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Upgrading HD. BRACKET SCREWS STUCK! WHAT DO I DO??

brent0saurus

brent0saurus

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 16, 2006
228
1
I'm literally in the middle of upgrading my internal hard drive, everything was going well until i get to the bracket that actually holds the HD in. The screws are SOOO tight in there and the metal is really soft. I might've stripped one or two of them (there are 3 total).
I've heard using needle nose pliers can get them free but they're so effing tight in there i can't get them free.

WHAT DO I DO!?
 
brent0saurus said:
I'm literally in the middle of upgrading my internal hard drive, everything was going well until i get to the bracket that actually holds the HD in. The screws are SOOO tight in there and the metal is really soft. I might've stripped one or two of them (there are 3 total).
I've heard using needle nose pliers can get them free but they're so effing tight in there i can't get them free.

WHAT DO I DO!?
Click to expand...

push into them very hard and turn the screwdriver very little each turn. if you apply enough forward pressure with as little torque as possible you should be able to get them out. it will take a while but you dont want to strip them more than they already are.
 
If it's the bracket that attaches to the hard drive, you could slot the screw heads with a small hacksaw so you can use a flat blade screwdriver (it will ruin the screws but are easily replaced).
Did you use the wrong screwdriver? Phillips instead of Torx
 
the computer is not warm. it's a powerbook g4. 15" 1.67 ghz

i am using a phillips head but that's what it told me to use; a #0 phillips head.

so how do i go about cutting a line into it? and i use a flat head to unscrew it that way?

thank you everyone SO much for your quick responses!
i'm so scared!!
 
brent0saurus said:
the computer is not warm. it's a powerbook g4. 15" 1.67 ghz

i am using a phillips head but that's what it told me to use; a #0 phillips head.

so how do i go about cutting a line into it? and i use a flat head to unscrew it that way?

thank you everyone SO much for your quick responses!
i'm so scared!!
Click to expand...

Duct Tape that sucker in there. haha:p
 
brent0saurus said:
the computer is not warm. it's a powerbook g4. 15" 1.67 ghz

i am using a phillips head but that's what it told me to use; a #0 phillips head.

so how do i go about cutting a line into it? and i use a flat head to unscrew it that way?

thank you everyone SO much for your quick responses!
i'm so scared!!
Click to expand...

Just use a small hacksaw blade and slowly start cut a groove on the top of the screw head (take you time and wrap the HD in a cloth just in case you slip with the hacksaw)

**Do it at your own risk**
 
smurfjammer said:
Just use a small hacksaw blade and slowly start cut a groove on the top of the screw head (take you time and wrap the HD in a cloth just in case you slip with the hacksaw)

**Do it at your own risk**
Click to expand...

It seems like the area is too tight to do anything with a hacksaw, though(?)
i wish there was a way to get the hd out without removing that #$%^ing bracket. I've gotten 1 of the 3 screws out, but now i think the other 2 screws are stripped beyond hope.
i don't know what i can do. this must've happened to someone else out there. i can't believe how tight these screws are and how soft the metal is.
 
All i can say is get a torx #0 (the tool your suppose to use on the bracet) and see if that will get them out. Also you can try a power drill as a last resort. The power drill should genarate enough torque to get thosr suckers out. Good luck
 
brent0saurus said:
the computer is not warm. it's a powerbook g4. 15" 1.67 ghz

i am using a phillips head but that's what it told me to use; a #0 phillips head.
Click to expand...

Who told you to use that type of screwdriver? Just go to Lowes/Home Depot and they sell a drill bit that you drill into the stripped screw and it extracts it. This is a very safe bet. Good luck!
 
mac88 said:
Who told you to use that type of screwdriver? Just go to Lowes/Home Depot and they sell a drill bit that you drill into the stripped screw and it extracts it. This is a very safe bet. Good luck!
Click to expand...

the ifixit tutorial told me to :(
are there screw extractors that are that small? i just read they range from 3/32" to 1/2".
do you think 3/32 is small enough?

thanks again for all of your responses! i couldn't even sleep last night worrying about my powerbook but you're making me feel better about it
 
okay i put the pb back together because i'm going to go to my dad's and use his dremmel but now the mac starts up with that folder that flashes between the finder face and a question mark.
i'm freaking out.
but that just means that it kind find the start up volume so what could've gone wrong? maybe i plugged the hard drive in incorrectly?
 
i took it apart again and reseated the hard drive cable and it works!
i guess i'm going to go to my dad's this weekend and try a dremel tool to try to get the hard drive out.

thanks everyone for your help! i might start another thread on tips on getting a stripped screw out of a delicate area...
looks like i'm just talking to myself, though.

thanks again, guys!
 
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