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joe · Mar 4, 2006, 05:36 PM

Just my luck, I dropped one of the 4 special rubber coated hard drive screws into the drive bay section of my dual 2.5Ghz G5 tower. And in accordance with Murphy's Law, it fell behind everything and disappeared into oblivion. No amount of shaking, rolling, and cursing has been able to convince the blasted thing to roll back up into the hard drive bay area.

It appears the only way to retrieve it is to completely disassemble the Tower right down the case. I've got quite a lot of experience doing this on PCs. But I'm not sure where to begin on my G5 Tower - maybe the G5 cooling system. Does anyone know of any link/resource for tearing down liquid cooled G5s?

FireWire · Mar 12, 2006, 05:30 AM

I don't know if this is asking for trouble, but you could try to find the screw by using a magnetic pickup tool, similar to this one :

Waragainstsleep · Mar 12, 2006, 09:51 AM

Hold it over your head and shake it. Always works for me. I do it frequently.

jtalerico · Mar 12, 2006, 06:42 PM

It being a LC G5, I would not hold it over my head.. Due to some of them leaking..

chris v · Mar 12, 2006, 07:57 PM

Heck, three out of four ain't bad. I doubt your hard drive will suffer any missing one guide screw.

FireWire · Mar 13, 2006, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by chris v

Heck, three out of four ain't bad. I doubt your hard drive will suffer any missing one guide screw.

I think the concern is more about the risk of shock or short-circuits, am I wrong?

Maflynn · Mar 13, 2006, 06:07 AM

When I drop a screw into the case like that, I typically rock and rotate the case until the screw dislodges and/or rolls to a place I can grab it.

Tuoder · Mar 13, 2006, 06:31 AM

I don't like putting magnets near computers. If the HDD was out of it, though, I see no problem.

Matt S · Mar 13, 2006, 02:40 PM

Use compressed air (as in garage) and blow it out?

joe · Mar 13, 2006, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by FireWire

I think the concern is more about the risk of shock or short-circuits, am I wrong?

You are correct, that is my main concern. I don't mind spending the time to tear it down to the case. But I'm not sure how to remove the liquid cooling components - starting with the thin aluminum cover. In addition, the insides of my G5 Tower as just as beautiful as the outside. I don't want to start poking around and risking cosmetic damage either.

joe · Mar 13, 2006, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by Maflynn

When I drop a screw into the case like that, I typically rock and rotate the case until the screw dislodges and/or rolls to a place I can grab it.

Believe me, I tried that for quite a long time. There is a small passage behind the hard drive area that leads to the space behind the motherboard. It's not flush with the back of the case. So even when I'm lucky enough to get the screw to roll into the general area, it refuses to go back up into the hard drive bay area. It's a wonder the screw even fell through that small passage to begin with - a perfect example of Murphy's Law

joe · Mar 13, 2006, 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by chris v

Heck, three out of four ain't bad. I doubt your hard drive will suffer any missing one guide screw.

True, the drive is currently held in place with 3 of the 4 special drive screws. Also, these drive screws are rubber coated and painted black. This "may" provide enough insulation to buy me some time until I can figure out how to remove the various componenets and get to the wayward drive screw. I don't want to put this off very long tho.

Maflynn · Mar 14, 2006, 06:13 AM

Did you try slowly rotating the computing on a floor. Basically you want the bottom of the case to be the top. That should dislodge it, for safety sake I'd remove the hard drive as you do that. No need to create a head crash and lose your data.

Mike

chris v · Mar 14, 2006, 07:46 AM

A little magnet, just strong enough to grab the screw, is not going to damage your hard drive. My phillips-head screw driver has a magnatized tip, and it has saved my butt in situations like this a few times, now.

I Bent My Wookiee · Mar 14, 2006, 04:38 PM

You have to use those magnetic screwdrivers. That is what the Apple techs use when servicing my G5.

Coldwater · Mar 15, 2006, 12:38 AM

This could help in your search

http://www.whoopis.com/computer_repair/#gseries

Highlite the line - PowerMac G5, Power Mac G5 ( June 2004 ), Power Mac ( Early 2005).

Can't find the one with more specific photos.

joe · Mar 16, 2006, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by Coldwater

This could help in your search

Thanx Coldwater!

Damn that sneaky little rivet! Especially with my recent AppleCare purchase

Looks like the only way that screw is coming out is via Apple Certified tech. Or maybe keep trying the old shake, rattle, and roll routine.