M.2 Screw Refuses to Unscrew

[Falmk]

Hey all, I have an AORUS PRO B550M board that refuses to release either of the pre-inserted m.2 drive screws. Do you have any recommendations on how to remove the screw? And yes before you ask, I have tried a screwdriver of proper size. 

[The_russian]

You should be able to unscrew it with the correct size screwdriver. Sometimes they are screwed in pretty tight and some have some thread locker on them for some reason, you just have to unscrew a little harder than most screws. 

[Falmk]

2 minutes ago, The_russian said:

You should be able to unscrew it with the correct size screwdriver. Sometimes they are screwed in pretty tight and some have some thread locker on them for some reason, you just have to unscrew a little harder than most screws. 

I could imagine that they are on tight, but everyone around me at the moment was unable to free the screw, and I am quite nervous about stripping the screw.

[bmx6454]

they are usually attached to a riser, if that is the case, and it won't break free, i would remove the whole riser with the screw, and either separate them, or replace the riser and screw.

[Bigshot0910]

3 hours ago, bmx6454 said:

they are usually attached to a riser, if that is the case, and it won't break free, i would remove the whole riser with the screw, and either separate them, or replace the riser and screw.

This is generally what I do with stuck M.2 or mobo screws. Once the screw and riser are out of the case/mobo just grab the riser with a pair of pliers in one hand and use the screwdriver in the other. Turn in opposite directions to release. 

[Falmk]

10 hours ago, Bigshot0910 said:

This is generally what I do with stuck M.2 or mobo screws. Once the screw and riser are out of the case/mobo just grab the riser with a pair of pliers in one hand and use the screwdriver in the other. Turn in opposite directions to release. 

Is there any way to remove the riser without your hand? I assume needle nose pliers would work but I don’t want to mess anything up.

[Falmk]

15 hours ago, bmx6454 said:

they are usually attached to a riser, if that is the case, and it won't break free, i would remove the whole riser with the screw, and either separate them, or replace the riser and screw.

This did actually work! The pliers did slip a little and did scrape the mobo, but it lost looks surface and shouldn’t affect the board