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#1
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Tight Screws
A (apparently) motherboard died in my Vostro 1500.
The chat guy asks me to remote optical drive, HD and RAM and try powering it on. I got the optical drive out. I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud ``crack'' when they started turning. Do they impact-wrench them on? The other two screws won't loosen. Apparently even tighter than the first two. Anyway they started to strip in spite of my excellent Phillips screwdriver technique. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Anyway just a complaint about the damn screws. I'm shipping the whole thing for repair, as a result. I did like the casual request to remove the memory, which is not easy, involving lifting the keyboard somehow. But I didn't get that far. ``Remove roof and temporarily set aside'' is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. -- On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
#2
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Tight Screws
This is my guess, although someone who regularly works on Dells (like
Ben) will probably know better: A drop of glue may be applied to the threads before the screw is screwed in. This may be to damp vibrations that would otherwise loosen the screw, or it may be a way for manufacturers to tell if someone has removed a screw (thus voiding the warranty.) Daddy Ron Hardin wrote: A (apparently) motherboard died in my Vostro 1500. The chat guy asks me to remote optical drive, HD and RAM and try powering it on. I got the optical drive out. I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud ``crack'' when they started turning. Do they impact-wrench them on? The other two screws won't loosen. Apparently even tighter than the first two. Anyway they started to strip in spite of my excellent Phillips screwdriver technique. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Anyway just a complaint about the damn screws. I'm shipping the whole thing for repair, as a result. I did like the casual request to remove the memory, which is not easy, involving lifting the keyboard somehow. But I didn't get that far. ``Remove roof and temporarily set aside'' is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. |
#3
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Tight Screws
"Ron Hardin" wrote in message ... A (apparently) motherboard died in my Vostro 1500. The chat guy asks me to remote optical drive, HD and RAM and try powering it on. I got the optical drive out. I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud ``crack'' when they started turning. Do they impact-wrench them on? The other two screws won't loosen. Apparently even tighter than the first two. Anyway they started to strip in spite of my excellent Phillips screwdriver technique. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Anyway just a complaint about the damn screws. I'm shipping the whole thing for repair, as a result. I did like the casual request to remove the memory, which is not easy, involving lifting the keyboard somehow. But I didn't get that far. ``Remove roof and temporarily set aside'' is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. -- They probably used a thread locking compound like Loctite on the threads to keep them from loosening. eat....in your case the tip of a small soldering iron held to the head of the screw for a short time will soften the compound and make the screw easier to remove |
#4
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Tight Screws
On Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:25:22 -0400, Ron Hardin
wrote: A (apparently) motherboard died in my Vostro 1500. The chat guy asks me to remote optical drive, HD and RAM and try powering it on. I got the optical drive out. I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud ``crack'' when they started turning. Do they impact-wrench them on? The other two screws won't loosen. Apparently even tighter than the first two. Anyway they started to strip in spite of my excellent Phillips screwdriver technique. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Anyway just a complaint about the damn screws. I'm shipping the whole thing for repair, as a result. I did like the casual request to remove the memory, which is not easy, involving lifting the keyboard somehow. But I didn't get that far. ``Remove roof and temporarily set aside'' is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. I only use jeweler's screwdrivers when I'm doing laptop work and had much success so far. I personally haven't encountered any screw in a laptop that tight but if I did, the first thing I might try is a jeweler's screwdriver along with a set of pliers attached to it to give me more grip to turn the screw. |
#5
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Tight Screws
"RnR" wrote in message ... On Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:25:22 -0400, Ron Hardin wrote: A (apparently) motherboard died in my Vostro 1500. The chat guy asks me to remote optical drive, HD and RAM and try powering it on. I got the optical drive out. I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud ``crack'' when they started turning. Do they impact-wrench them on? The other two screws won't loosen. Apparently even tighter than the first two. Anyway they started to strip in spite of my excellent Phillips screwdriver technique. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Anyway just a complaint about the damn screws. I'm shipping the whole thing for repair, as a result. I did like the casual request to remove the memory, which is not easy, involving lifting the keyboard somehow. But I didn't get that far. ``Remove roof and temporarily set aside'' is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. I only use jeweler's screwdrivers when I'm doing laptop work and had much success so far. I personally haven't encountered any screw in a laptop that tight but if I did, the first thing I might try is a jeweler's screwdriver along with a set of pliers attached to it to give me more grip to turn the screw. I can tell you now, Dell, never ever glue their screws in, and I have Never Ever come across a screw that can't be removed in a laptop, if you use the correct screwdriver and the correct phillips head size |
#6
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Tight Screws
Hi!
I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud "crack" when they started turning. I've seen evidence of some kind of "thread locker" compound being used in certain Dell portables. However, I haven't come into any that I could not loosen easily. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Hmmm...are they something similar, like posidrive screws? "Remove roof and temporarily set aside" is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. I don't know why, but I find this remark to be entertaining. Perhaps it is because I have just finished helping to roof my house. William |
#7
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Tight Screws
So, plan B is a screw extractor.
Any hints on the best type to try? A 3/32 drill bit fits in the removed-screw holes, if that indicates the size involved. Very very short screws. I don't know that you could drill into them without drilling right through them. -- On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
#8
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Tight Screws
"Ron Hardin" wrote in message ... So, plan B is a screw extractor. Any hints on the best type to try? A 3/32 drill bit fits in the removed-screw holes, if that indicates the size involved. Very very short screws. I don't know that you could drill into them without drilling right through them. -- On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. you need to use a #0 size screwdriver to remove the hard drive screws, or just go to Radio shack in the USD or Maplins in the Uk and you can buy a complete set of Laptop screwdrivers for about $20 /£10 |
#9
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Tight Screws
Ron Hardin wrote:
So, plan B is a screw extractor. Any hints on the best type to try? A 3/32 drill bit fits in the removed-screw holes, if that indicates the size involved. Very very short screws. I don't know that you could drill into them without drilling right through them. I remember from the WSJ in the 70s or so, an article on Phillips screws, that mentioned they were _designed_ so that the driver would auger out when tight, to prevent overtightening by automatic screwdrivers. Chrysler used them on windshield frames, is what I recall. I see Wiki has ``Phillips Has slightly rounded corners in the tool recess, and was designed so the driver will slip out, or cam out, under high torque to prevent over-tightening. The Phillips Screw Company was founded in Oregon in 1933 by Henry F. Phillips, who bought the design from J. P. Thompson. Phillips was unable to manufacture the design, so he passed the patent to the American Screw Company, who was the first to manufacture it.'' Why anybody would use these today is a mystery. There's a thousand better designs. -- On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
#10
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Tight Screws
On Tue, 7 Oct 2008 08:28:53 +0100, "Fixer"
wrote: "RnR" wrote in message .. . On Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:25:22 -0400, Ron Hardin wrote: A (apparently) motherboard died in my Vostro 1500. The chat guy asks me to remote optical drive, HD and RAM and try powering it on. I got the optical drive out. I got two screws of the HD out. They were tight, and released with a loud ``crack'' when they started turning. Do they impact-wrench them on? The other two screws won't loosen. Apparently even tighter than the first two. Anyway they started to strip in spite of my excellent Phillips screwdriver technique. These are really tiny tiny screws and seem to have a not very standard phillips head. Anyway just a complaint about the damn screws. I'm shipping the whole thing for repair, as a result. I did like the casual request to remove the memory, which is not easy, involving lifting the keyboard somehow. But I didn't get that far. ``Remove roof and temporarily set aside'' is how little jobs turn out to be big ones. I only use jeweler's screwdrivers when I'm doing laptop work and had much success so far. I personally haven't encountered any screw in a laptop that tight but if I did, the first thing I might try is a jeweler's screwdriver along with a set of pliers attached to it to give me more grip to turn the screw. I can tell you now, Dell, never ever glue their screws in, and I have Never Ever come across a screw that can't be removed in a laptop, if you use the correct screwdriver and the correct phillips head size Yeah, I'm not sure why they would use glue on a screw because the screws I've encountered seemed to be tight enough. I admit some screws seemed tighter than others. Sometimes one method I do when I find those tighter screws is to screw them them a fraction tighter and then back it off to unscrew them. It seems to loosen their hold. |
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