Stripped screws that hold down disk drive

The problem is metric versus some funny primitive feet inches measurement system that came from the British and was replaced the whole Planet over except for America in the 1970 Approxm.

Remember this was assembled in the far east and likely they use metric centimeter milimeter and meters 1 ,10 ,100 ,1000 and not 1 ,12 ,7000 or something funny like that.

If the screwdriver does not fit 100% and it fits 95% then the screws will get damaged, this is the metric versus primitive as standard.

I have found that some parts are made here in American and so the use of ELEN keys looking like a number 7 or L shape with six sides does the job very good if you don't have another tool. Also if the shaft of the screwing device is not 100% straight in line or 90deg. with horizontal surface of screw it does not make for a proper grip and so also strips the screw heads.

I have seen online there is replacement screws available for an arm and a leg.

Try some place like your local eyewear shop or electronics shop as they will likely have screws that can replace yours for a small fee.

SOLUTION:
If you have the drive with brakets away from the PowerBook use Superglue/instant glue and bond some old tool to the screws to remove them.

Also make sure that there is some form of covering over your PowerBook to stop metal shaving and other small particles falling into the circuit board/motherboard .

There should be with removing the side closest to the battery an way of moving it or something and then the bracket comes out with the drive I am not sure it has been some time.

Just hold on a few min. as I still might have the maintance manual here somewhere and will check and reply back. 10-15min.

Yup the screws closest to the battery goes first and the lift that side the other side farthest from the battery will slide out of it's holding pockets??

I am not sure about this carrier thingy as it appears to be of flexible material but it might not be in newer models.

This text below is from the manual .
( ebay @ $9.99 for a cd with all availble manuals for Apple products.)

Disconnect the connector cable from the logic board.

( closest to battery )
With a Torx T-8 screwdriver, remove the two screws that secure the hard disk carrier to the mounting bracket and then gently remove the hard disk.

Replacing the Hard Disk and Bottom Case Follow the steps in this section to replace the hard disk. 1 Remove the screw from the top of the hard disk mounting bracket.

Lift the mounting bracket up and gently bend it around the first battery bay tab. The tab holds the bracket out of the way. Warning Lift the bracket just high enough to clear the battery bay tab. If you lift the bracket higher than the tab you risk damaging the bracket, and such damage is not covered by the limited warranty on your computer.

3 Insert the two screws into the two rubber stoppers, and screw them into the left side of the drive. Then make sure that the bottom and left and right sides of the drive are covered by the Mylar sheath.

4 Insert the right side of the drive first, then insert the left side of the drive. Use the holes in the drive carrier to line up the drive with the bracket.

I hope this helps.

SOLUTION:
Buy a Damaged Screw Extractor from your local Sears tool department. Apparently the individual sizes are no longer made, so you may only find the full set in stock. This is basically a specially grooved drill bit (drill required). Take your time and keep the bit centered on the screw, go slowly and it works like magic without ruining the screw hole! I've used these on 3 computers so far without a hitch! Individual bits are a couple dollars. The full set is approximately $30.
Enjoy!

a little late on this thread, but i'll put in some input ofr the next guy....
I hit a stripped screw scenario on my harddrive as well. I masking taped paper to the area around it to prevent metal shavings from getting into the works, and used my dremel w/ a cutoff wheel to carve a slot for a flathead- I don't remember if the screw was countersunk and stuck on the way out, or if it was a pan head type that wouldn't budge. at any rate, there was meat to cut into. Worked great, but was annoying. Actually, I think it worked great on one of them, the other I just cut the head entirely off, and removed with a needlenose once I got the drive out.

I thought the screws were stuck due to dissimilar metals between the magnesium chassis and the steel (or low-allow stainless) screw, with the aluminum hardrive possibly adding to the mix of cathodic current.

I replaced them with allen-head screws.

- - Dave