Stripped screw

Not necessarily, if the screw was in properly installed cross-threaded than it will strip the head upon removal or the first try. With the tiny size of the screw the slightest over torque would strip the head. With that said a good tech should be ably to tell if the screw was turned in the correct direction.

Sorry about that Ian, I did not mean to lie. I misread his above question, I thought when he went to unscrew it that it became stripped right away, like a weak screw. Don't lie, just say that you unscrewed it improperly and they may charge you like 10 bucks.
Sorry about that above post.

Possibly you can unscrew it with an small screwdriver and a drop of superglue. Order some new screws at a retail store or refurbish companies.

*GOOD GRIEF !!*

gummibear,

I had this problem with a 12" Powerbook on which I was trying to change the harddrive. I took it to the Genius Bar (with an appointment) and:
1. They had the tools to remove the screw. They replaced it with a new one.
2. They did so cheerfully.
3. They charged me nothing.

My laptop was not under warranty.

I cannot promise that you will have the same experience (it may partly depend on how badly the screw is stripped) but I would urge you not to underestimate the degree of genial helpfulness one gets from the Genius Bar, most of the time for free. It truly is a great resource.

Be polite when making your request, and you will likely see that attitude returned - with helpfulness added. That, at least, has been my experience on several visits to the Genius Bar.

seconded - I've just got back from the Stamford Apple store. Called first and was told they would be able to sort it - wandered in and got an appointment straight away. No questions asked (except 'how the **** did you manage to mess the screw up that badly?'), the guy got the screw out using two x-acto knives which he pushed into the screw and slowly turned. They had a returned laptop which they took the bracket from and put it straight in - no paperwork, no fee, no problem. And no lies!

Same problem here. I've yet to see a company that nickels and dimes you as Apple. I've never seen a screw break as easily as this in my whole life. I have all kinds of macs, but jesus, I'm getting tired of all this nickel and diming.

Since I'm in Brazil, I guess the nearest "genious" is some 4000 miles away. So no solution for me...

Great advice! I have just come back from my local apple store, which is about 130 miles away, but it was worth it. As my stripped screw is all fixed 🙂. Apparently they have terrible time getting the screw out, they had to bend the back panel beyond all recognition and then fight with the screw. Anyway I got my MacBook Pro back within 40 minutes all fixed, with new a set of new screws and a new back panel and it didn't cost me a penny.

I have got to say Apple Genius's are life savers! I thought my MBP's warrantee and my AppleCare was all voided.

Note to anyone how has stripped one of their screws, take it to an Apple Store, simple 🙂

PS
I did phone AppleCare, and they recommended me an local authorised reseller, but they said it would have to be sent off and I wouldn't have it back until the new year, and possibility I would have to pay for it to get fixed.

This happened to me too! how long did it take for them to fix it and how much did it cost?

I have the same problem (I live in London) with my MBP. A screw from the RAM cover is stripped and I cannot open to install a new RAM module. I called an authorized reseller to see if they could help. The answer was that they could, but will charge 60 Pounds!! And that is because it is something easy, otherwise I was told it would be more than 100 Pounds!!

Anyway, after what I've read I may take my MBP directly to the Apple Store to see if a Genius can help and at a lower cost.

Resellers may charge you for service, but the Apple store is pretty good about offering these services at no charge.

"I mean, it's a screw, which most likely costs one half of one cent. don't sweat it. "

If he mucked up the screw head, why would Apple replace the screw free? If the screw threads are mucked up, perhaps he managed to damage the internal threads of the hard drive mounting assembly. Do you think Apple will replace that assembly free?

More than likely the screw head is all that's stripped, and with care it can be reslotted and removed. This can usually be done quite simply, but you need the proper tools and skill.

carl wolf wrote:
"I mean, it's a screw, which most likely costs one half of one cent. don't sweat it. "

If he mucked up the screw head, why would Apple replace the screw free? If the screw threads are mucked up, perhaps he managed to damage the internal threads of the hard drive mounting assembly. Do you think Apple will replace that assembly free?

I've found that a lot of companies will help out with little things because it's a lot cheaper to replace something cheap like a screw rather than risk losing a future customer. I dropped my cell phone once, and it scrambled the display, likely due to a ribbon connector getting misaligned . When I sent it into Nokia, I wrote down exactly what happened, and expected to receive a bill. I got a new display and a note that it was repaired for free as a courtesy.

You seem to making a lot of assumptions. At the very least the OP can ask if it can be repaired. Maybe it's free, maybe it's not. However - this is not an expensive thing to do with the right equipment, and I would surmise that an Apple Store would do it either for free or for a nominal cost.

Recutting an internally threaded device is not a simple task, especially when you're working with small parts, and soft metal. After the rethreading, an oversized screw would need to be used. I doubt that Apple has oversized screws to be used in cases where an over zealous end-user strips a thread. On the other hand, expecting Apple to replace the entire hard drive mounting bracket for free will be an unrealized expectation on the OP's part.