What screw size do I need for the HDD data cable in 15" MBP (mid-2010)?

Question

What screw size do I need for the HDD data cable in 15" MBP (mid-2010)?

In what turned out to be the most frustrating night of my life, I decided to upgrade my mid-2010 15" MBP from the factory 256GB HDD to a 1TB drive. All was well until the ultra-cheap internal screws stripped, which I have heard is a big problem. I finally got the mounts out with a little force, and then accidentally tore the HDD data cable. 😠

So when I tried to unscrew the small screws with precision and care to replace the data cable, those screws ALSO stripped. I managed to get one out, but the other one was stuck, and even the Genius at Apple said they couldn't do anything for me because their methods of extraction could possibly ruin my upper case.

So I ended up just cutting the rest of the HDD cord around the last remaining stuck screw. I've included a picture below, the screw that remains is the one with the red circle around it.

So the real question: I lost the other screw, so I have no idea what size it is and if I can buy it from a local hardware or electronics store, or is it something I will need to special order?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Signed,

Screwed by a simple harddrive replacement

MacBook Pro (15-inch 2.53 GHz), Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Feb 6, 2014 9:10 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 18, 2017 6:29 AM in response to BobRz

Hah, no you didn't make me feel worse. that's all I removed initially before the HDD cable tore, rendering it useless. So I had to remove the two screws in the picture circled in red to get the data cable out.

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Answer 2

Feb 18, 2017 6:29 AM in response to Courcoul

Hey Courcoul, thanks for your response. I saw that they have the screw set, but I want to avoid paying $60 for the whole set when all I need is the two tiny ones. Sure, I could keep the rest as spares, but I think I've learned my lesson about messing with the internals.

Actually, it's out of stock so I couldn't buy it if I wanted 😐

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