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.

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.

"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

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.

"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

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

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.

"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

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.

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.