You most likely will not be able to see the possible damage to an IDE header. I could not see mine, and the person that fixed it could not promise that it was in fact damaged (you need really high magnification I guess), but after he (Mark Lord) touched up the solder connections, the player has run flawlessly since.

This is not a DIY type problem - seek someone who has experience.

However, please understand, I'm not diagnosing your player. The IDE head may in fact be okay. I just don't want you to assume it's okay by just wiggling the cord.