Trick to getting screws out of 2.5 inch HDDs?

[news.rcn.com]

Anyone know a trick to getting those star screws out of laptop hard drives
please? I specifically bought the correct star screwdriver and one of them
(usually at the top by the pins) always seems to burr over. However careful
I am. I once even had one burr over when I had taken it out before and put
it back in loose 'cos I knew I would have to take it out again sometime to
try replacing the PCB

Is there a trick or a way of getting a burred over star screw out? Dunno the
size but it is the one for the PCB

 

[Arno Wagner]

Anyone know a trick to getting those star screws out of laptop hard drives
please? I specifically bought the correct star screwdriver and one of them
(usually at the top by the pins) always seems to burr over. However careful
I am. I once even had one burr over when I had taken it out before and put
it back in loose 'cos I knew I would have to take it out again sometime to
try replacing the PCB

Is there a trick or a way of getting a burred over star screw out? Dunno the
size but it is the one for the PCB

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

 

[Ken Weitzel]

Anyone know a trick to getting those star screws out of laptop hard drives
please? I specifically bought the correct star screwdriver and one of them
(usually at the top by the pins) always seems to burr over. However careful
I am. I once even had one burr over when I had taken it out before and put
it back in loose 'cos I knew I would have to take it out again sometime to
try replacing the PCB

Is there a trick or a way of getting a burred over star screw out? Dunno the
size but it is the one for the PCB

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

 

[Salmon Egg]

Anyone know a trick to getting those star screws out of laptop hard drives
please? I specifically bought the correct star screwdriver and one of them
(usually at the top by the pins) always seems to burr over. However careful
I am. I once even had one burr over when I had taken it out before and put
it back in loose 'cos I knew I would have to take it out again sometime to
try replacing the PCB

Is there a trick or a way of getting a burred over star screw out? Dunno the
size but it is the one for the PCB

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

 

[Lee Babcock]

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

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

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

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.

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.

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Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

 

[news.rcn.com]

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.

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

 

[news.rcn.com]

name) is the most tough head type out there. Are you sure you have
the righ type and size?

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

 

[Nelson]

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

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

http://gallery.bcentral.com/ProductDetails.aspx?GID=5128057&PID=4154845
Surely there are others.

 

[Bart Bervoets]

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

Bart Bervoets

 

[Ken Weitzel]

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

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

 

[Arno Wagner]

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

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

Arno

 

[Arno Wagner]

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.

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

 

[Ray L. Volts]

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

For future reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#Types_of_screw_drive


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).

 

[Arno Wagner]

For future reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#Types_of_screw_drive

Nice 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).

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

 

[Salmon Egg]

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

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

 

[Lee Babcock]

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

 

[Lionel]

Anyone know a trick to getting those star screws out of laptop hard drives
please? I specifically bought the correct star screwdriver and one of them
(usually at the top by the pins) always seems to burr over.

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.

 

[Lionel]

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

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.

 

[Kevin McMurtrie]

Anyone know a trick to getting those star screws out of laptop hard drives
please? I specifically bought the correct star screwdriver and one of them
(usually at the top by the pins) always seems to burr over. However careful
I am. I once even had one burr over when I had taken it out before and put
it back in loose 'cos I knew I would have to take it out again sometime to
try replacing the PCB

Is there a trick or a way of getting a burred over star screw out? Dunno the
size but it is the one for the PCB

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.