Broken key in locked position...

[porina]

I have an old HP microserver and there's a key to lock the front panel where the drives are. I left the key in there so I wouldn't lose it. In moving stuff around I knocked the key and it snapped. The tip of the key is still in the lock, and no easy way to remove it that I can see. I tried jamming in a screwdriver to see if there tip was in the right place to turn, but no. I have a spare key, but it isn't going in while the tip of the existing one is still in there. Any ideas?

 

The way the server is designed I can't access the internals without opening the door. A last resort would be to physically break the door off.

 

Any ideas?

 

[WaffleBoss419]

use the broken key to try and turn the lock

 

[losBaumos]

Maybe you can grab the key with an pair of teweezers

[porina]

1 minute ago, WaffleBoss419 said:

use the broken key to try and turn the lock

Doesn't do anything. It doesn't seem to go far enough in to grip anything.

[BrinkGG]

3 minutes ago, porina said:

I have an old HP microserver and there's a key to lock the front panel where the drives are. I left the key in there so I wouldn't lose it. In moving stuff around I knocked the key and it snapped. The tip of the key is still in the lock, and no easy way to remove it that I can see. I tried jamming in a screwdriver to see if there tip was in the right place to turn, but no. I have a spare key, but it isn't going in while the tip of the existing one is still in there. Any ideas?

 

The way the server is designed I can't access the internals without opening the door. A last resort would be to physically break the door off.

 

Any ideas?

 

Jab a butter knife in behind the key and turn. The useful part of the key is still in there, just needs to be turned.

Though if you want the key out... You probably have to drill the lock out... 

[Tomic]

Are the keys magnetic if so you could try using a strong magnet like one from a hard drive to get the peice out or if there's enough room then you could try tweesers

Tomic 

[porina]

Just now, losBaumos said:

Maybe you can grab the key with an pair of teweezers

Had thought of that, but I don't a set small enough to fit.

 

1 minute ago, Brink2Three said:

Jab a butter knife in behind the key and turn. The useful part of the key is still in there, just needs to be turned.

Though if you want the key out... You probably have to drill the lock out... 

I'm not sure it is at the right depth. I tried using a flat blade screwdriver to turn without success.

 

1 minute ago, Tomic said:

Are the keys magnetic if so you could try using a strong magnet like one from a hard drive to get the peice out or if there's enough room then you could try tweesers

Tomic 

I'll see if I can find something suitable, but the narrow opening doesn't fill me with hope.

[BleakMaker]

If your goal is to preserve the door but the lock does not matter to you. You will need too drill through the lock and put in a screwdriver or something to try and turn the lock if this does not work you can try to make a little wig between the case and your door and cut of the metal keeping the door locked. and after this bend the door back. there will be no pretty way i'm aware of sorry.

[porina]

To close on this, a guy at work who is a lot more mechanically minded than me said he would take a look. I bought it in, and had it open in minutes. He got a large screwdriver and stuck it in the lock, and forced the whole lock mechanism around to effectively unlock it. The lock mechanism is a flattened cylinder shape inserted into a corresponding shaped hole in the door. It was normally prevented from rotating by the plastic and metal of the case, which was weak enough to be forced. After the door was opened, the lock mechanism could be gracefully removed. I don't think I'll bother replacing it. The door can still be kept closed by friction.