Broken USB 3.0 header

[e-ras-e]

I have an HTPC that I also use with my Oculus Rift headset. It sits under my TV-bench the rear IO is not accessible at all. Because of this I have made my own solutiuon for plugging in the VR-headset. I have routed an HDMI-cable (male-female) from the rear IO of the graphics card to the front panel where I made a hole and glued it in. Recently the glue failed and today when I opened up the computer to fix this I accidentally broke off (first it got bent and when I tried to bend it back it snapped of) one of the pins on the only internal USB 3.0 header on my motherboard. Because of the placement of the computer and what I use it for I need to have both HDMI and USB 3 on the front panel IO. I know I could use extension cables outside of the chassi from the rear IO but I do not want to have cables visible.

 

Do I need to get a new motherboard or is there some way to "create" a new USB 3 header? I have only found expansion cards that give more external USB ports. Does it matter which pin it was? I marked the missing one (bottom right) with red on the attached image. The "no pin" place is top left.

 

If the only solution is to get a new motherboard, does this mean that I have to reinstall Windows and all of my programs?

 

 

[Mustangmatt215]

You could get an expansion card that has USB 3.0 on it other than that to fix that broken header it's not really worth your time and effort