Hey Dan,I came to the same conclusion and will switch out the connector cable here in a minute. Looks like the faulty connector took the lovely OWC 480 SSD drive down with it, it does not even register anymore when I connect it to other macs via USB. That is annoying, because they are expensive SSDs. Anyways I will let you know after the switch. Fortunately I still have a stack of 2011 A1286, since so many bring them to me with the infamous faulty GPU…..Often I replace the logic board in those with 2010 boards, and that restores function. But I still have some empty cases with parts…As usual, humble bow into your general direction, keep on rockin'….