Stripped Screws

I replaced the HDD in my macbook pro (2010 i5 unibody); unfortunately while putting the case back together I stripped a screw. It is still sticking out slightly. If I brought the laptop into an Apple Store, would they assist me in either tightening or removing the screw? OR If I am able to remove the screw using a variety of techniques, would an Apple Store be able to provide me with a replacement screw?

The only way to know is to try. Bring it in and ask. If they can't provide you with a replacement screw, they're not going to yell at you and take your computer away. Don't worry about voiding your warranty either. Replacing the hard drive does not void the warranty, and neither does stripping a screw.
If they can't provide you with a replacement, you can buy one online, although it'll cost you: http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2010-Screw-S et/IF161-066
You may be able to find a more precise screw from another source (just the screw you're looking for, not the whole set) for a cheaper price.
Message was edited by: Ben Alt.

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How can I get a stripped screw out of the bottom of my iPhone?? I need help, How can I get a stripped screw out of the bottom of my iPhone?? I need help

How can I get a stripped screw out of the bottom of my iPhone?? I need help, How can I get a stripped screw out of the bottom of my iPhone?? I need help

Try asking at ifixit.com. The iPhone is not considered user servicable. You're not going to get much help on an Apple sponsored forum.

How to remove a stripped screw from an iPhone 4?

Since APPLE is so kind as to tell me "You broke your iPhone's home button, you can replace the phone for $200 I decided I'll just open it up and replace it myself!" I just recently went to replace my iPhone 4 screen/home button and find a stripped screw that's connected the battery to the phone. How would I remove such a small stripped screw?
I heard using a Screw Extractor, but what size would I need to do this?

Thank you, that's very helpful.
I was able to get this to work for deleting single song, but it simply ignored me when I tried to delete whole albums or artists. As there are many thousands of Christmas tracks, deleting one by one was not an option.
When I first started to research this I was not able to find any posts on the subject (because I did not know about the left swipe to delete gesture and so did not search for it). Now that I know I found this post which gives a number of different ways to do this:
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-1276850.html
At first I tried this option:
If you are trying to batchdelete all music on an iOS device, it can be done.
1) Settings > General > Usage
2) Let the Storage settings load.
3) Click on Music...on next screen, swipe anddelete.
That does zap everything, but it suited my purposes. At first I though this was working, lots of tracks started to go back into the cloud (although this does not happen allat once, it seems to do it in the background over a period of time). The usage screen said I had free space on the iPad, but when I plugged it into iTunes the iPad showed as full and the tracks were all still listed under music.
So I tried this:
You can turn off iTunesmatch and then sync a very small number of tracks via iTunes, which shouldreplace the downloaded tracks with the synced tracks. Then turn Match back on.It's a pain but that is the only way I have found to mass delete.
Which did the trick, but is something of a nuclear option.
Looks like Apple have some work to do here. Deleting a track at a time or everything in one go is too clumsy. You need to be able to delete Albums, Artists or Genres in the sameway you can delete songs. I wish there was a way of reporting bugs like this to Apple, but short of signing up to be a developer, there does not seem to be away. If anyone reading this is a developer, perhaps you can get a paste the text into a bug report.

Best place to go to remove a stripped screw?

My Macbook Pro (late 2011) has a stripped screw. It is the screw circled in red in the image below. The screw is damanged to the point of probably needing to be drilled. I went to the Genius Bar and got told they don't help with matters like this. The Genius Bar directed me to a third party who wanted to charge me £90. This is rediculous. I could buy a drill and the drill bits for this much. Does anyone have advice? Should I just push Apple to get this repaired?

Conventional wisdom about stripped screws comes from automotive repair. The screw head is what is holding things in place, and one can use a drill about the size of the shank of the screw to drill out material until the head separates or is destroyed and the captured item is free to be removed. At that point the stump of the screw will remove easily as well.
There are also screw remover gadgets, consisting of a left-hand drill bit, sometimes backed by a screw extractor (coarse tapered left-hand threaded spiral). Most of the readily available stuff to do this is aimed at screws larger than 1/4 inch diameter.
Check at Sears or places that sell tools -- they may have a left-hand threaded drill/extractor in a small size. There is no need to use an actual drill -- you can hold this in your hand or in a locking pliers and accomplish the same thing.
The other extreme is to look carefully and cold-heartedly at what is being held in place, and carefully rip it out in a way that you can repair/replace later. For example, it you pried at that piece and got it free, but made the hole too big in the process, couldn't you just repair it later with a washer?

Stripped screws WTH?

I opened my refurbished unibody MacBook Pro 13" today for the first time intending to swap out the (user-serviceable!) RAM and noticed something incredibly weird in the fan assembly... the screws. Two are slightly stripped (as in, having been undone manually) while one is entirely obliterated (stripped). My fan makes a low buzzing/rattling noise that I consider at best ignorable and at worst obnoxious... what should I do? I didn't touch them, but what if I ever try to get it repaired? I'm afraid Apple will think I tried to undo them myself and break off my warranty. And what if they try to replace the fan assembly? It looks as if that screw-hole is part of the motherboard, and it's stuck tight. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the very interesting illumination concerning the history of the machine--I did not know that Apple did that. I imagine the theory is that since the machine is supposed to have been restored to brand new condition and is eligible for 3 year Applecare, there is no need to provide a history of what has gone before.
Since the machine is sold as refurbished, Apple does know that the machine has been serviced before being sold, and I think that would be taken into consideration with the stripped screw issue. It could well be that the screws appeared to be in place and properly tightened when the machine was inspected, and that the problem only became apparent when the machine was run for a while. It would be very illogical to think that the purchaser had any reason to mess with fan screws.

Thinkpad edge e530 large bottom cover stripped screw

Hi,
I have a stripped screw on the large bottom cover caused by using the wrong screwdriver which was my fault. I am guessing warranty will not cover this issue, if not can anybody direct my to getting a new cover with screws in it, as the screws do not come out.
Also if it makes a difference, I put in a repair request through the website, and they shipped me a box to send my laptop in, however since I am a student I NEED this laptop every day and cannot have it in repairs.

Just a small bump, I have the same problem with my Lenovo S440. I plugged in an m.2 SSD, closed it up. The SSD didn't seem to be connected correctly, so I tried to open it up again and 1 screw just totally warped. I did use the correct screwdriver, it's actually exactly the same one as the Lenovo engineer who repaired my laptop yesterday used. I can probably drill it out without doing any damage, but if anyone has a better solution I'd like to hear it. I'm also looking for some replacement screws (the size/type isn't mentioned in the replacement manual, but I' ve already opened at seperate topic for that).
I know this post is quite old, but did you by any chance find a way to take it out?

Stripped screw to remove optical drive

Hi everybody,
I'm trying to remove the optical drive in my Macbook pro 2011.
I want to add a second drive.
Problem is, one of the screws to remove in order to do it, is Stripped..
My computer is still under applecare.. Would Apple accept to help me out with this ?

yanco wrote:
Would Apple accept to help me out with this ?
Nope, but you might find a sympathetic Genius that has a trick to get it out.
If AppleCare finds out you tampered with the optical drive, it's voided you know.
Or you can visit the hardware store(s) and find a stripped screw remover tools.
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/02/the-12-best-ways-to-remove-strip ped-screws/

Removing stripped screw and RAM access door

I thought upgrading the RAM on my circa early 2008 iMac would be as simple as removing a single screw. Well, it would be if I could get the screw out and get the RAM access door off. I have tried using a #1 Phillips screwdriver, pressing firmly and turning slowly. Thus far, the screw turns but will not come out, as though the threads are stripped. The head is also starting to strip as well. I have given up in frustration and fear of damaging the screw further. I have seen other threads that indicate this is not an uncommon problem, and I'm wondering whether there is anything else to try before loading it in the car and taking it to an authorized repair center. Any suggestions?

It is a captured screw and does not come out of the cover. If the screw is loose and spinning around, then you should be able to use a small tool and pop the RAM cover off.

Stripped screw in hard drive carrier (Aargh)

OK, so decided to upgrade my Jan 09 17inch MBP. Got memory and a larger disk. Used Super Duper to clone my drive, popped the case, swapped the memory, no sweat. Then found that the second screw on the hard drive carrier was REALLY tight, and ended up stripping the head (Aargh). Any recommendations on how to get that screw out? And then, of course, will need a replacement screw... I expect I will end up going to an Apple authorized service center, just checking to see if there is something simple that I can do myself, or if anyone knows of a source for those screws. At least it has delayed me long enough to consider getting one of the larger (750gig or 1TB!) 2.5" drives now available.
TIA, Tom B.

Sigh, probably the wrong forum, as this is the 'original' not the 'newer' MBP forum. Anyway, was reviewing the manual about upgrading, and the screw I stripped is a 'captive' one, which means I will have to get the whole assembly replaced, so looks like I am off to an Apple Authorized Service Center anyway.
Oh, well....

Stripped screw hole (upper case), apple care, and questions.

Greeting,
Let me explain my setup:
First, I have a 2010 MBP, AppleCare expires on July 9, 2013.
I have upgraded the hard drive and the RAM (256GB SSD and 8GB RAM). I performed this upgrade several months ago.
Today, I noticed one of the screws on the bottom, the one on the front corner nearest the sleep indicator light. It is just spinning loosely in it's socket. Weird... I took my 00 philips (I always use the proper tools when working on my equipment) and noticed that it will barely grab... It's effectively stripped. Now, I have no idea how this just "happens". But now I'm looking at a upper case replacement (because those threads are fixed in aluminum in the upper case. Is this sort of stuff covered under apple care? Will this be attributed to user damage? If so, how much will the repair cost me?
Also, in the last two years, I have not had any repairs performed under warranty. None. My machine has been flawless since day one. I would hate to fork up $400 bucks for an upper case but this screw thing is bugging me.
Should I remove my SSD and RAM before brining the machine to apple? Should I reinstall the stock hardware? Thanks.

if you are the one who stripped the screw, Apple will not fix it free of charge. Also, no you do not need to remove upgraded components before bringing it in for service.

I have stripped a screw replacing the had cable, what do I do?

I have stripped the right screw under the black barrier that both the screw and barrier hold down the had cable. Do I have any options? I know it was stupid but hey-ho can't go back and change it now. Thanks for all the help!

Ok I have removed tons of stripped screws. They make a left handed Drill Bit. You need a Reversable Drill and it needs to be on reverse or turning from right to left to unscrew it install the drill bit in the drill and if the drill is variable speed you start id very very slow and right in the middle of the screw. See if you can find an easy out small enough to start in the hole you have made and it will screw right out.
If the head is so damaged you will need a very small chisel and a very small jewelers hammer and put the chissel on the edge of the head and tap it gently to unscrew it remembering that righty tighty lefty loosy.
It is time consuming but it will come out. Without any trouble go slow and easy.

Can Apple fix my mac's stripped 3 screws?!

Help! i wanna know whther apple can actually fix my mac's stripped screws or not! cuz i m not able to remove them using the glue sticking technique! please! help me!
or if u ae any video suggestions! please kindly put them in th description!

Why not bring it to an Apple store or AASP and have them look at it and advise you?
cuz this is a user forum and not a repair shop.

I have a iphone 4, but one of the screws to take of the back shell is stripped???

If anyone could help me out that would me amazing

That isn't really an iPhone question, its a mechanical repair question, and the answer is the same as it would be for any mechanic trying to remove a stripped screw. Are the threads stripped, or the slot? If its the slot judicious use of super glue might help, or use a screw extractor tool. If it is the threads a screw extractor is about the only option, or drill out the screw and use a thread cutting screw to replace it.
The bigger problem is that you shouldn't be opening the phone. If you got it open there's a high probably you would make whatever problem you have worse, and opening it voids both the warranty and any chance of getting a discounted replacement from Apple.

Disassembly of Mac Pro - Jewelers Screws?

I know this is not a PC, but why, oh why would they make the first step in getting anything apart in your Mac Pro to remove 2 small jewelers screws on the bottom of the memory compartment that are not only hard to get at, but are so blasted tight, that they get stripped out when attempting to remove them.
Has anybody had any luck removing them without a stripped screw remover?
SH

Thanks for the link mbean, if I can't saw the screws
off, it's nice to know that I can just push the cage
back to remove the heatsink cover and front fan
assembly...
Not sure why the other posters are playing devil's
advocate because these screws are completely
ridiculous and maybe I just want to disassemble the
case for the heck of it.
I have found that while the Apple boards can be very helpful, many of the posters support Apple decisions even when they make no sense. There seems to be a lack of independent thinking or there are a lots of Apple drones out there. If you really want to get them going start talking about how "Dell doesn't have this problem".
Personally, I don't care who makes a product, if there is a way to make it better, I am interested. Its funny that some users would question why you want to take the Mac Pro apart. Like you need to explain your reasons before they can help you?
I have tried to remove the center CPU heat sink by moving the memory tray back but the play on my unit is not enough to loosen the tabs. In the AndanTech article the writer seems surprised that he did not break the tabs
Based on that, I think pushing the memory cage back may not be the best solution.

How to remove stripped philips

I have recently converted my iphone 4 black to white and everything works great but now i am trying to replce a home button that matches more but the phillip screw head is now stripped. any tips? ive tried the rubber band trick and that did not work. can apple help me or am i on my own?

Which screw is stripped? A small slotted screwdriver (flathead screwdriver) can sometimes work. A small screw driver with a tiny dab of superglue on tip, hold to screw perfectly still, let dry, then unscrew. Take old plastic pen, heat till surface melts, press into screw head to make impression of screw head, let it cool-harden again, use as screwdriver to remove screw. Sometimes just a new screwdriver helps, because screwdrivers wear out, and a new one may have just enough bite to get the stripped screw out.

Stripped Screws

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