Trick to getting screws out of 2.5 inch HDDs?

I don't know what you are doing wrong, but Torx (that's the correct name) is the most tough head type out there. Are you sure you have the righ type and size?

Arno

Hi...

Am I correct in guessing that by star screw you really mean a Phillips head?

If so, then I'd recommend investing in a set of jeweller's screwdrivers, choose the absolute correct one. It's really easy to come close to the right one without it being a perfect fit.

You might find one that will work nicely even though you describe it as burred over, but if not perhaps you may be able to carefully saw a slot into the head, effectively turning it into a plain old flat head screw.

Take care.

Ken

At a swap meet, I bought a set of a hundred driver bits for about $10. While some styles look like others, there can be significant differences between them. For example, the aare about three or four kinds that look like Phillip head drivers but are not.

Bill

-- Ferme le Bush

Those odd-ball phillips are probably a variant called bugle head, used to drive bugle head screws. Regards Lee

You can sometimes grab the head between center and edge with a pair of sharp tipped diagonal cutters to loosen it. Then, any sort of small screw driver will remove it entirely.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

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Sorry for misdescription but Arno recognised and described it correctly as a Torx.

There doesnt seem to be any room outside the edge of the screw which seems to be sitting relatively flush with the PCB. It's not actually flush but it is not proud enogh to get any sort of leverage can on it

It goes in, sits tight and 'cracks' all other screws on the drive relatively easily: There is always just ONE which it burrs over however careful I am

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 08:56:41 -0400, news.rcn.com wrote (in article ):

Why not use a small drill and screw extractor? I did a quick google search and found these:

Cellphone screwdrivers, works best for me and comes with torx and star (for samsung and such)

Bart Bervoets

Hi...

Makes me wonder if it isn't possibly done intentionally by the manufacturer...

Just one of the screws made of softer material; perhaps even with a drop of loctite (or similar) on it.

The "burring" would be pretty compelling evidence of tampering in the case of a warranty claim.

Take care.

Ken

Hmmm. Strange. Can you post a photo? Of screw heads and screwdriver?

Arno

There are better ways to do that: There are special paints for securing screws. A bit like sealing wax. Would be cheaper, since no special screw was required.

Arno

For future reference:

It's entirely possible the manufacturer purchased a custom run of unique screws, requiring an exact match driver to avoid stripping the head. Or, they may have used a particularly strong screwlock compound under the head which they know will cause head damage, which isn't a prob as the warranty techs have loads of new screws -- this stuff would be tougher than Glyptal, which is the trade name of the translucent blue or green (sometimes red) resin seen on most consumer screw heads. Either of these scenarios would be strongly indicated if it's the exact same screw that gets stripped on each unit of a particular model or series of drive. If the screw which gets stripped/burred varies in location, then it's more likely that your driver isn't of sufficient quality (i.e., not tight enough tolerance in machining).

Nice reference!

That sounds plausible to me. More likely the screw is really fixed in place, I think. Also I just thought of another possibility: Is it possible that this one screw is threaded with a left-hand thread, i.e. needs to be turned into the other direction to come out? I have seen this some years ago in some HDD model (can't remember which one) for one screw.

Arno

The Phillips head was patented. Many of the variants are to get around the patent. Now, of course, all of those old patents have expired.

Bill

-- Ferme le Bush

Bugle head screws were invented to allow the flat head to be level with the wood surface when driven in. The bit was invented because it gave a better 'bite' on the screw than a normal phillips.

Regards Lee

Sounds like you're not using the exactly correct sized driver - other than clumsiness/inexperience, that's the usual reason people chew up small screw heads. If you're 100% sure you're using the correct driver, you can free up the screw by placing the unit on a solid surface, inserting the driver into the head, & giving it a bit of a tap with a soft-headed hammer. It'll also likely work well to fix up the chewed up heads.

I recommend you practice this on one of the drives you've already written off. ;)

BTW: I've pulled apart drives (usually for their voice coil actuators), ranging in size from 5.25" down to 1", & the screws are always very stiff - presumably to protect against the motor vibration

- so I nearly always have to use the above procedure.

No way. Hard disks nearly always use Torx screws, & many people refer to them as 'star' screws, because that's what they look like. I've never yet seen a hard disk with Philips Head screws on the covers.

You need a more expensive Torx driver set. The cheap ones don't fit well. You end up stripping screws with a driver that's one size off because the correct one doesn't fit.

I hope you know that the hard drive will never work again. Dust will cause head crashes, or even launch the heads off the arms. A 10K RPM drive with glass platters might be rather dangerous to mess with too.