Thinkpads Forum

I've closely followed all the threads on removing screws with stripped heads, but I think I've reached the limits of my skills, and wonder if anyone near NYC is expert enough to remove the two tiny M0 screws that hold down the mini-PCI WLAN card in an X61s - and willing to take this on as a repair job.

Here's the situation:

In my X61s, I need to replace the Intel 802.11n card with an Atheros card to get full compatibility with an Airport Express router. (I know from experience with a T61 that this swap fixes all compatibility problems instantly.)

The mini-PCI card in the X61s is held down by the tiniest possible screws - the heads are about 0.2 mm think - completely different from the more substantial screw heads that I found in the T61. I stupidly used the wrong driver to remove these at first, and all my attempts at recovery with other tools have only made the problem even worse. The heads are much too thin to grip with needle-nose pliers or with straight-cut pliers. A screw extractor set - the one with the four sharp tips that are supposed to grip the screws - didn't help, and the heads are now a miniature disaster area.

I don't trust myself to drill out the heads without destroying the machine. Is there long-term member of this forum who might want to be paid for the job of removing the screws? (I'm in Manhattan.) Or is there any friendly shop in NYC that can manage this without charging more than it would cost for a replacement computer?

Many thanks for any help - or for other suggestions!

Rather than try to drill out the screws, if you use a small Dremel type hand grinder, you should be able to grind off the heads flush with the card, then remove the card. With the tension off of the screws, you should be able to grip the remaining thread sticking up after the card is removed with some pliers or small vice-grips and unthread the remains of the screw.

http://www.themodelhobby.com/dremeltools.php

Or use the same Dremel to cut a new groove for a flat-blade screwdriver.
Make sure to tape off the whole area by e.g. using a sheet of paper, cut out a hole big enough to work, and use scotch tape to tape it around that screw.
You don't want any metal filings in your laptop!

Many thanks for the advice about Dremel - which sounds like the right thing to do. I've never used a Dremel, unfortunately, and I don't really want to risk my beloved X61s while I learn, so I think I'll have this job done by someone else. Meanwhile, it's obviously time for me to buy and learn the Dremel for next time. Many thanks for the instructions - exactly why this forum is such a terrific place to visit.

I had this problem, and solved it with pliers.

I had to go out and buy a really nice pair of pliers to make it work - the needle-nose pliers I had were small, but the ends were not well-machined enough to grip the screws.

Just grab the head of the screw from above - not from the side - and twist. If the pliers are good, it shouldn't be too hard.

You can also buy a small left-handed drill bit ( left-handed means it cuts in the opposite direction of a standard drill bit). I buy mine online from Enco. Most of the time as the drill starts to cut the screw will back out on its own.

Wish i lived closer so I could help you (my son attended NYU, so I used to get to Manhattan a couple of times a year).

Scott

I am also thinking left handed drill. One step further, I would tape everything I could, then apply ample plenty Vaseline to the head of the screw, this would help catch chips as they are created. Work quickly or you are just going the melt the Vaseline. but when it grips, the screew will back right out.

Ron

Many thanks for the good advice: the left-handed bit turned out to be the solution - BUT I'm glad to report that the person who used the left-handed bit was Brad - a regular contributor to this site, who did the job in New York for a very reasonable fee, and threw in some interesting conversation about ThinkPads as a bonus. If anyone needs any careful, steady-hand work done on a ThinkPad or anything else in or around New York, I strongly recommend sending a pm to Brad.

Here's a link to Brad's profile:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/memberlist.p ... ile&u=4766