can't find the link to that forum now, but I read somewhere earlier. @ -Waco, I'm thinking along the same lines with sealing it somehow. As I don't have any nail polish, and don't know many girls, will Krazy glue work as well? Edited February 3, 2012 by 90sgamer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boinker Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 I'd put clear nail polish over it to protect it from oxidation and more damage. Other than that, you're good to go. +1 I agree. And is the first thing I'd do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
90sgamer Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 Ok, I picked up some clear nail polish and applied it! Thanks all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulktreg Posted February 3, 2012 Posted February 3, 2012 Ok, I picked up some clear nail polish and applied it! Thanks all! ... and don't forget to put some on that HDD track as well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
90sgamer Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 ... and don't forget to put some on that HDD track as well! I swear... I only bought it for the hard drive Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePanda Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 I swear... I only bought it for the hard drive Right...you're painting your nails right now aren't ya? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gebraset Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Right...you're painting your nails right now aren't ya? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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