Remove stripped screw

One of my CPU screws (2x5 mm) is stripped. I tried using a flat screwdriver,and hot glue, with no luck.
The screw is really tight,which other options do I have with such tiny screw?

 

I use rotary tool to make a notch for flathead and unscrew it. Depending on screw's location, it might be a viable solution.

 

For my laptop I had to remove a stripped screw as well.

I used a dremel with a cutting disc to improvise a flat head. If you use that method be sure to surround the area in something like painters tape as you dont want the shards of metal in your laptop, could be bad news later on

 

Try a flat rubber band between screw and screwdriver

 

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Remove+a+Stripped+Screw/13213

 

My tool of choice is an extractor bit:
Alden 1257P Grabit Micro #1 Bit Damaged Bolt & Screw Extractor

It claims '3mm', but I've used it successfully with 2mm and 1.5mm screws as well.

 

Thanks for the replies. I wanted to try the rubber band one, thought I dont have any at hand and Im not sure if it will work seeing how tight the screw is. But worth a try if I get one. As for the dremel, I have one ,but the disc is pretty big and not much zone to work with, but what keeps me out for trying is the metallic dust , this is the screw:


So it would be hard to cover the place.

I like the Alden tool, but they ship it from the USA and the shipping is more pricey than the item. Would this one be small enough?

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...108.1000016.1.46584918OHvatf&isOrigTitle=true

Can be used manually instead of with a driller?

 

Nice find. And yes, but you need a good holder in order to get a firm grip. There are some hand-held micro drill holders, but avoid these like the plague; any force and the drill bit comes loose. A simple screwdriver handle would fare much better.

 

Ok I will order it. I have to use both sides right? Do I have to use it clock-wise or counter clock wise?

 

No, only the simple, non-spiral end should suffice for tiny screws. This is just a reversed drill and usually has enough grip on the screw to pull it out, the spiral end only being necessary for larger screws that are too tightly secured. Use the bit counter-clockwise and with plenty of force; it'll dig a hole for itself and turn out the screw at the same time.

It is a bit cheap, so its steel quality might be a bit ... soft. Could spray some WD40 around the edge of the screw to make things easier.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out !

 

Thanks,ill let you know how it goes once it arrives. The screw itself, it also of cheap quality, since the were new ones I ordered to change the original ones, which some were a bit stripped too, I guess thats why this one stripped so easily.
WD40 isnt conductive,is it?

 

FWIW I had to deal with a stripped screw on a laptop heatsink too, however in my case covering all surroundings with bubble wrap and taping the edges to avoid any metal dust getting on the mobo was much easier due to simpler heatsink design, allowing me to make a notch with Dremel-like rotary tool pretty easily.

Good luck, @Temp1234453 , and let us know it goes!

 

Shouldn't be, but you'll want to be careful about getting the mist of it splattered all over the place and making a mess. Get a paper napkin and unfold it, make a little hole in the center and lay the hole over the screw. Then when you spray the splatter will land on the napkin. Or, better yet, spray some in the cap or some other small disposable container, then dob it on with a cotton swab.

 

Could you not get a pair of fine tipped needle-nose pliers on it? It would require an incredible amount of clamping force, so you would need to squeeze as hard as you can on the pliers handles.
Drilling and extracting is an option, but does come with risks. Either way, good luck.

 

Im waiting for screw extractors to arrive to try the rubber band , and superglue methods before, so I try the 3 methods by dissassemblying the laptop just once.
I will keep you updated.

 

Sorry for the late answer, I received the screw extractor long time ago, but the handle I have is too small for them. A friend lended me a handle similar to this one ,but isnt suited for it.
The laptop works fine so far, so I dunno if I should bother for now.

 

smh, stripped screw != rounded out screw head. two different problems in my book. (not your fault alexhawker)

 

Care to elaborate on the difference? I'm mainly curious - I work in a metal fab shop, so knowing/understanding some of these technical subtleties can be quite important from time to time.

 

Well what OP and that website link are dealing with are rounded out screw heads, which yes they are a PITA.

A stripped screw though is related to the shank of the screw or the screw hole itself getting ruined by over-tightening (most common) or sometimes even when the screw or fastener has been subject to a lot of harsh vibration and loosened from it's desired position while being subject to those vibrations causing it to either wallow out the hole larger or wear down the screw's threads to the point where it will not grab as necessary but instead just spins indefinitely regardless of which direction you are turning the fastener.

In other words as you turn it left to loosen it, it does not begin raising up/backing out of its hole like expected. And conversely you can tighten it by screwing the fastener to the right, but it will never actually tighten, but rather just spins in place forever.

Stripped screws are typically easier to extract than screws that have been rounded out or bolts that have been rounded off.

 

Ahh, OK, now I know what you're talking about. Lots of semantic differences here.

I often hear/use just "stripped", rather than saying something like "the head of the screw is stripped". In the scenario you're describing, I would say the "threads in the hole are stripped" or something along those lines. I also definitely agree they're easier to remove.

Given OP said the screw is really tight, it's the head that's the issue, not the threads in the hole or on the shank.

 

If it comes down to it, there are micro drill bit kits and/or screw extractors in the form of reverse taps.

 

For the price, you can't beat this ghetto dremel with flex shaft attachment. It's practically disposable it's so cheap. For light duty computer repair and modifications it should last a good while. (I personally bought this. It's slightly above Harbor Freight's quality for their version of this. I have used both.) The attachments that come with it are sub par compared to the official Dremel bits. I would recommend using actual Dremel bits and tips if you can afford some.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003BYRFH8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524518377&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin:2796671011&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65#

Or if you want something a little better with foot control but not pay the ridiculous Dremel prices there is something like this:

https://www.sciplus.com/the-better-...Y4pUuvqyVy4fI5F_lqrOZn5q_KxOUSkxoCzTIQAvD_BwE

The flex shaft attachments make all the difference in usability. Gotta have something to hang the motor / main part of the tool from though. You can easily rig your own hook up for that though.

I have a set of these micro drill bits (they aren't anything super special and bits this tiny break easily and frequently so I don't see the point wasting too much on something so disposable):

https://www.amazon.com/CML-Supply-Micro-Drill-Chuck/dp/B001RJE3X8

One of many "easy out" extractor kits available:
https://www.amazon.com/Alden-4507P-Grabit-Broken-Extractor/dp/B000Q60UOO

Any luck yet @Temp1234453 ?

 

Now that the weather is starting to be warm, im gonna order a handle for the screw extractor. Then I will try all the solutions, from easiest to hardest.

 

Just came to say that the laptop died. Tried all methods, none worked, so I tried a small drill, which slipped a bit and I saw sparks, thought I just notice a tiny scratch on the mobo, and Im not sure it was due to that. Maybe it was due to metallic dust.
Anyways, the laptop now freezes pretty often (it works fine on USB live Win images though), so I had to order a new one. RIP.

 

Sorry for your loss. Hopefully you didn't lose any data and were at least able to salvage your data.

 

That's just terrible .

But how could it spark? The battery and cable were disconnected, presumably? And ' all methods' includes the bit extractor? That thing never failed me, so it'd be good to know if there's some situation where it can't cope.

The symptoms don't make it sound like it's unfix-able, though. Could you make a photo of the damaged area?

 

Yes,thankfully my data was in a secondary drive.

The spark was because the drill touched the motherboard or the copper heatsink. It was so fast and moved it away so fast,that im not sure. Theres a tiny scratch on the motherboard,so Im not sure if its that or metallic dust that screwed the laptop.

In red the scratches, in purple, the screw. Note that the screw used to be like the one at the left.

 

Seems like the PQ28 is missing? It's a power mosfet and the choke nearby plus the wide tracings would indicate this is all fairly heavy-duty. With the new system as a reference you could fix the old one. Not all solder pads are populated on a board though, so only another motherboard would be definitive proof.

Removing the heatsink would give a better view on any possible damage to nearby smd components, but guess that means having to remove that stripped screw first?