Stripped screw on laptop heatsink, cant screw in. EXTREMELY important.

[caim1231]

So my friends Dell Latitude E6400 has a stripped screw on the heatsink, preventing him from screwing it in, which results in a very loud and annoying fan noise, and it also overheats his laptop. We dont wanna tell his dad, and we also dont want to buy anything to fix it.One last thing to mention is that we already tried the rubber band trick and it didnt work. *edit* It only has issues when gaming, casual use such as youtube and social media work fine and dont overheat the laptop.

[Mao_Zedong]

You could try hot-gluing the screw to the screwdriver and removing the glue afterwards. 

[W-L]

So my friends Dell Latitude E6400 has a stripped screw on the heatsink, preventing him from screwing it in, which results in a very loud and annoying fan noise, and it also overheats his laptop. We dont wanna tell his dad, and we also dont want to buy anything to fix it.One last thing to mention is that we already tried the rubber band trick and it didnt work. *edit* It only has issues when gaming, casual use such as youtube and social media work fine and dont overheat the laptop.

 

You could try using a small file to cut a new flat head slot into it but of course take if out of the laptop when doing this but the easiest is to get a new screw they cost very little and if you ask most local repair shops as long as they have one they'll most likely just give you it. Don't forget to reapply thermal paste during re-installation.

[Juan Remes]

Lets see if i understood right, you just need 1 new screw? The "screwed up" screw is not even in the heatsink? You are not trying and struggling to get it out but to screw it in? If that i what is happening, why dont you just buy a new one? ITS A SCREW

 

[IvIast3r]

So this works great on normal deck screws but hey a screw is a screw. Anyways spit on the ground or on the screwdriver tip and then stick the screwdriver in dirt or sand. Anything to get a grit on the screwdriver tip, after this you know what to do.

[caim1231]

Lets see if i understood right, you just need 1 new screw? The "screwed up" screw is not even in the heatsink? You are not trying and struggling to get it out but to screw it in? If that i what is happening, why dont you just buy a new one? ITS A SCREW

The Messed up screw IS in the heatsink but it cant come out. 

[LexCalifornia]

The Messed up screw IS in the heatsink but it cant come out. 

Drill the bad screw.

 

Use the smallest drill bit you can find + you need a screw that will match the size of the drill bit (should be 1/4 of the broken screw), drill a hole in the middle of the bad screw, use another screw that you put into that hole, screw the whole thing out. Replace the screw with a new one. Done.

[Flashie]

You can check online. There are places that sell screws for these instances. You can try and find a screw thats nearly similar too, or just take it to local computer store and hope they have a spare screw aside for you.

[Juan Remes]

In that case you could use the smallest screw extractor you can find: http://images11.palcdn.com/hlr-system/WebPhotos/83/836/8366/8366312.jpg?_v=5a94e708-b43a-47fc-b9d2-56110847a5a6

but you will need to drill a little hole in the messed up screw anyways

[TheKDub]

What I tend to do for removing stripped screws from things is take a drill and have it spin as fast as it can in reverse, while putting a large amount of pressure on the screw until the friction between the bit and screw cause it to come out.

Though wouldn't really recommend it in this situation as it tends to heat up a lot. (Hot enough that just barely touching the screw after being removed will cause burns)

 

Screw extractors may work. (They have reversed threading, that way when you try removing the screw the extractor will dig into the head of it, but will make the screw come out because it would be rotating counter-clockwise.)

[Daggeroth]

I ran into the same situation. I used a polymer glue/epoxy type. And literally glued the screwdriver bit into the screw. after it set for 20 minutes it came right out,And I was applying alot of torque on the screw.. My brother had the nut on the bottom of the mobo loosen. and thus his screw wouldn't come out. But it was solved by removing the mobo. holding the nut and removing it that way. Hope it works for you as well. Jb weld is a good product. it hardens like metal.

[GamerGuyEbby]

Glue it or what helps me sometimes is using a bigger bit.