special screw driver - torx or hex?

[Bobbyrae]

HI,

I just acquired a G4 Power Mac and have noticed some odd screws I don't have tools for; maybe someone here has dealt with this before.

I have searched the forums here and found a previous discussion about the main case screws near the handles. Someone said that they are 2.5mm hex, but on my case a 3mm hex fit perfectly.

But the problem I have is with the really bitty hex screws that hold the keyboard together. The guy at the local hardware store was convinced that they are Torx, but the only torx we could get to fit, a T5, was rather loose and has now rounded off to the point where it won't do anything. And I am now convinced these ARE hex. But the size is in the 1.25mm range and I can't find any actual tools like that. I know for sure that .050" (1.27mm) is too big. The T5 torx measures .048".

I suppose that the simple thing to do is file a .050" one down just enough to fit.

Anybody know? There must be some special Apple tool for this.

 

[CaptainChunk]

The security screws are all Torx of varying sizes. Which PBG4 do you have? iFixit has great tutorials and they're generally pretty accurate with what type of tools you need for each model.

 

[nanofrog]

Most torx screws I've ever dealt with in a computer were T-6, T-8, and T-10.

 

[Bobbyrae]

The security screws are all Torx of varying sizes. Which PBG4 do you have? iFixit has great tutorials and they're generally pretty accurate with what type of tools you need for each model.

Well, I don't have a powerbook, I have a power mac, the tower thing, you know? The model is M8570. Dual 1.25GHz. The one right after the Quicksilver, called "mirrored drive doors" and just under the FW800.

I have to correct my original post about the handle screws, they ARE 2.5mm hex. I didn't realize I had any "half" sizes in my metric hex keys, but I do. And like I said before, I know torx and I know hex, and I am really convinced that these screws are, in fact hex.

The ifixit site does not seem to deal with power Mac's at all from what I can see, only portable Mac's, and I could not find anything that deals with keyboards. I may be one of only a handful of people that have ever actually tried to take one of these apart!

Here's another guy who did what i did:
http://theappleblog.com/2007/07/30/apple-pro-keyboard-repair/

I used a T5 just like he did, but in the end I've decided that isn't the best tool. That is why I am posing this question.

plus there is this one:
http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/staff/bgracey/prokeyboardrepair.html

This last link is disassembly of the same model keyboard that I have. Here, they point out that the T5 is just a close approximation, and that a hex driver is best. But like I said, the .050" is slightly too big. Maybe I just have defective screws!

 

[CaptainChunk]

Well, I don't have a powerbook, I have a power mac, the tower thing, you know? The model is M8570. Dual 1.25GHz. The one right after the Quicksilver, called "mirrored drive doors" and just under the FW800.

Whoops...misread. Must have been my lack of sleep.

But wow. I can't say I've ever attempted to take apart an Apple keyboard.