I was thinking that I could buy a SATA to USB cable, would that subsitute for the broken SATA connector and could I just run my hard drive like that?Also, can you get those connectors fixed at a shop, or would I have to completely buy a new motherboard?
USB to SATA? That's going to suck. Just get a cheap SATA PCI card.
i keep around a couple of motherboards in the junk box and this way i can take stuff like sata connectors off of em to fix broke ones. since a sata connector has way fewer connections than a pata, it really ain't all that hard to solder a new on onto a motherboard. u might try that if u feel u are up to it. if u have any doubts to your ability to do this tho, don't do it. u can mess up your motherboard royally if u short somethin.
