[Sirfishalot]

Help! The RAM shield screws on my wifes iBook have been stripped by yours truly trying to remove them to do an upgrade. They are on so tight that my very small screw driver head was deformed trying to get them out.
I am I totally screwed here or is there some other way to get them out? They're not totally stripped yet, but pretty close.

Thanks

[gcvt]

If you have a Dremel tool and know how to use it well, you could try cutting small new slots across each screw and removing them with a blade screwdriver. Then, of course, you could replace the screws with new ones.

[nbn22385]

Sears sells little bits that resemble drill bits that are supposed to extract stripped screws.

[tooki]

Originally posted by Sirfishalot:
Help! The RAM shield screws on my wifes iBook have been stripped by yours truly trying to remove them to do an upgrade. They are on so tight that my very small screw driver head was deformed trying to get them out.
I am I totally screwed here or is there some other way to get them out? They're not totally stripped yet, but pretty close.

Thanks

This is why it's critical to get a good quality screwdriver of the right kind: phillips 00. A flathead driver won't go deep enough to grab the screw, and a larger one will just slip, and one too small will just grind away the screw head. It is also critical to apply plenty of pressure when unscrewing indigent screws -- too little will just slip and strip the head. It is of supreme importance that the screwdriver not slip with screws this small.

My suggestion would be to go to Sears and get item #945736 "12-pc Micro-Tech Precision Screwdriver Set", which contains P0, P00, and P000 screwdrivers, as well as Torx and flathead drivers that come in handy for all sorts of things. Try using the P00 with lots of pressure to get them out. If not, you're probably in for a visit to a service provider.

tooki

[Wiskedjak]

Gotta say, I really like the iBook design, but RAM access is among the worst of all laptops.

[Sirfishalot]

The Sears 00 and a little pressure was just the ticket. Was able to pick up just a single phillips driver for a couple bucks. Thanks Tooki, you made my day. Now just pray that this generic RAM will perform.

[ort888]

Those screws suck!

I just changed out the RAM on my new iBook and those terrible screws made what should have been an easy job a total ordeal.

What where they thinking? First of all, they are tiny, OK, fine. But they made them out of such a soft metal, and then they screwed them in so tight that it takes a ridiculous amount of force to unscrew them. I was using the a mini screwdriver, which was exactly the right size... and I half stripped at least two of those screws. I had to use the a pair of pliers to turn the screwdriver so I could get enough torque to get the screws out. It was really frustrating.

Good thing I'll most likely never have to do it again. (then again, I also made sure that I didn't put them back in so tight, so it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal)

[tooki]

I've never found the screws to be problematic, provided you're using the right tool, and use enough pressure to keep the screwdriver from slipping (which isn't too much).

I find the iBook to be a very easy machine to install RAM in.

By the way, the initial removal is harder not because they screwed them tight: they use thread locking compound (essentially glue that dries brittle) to keep them from loosening in transport. Once you've broken the locking compound, it's easy. If you look at the screws, you'll see some residue, usually blue -- that's the locking compound. It's widely used in electronics where screws can't be too tight, but can't fall out in transport. Permanent locking compound exists to make removal impossible, but that's not what's in an iBook.

tooki