How do I unscrew these (laptop) screws I can't get a grip on?
Asked by
Vincentt (
8094
)
March 2nd, 2011
I can no longer get anything to appear on the screen of my laptop, and tech support told me to screw open the case and press something in firmly again. My problem is that I for the love of God can’t get a grip on these things! The screws are quite small, the laptop came with a tiny screwdriver that’s supposed to fit, but doesn’t really get a grip. I managed to unscrew one screw by means of a sharp knife, but that doesn’t work for the other two, unfortunately.
Are there other (cheap and easy) ways of removing screws?
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8 Answers
tip of a strong sharp knife, but it may bent the knife.
Jewlers screwdriver set at Radio shack or walmart are inexpensive
Go to a tool store and ask them where the set of tiny screw drivers are. I was also going to say Jewelers / eye glass tools like @blueiiznh, but I was beaten.
Here’s something that might be worth trying before you go out and buy another tool:
Take a piece of very fine sandpaper, about 5 X 5cm and burn it on a fireproof surface (a piece of your mom’s best china would work nicely). After the ashes cool, crumble them to a fine powder between your fingertips. This ash contains all of the fine aluminum oxide grit from the sandpaper. Add a couple of drops of oil to the ashes and stir with a toothpick to create a slurry.
Dip the end of your screwdriver into the slurry and try unscrewing again. The grit in the slurry is harder than the metal of the screw and the screwdriver, and will dig into them both, helping the screwdriver grab the screw. Sometimes it’s enough to make the difference, and it doesn’t cost anything.
Good luck!
Try a little WD40 to lubricate. Be careful not to get it everywhere as it might make the plastic look shiny.
Don’t use a knife and don’t use WD40. Instead, goto your local hoardware store with laptop in tow and find what screwdriver fits.
Dont use anything else but the proper tool to get them out, if you cant then STOP, you will round them out and a tech will have a hell of a time removing them; best answer is stop what your doing and let a technician fix it; even if you manage to get them out theres always the risk of dropping a screw into the computer possibly shorting it out, let a tech do it.
I was going to try @thorninmud‘s suggestion, but I didn’t have any sandpaper yet so I deferred that. Meanwhile, I’d also asked tech support, which simply recommended a larger screwdriver (than the one shipped with the laptop!) – and what do you know, it works! So now I’m typing this on my laptop again and am pretty happy :)
Thanks for the answers everybody!
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