Strange Screws

David C. Partridge wrote:
Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

No matter what you do with it, the drive WILL die. It's the
unfortunate, but inevitable destiny that we all share.

I've opened hard drives again and again in very filthy rooms and
they've never shown any ill effects over the days, or in some cases
weeks, that I operated them. I do this all the time with old drives
because I can see what's happening inside the drive while I test my
control circuitry.

If I was manufacturing hundreds of thousands of drives and had to worry
about warranties and customer satisfaction, I'd be doing it in a clean
room. And I would buy a new drive before attempting to repair a damaged
one. But you definitely can operate a hard drive without the cover for
a while; probably long enough to do whatever you want if you don't
dawdle.

"buffalobill" wrote in message
oups.com...

"TORX PLUS" [NOT TORX]

http://www.wihatools.com/716_IPR_serie.htm


Getting closer! Many in the Torx Plus line still are six-pointed drivers. The
5-pointed ones are known as "Torx-Plus TR" (Tamper resistant).

Identification chart:
http://www.lara.com/cgi-bin/store/co...keywords=bt-ip

Torx-Plus TR sizes:
http://www.lara.com/torx-plus-tr.htm

jim menning

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
....

At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

Don't those have 6 points?

David C. Partridge wrote:
Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?




From the picture, it's the screws that hold together the external case.
Probably wants to upgrade the drive or put it in a different case.

Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the prying eyes
of consumers from sensitive stuff. Thats why they're used in elevators.

Not an accurate statement.

Torx drive screws have been used on vehicles for ten years plus. They are not
(in their standard form) an anti tamper fastener.

[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?

wrote:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he

http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?

No guarantee that it's the right size, (OD approx .057 in, about the same as
a T5 Torx) but search ebay for "5 pointed star screwdriver". Don't have a
recent Seagate drive on hand to try it on or I'd let you know if it fits.
You'll get a dozen or so hits from a guy named elvis fong who sells them
for Sony and Sharp PDAs. Price is about a buck plus 5 bucks or so shipping
from Hong Kong so call it 6 bucks or so total.

I ordered one a while back and he got it right out--seems to be a reliable
vendor.

Let him know that you're looking for a driver specifically for Seagate
drives and he might find one for you.

Thanks.

Chieh
--
Hacking Digital Cameras -
http://www.camerahacker.com/books/Ha...gital_Cameras/

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrench wrote:

[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?



Yes. Strong ones.

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The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

wrench wrote:


[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as
[I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?

Yes, magnets in a hard drive. Part of the actuator.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage wrench wrote:
Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the
prying eyes of consumers from sensitive stuff. Thats why they're
used in elevators.

Not an accurate statement. Torx drive screws have been used on
vehicles for ten years plus. They are not (in their standard form)
an anti tamper fastener.

Definitely correct. For anti-tamper there is Torx with a pin
in the middle that needs a Torx driver with a hole. Standard
Torx is just very well suited for automated mounting and also
very well suited to use with a Torx bit in an electric drill.
Here you get a lot of "Spax" wood screws with Torx head.

Torx is optimised for maximum torque without damaging the
tool or screw and easier insertion than the standard 6-way
symmetric format. IMO ist qualifies as possibly the best
all around screw head format.

Arno