Comments on: Got a new laptop? Get out your screwdriver

A stuck screw qualifies as a manufacturing defect, especially if it prevents upgrading the RAM or the hard disk, says CNET Blog Network contributor Michael Horowitz.

[mfeek]

Uhh - wow. Brilliant article! Who knew that tiny flimsy screws have the potential to strip and jam after being exposed to varying degrees of heat for 7 years?!

Sorry for the sarcasm - it's a good tip. I will definitely check my hard drive screws (if easily accessible) from now on _before_ the warranty is up. Could even be a part of a "new laptop post-buy checklist"

[hellsyes]

You can either cut a deeper slot in the head with a dremel or try drilling it out. You dont really need to try and re-tap it. One missing screw out of 4 probably won't harm anything.

[ejevo]

Why not just drill out the remaining screw or screw head, then put the new HD in with the 3 remaining screws?

[aftrshock]

Hehe.

You could also have hit eBay and purchased a new Hard Drive Caddy, which would then have made it so you could simply replace the drive... never needed to buy a new laptop, just replace the drive caddy, would cost $10-$20. Hell, worse case scenario, buy a parts laptop for cheap and do the same thing. heh.

[plcousins]

Is this for real?

1) drive sleds are available on ebay for almost any laptop still worth keeping, especially dell, ibm or toshiba

2) screws can be drilled out, which easily rescues a sled from an old drive

3) an ice pack on a stuck screw shrinks it as it cools

[Blatchara]

Try finding a screw extractor. They make them pretty small. For a overkill kit, see http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_390507_390507
I'm sure you can get an individual one for a lot less, but I didn't look very long. Even this kit is a lot less than a new laptop. This is only slightly more complicated than ejevo's approach, and I'll bet that would work fine as well.

[JA2112]

I guess if you have zero mechanical/technical ability, this article is useful, but then again, most people who fit that criteria will take their computer to a professional for repair. Throw away a laptop because you strip a screw on the HD caddy? There are a dozen creative ways to get around that problem, none of which were mentioned in this article.

Suggesting for people to check every screw on their PC, and thusly return it as "defective" if there is a stubborn screw, only contributes to paranoia and misinformation. Just leave the thing alone until it breaks and let a professional fix it correctly.

[jamgar]

I have a dell xps 1210 and I wanted to upgrade the ram, i figured it can't be that hard. I found out that on the bottom of the laptop is a slot for ONLY 1 of the 2 sticks. After a few calls and some internet searching I found out that I had to take off the keyboard to install the second sdram. How stupid is this, I told Dell where to go after that. At least on the 1330 they both go into the opening on the bottom.

[KevinK]

Ever heard of drilling out said stripped screw? This smacks of total lack of imagination, not to mention probably the wrong screw driver to start with. Sheesh..

[AdamG511]

I've got an idea for a topic in 'defensive computing'...
When an "independent computer consultant" tells you he can't fix your computer because of a small screw, get a second opinion. If you do decide to buy a new computer, don't buy whatever he's trying to talk you into.

[polaris20]

Holy crap, are you serious?! Throw away a laptop because you stripped a screw? As others already said; buy a new hd caddy. I did the same to a 5 year old but still useful Gateway, and all I did was buy the caddy, slap the new HD in there, and bingo! 3 times the space on a great reliable laptop.

Last time I looked, that's cheaper than the $500 or so for a new laptop.

[Dalkorian]

Whew! Before reading the comments here, I was beginning to think I was nuts. There is no way in hades that I would let a simple stripped screw thwart me! Some neat ideas in the other comments about dealing with this issue, but the bottom line is:

- Make sure you have the right tool for the job! Do NOT try to work a #1 phillips head screw loose with a #2 phillips screwdriver!

- Pay attention to what you're doing! I don't think I've ever stripped out a screw head without knowing it was going to happen. If it's not going to budge, screwing up the head won't help.

- THINK! I love the idea of using ice to cool the screw, thereby shrinking it a bit to loosen it up. I typically think the other way though, try to warm the area around the screw to get it to expand a little (I hate putting water anywhere near computer equipment, but that's just me:)). Same basic principle though, use physics to your advantage.

- Worst case scenario, they invented tiny drill bits for a reason. Small screws are easy to find in older chassis or that "loose screw drawer", but many times aren't really necessary. As long as it's held down and not flopping around loose, it's probably fine.

[mhinnewyork]

I appreciate the suggestions of earlier commenters, but have to ask, what does mean to "drill out" a screw? In this case the screw is attached to the internal 2.5 inch hard disk so physical actions on the screw may break the hard disk. In my case at least, the disk is still functional.

Perhaps I didn't stress just how small the screw in question was, it was smaller than those typically found in the case of a laptop computer, perhaps half the size. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture when I had the machine.

Someone suggested an ice pack to shrink the screw as it cools, but I've got to assume it will also shrink the surrounding area of the hard drive caddy. Not to mention water and/or moisture on a hard disk has got to be a bad thing.

As for buying a new hard disk caddy, in the case of the Toshiba laptop, the company did have them for sale but the cost was so high that it didn't pay to invest that much money in an old machine. I didn't investigate it for the Dell being pessimistic that they'd stock parts for a 6 or 7 year old machine.

At some point when any computer gets old, the cost of maintaining it, both in terms of time and money, is more than the machine is worth. It's a difficult call. In this case, a new hard disk was roughly $70 and the time and effort on my part should have been minimal, so it was an easy decision. But, once the upgrade was problematical, at what point do you stop throwing good money (and time) after bad?

Finally, I can't stress enough the importance of making a full disk image backup before attempting any type of activity on a hard disk.

Michael Horowitz

[gggg sssss]

We ALL know how small the screws are. Why do you care that the disk will be damaged = you are replacing it. If you care a bit, get the data off BEFORE you do this surgery.

My favorite is to grab the remains with diagonal cutters - but not the cheap Walmart made in China ones - nor EVER use a cheap Walmart made in China screwdriver even if it says PRO COMPUTER REPAIR TOOLS on the box. That was your first mistake.

Definitley looking for clues.

[Phillep_H]

Size the drill right and you can grind off the head, leaving a bit of shank to grab with pliers after you remove whatever the head is holding down. Either twist the bolt out or twist it off, no biggy. I would not bother trying to drill down into such small bolts. I could not do it without a precision drill press, anyhow.

Several other posters suggesting getting a used sled from e-bay, not getting a new one. Why spend a bunch of money on an old clunker?

[ruminator]

Geesus h. kiryst...this isn't defensive computing, it's PC = paranoid computing. 15 responses tell you the tiny screw shouldn't have screwed you, you're just plain screwy!

Here's an alternative I've tried only as a last resort. Dab some WD-40 on a Q-tip--make it fairly wet. Swath the screw and area around screw with it. No screw is airtight; no matter how tight, some WD-40 will seep down. Tap lightly on screw to try to loosen it (but not damage HD). Then, try the different techniques described above. The oiling should help. BTW do you know what WD-40 is?

[RicABlair]

Hi MIke,

FYI, a screw "in the HD" is held in by the holder (or whatever you call the thingy with the grooves). Doing something like drilling on the head of the screw should not effect the holder or the grooves. Trying to pull the screw out with it in the holder will be a problem, as the holder is attached to the HD.

RAB