PS3 HDD Blue Screw Issue - Blu-ray Forum

vladittude0583 · 03-02-2010, 02:04 AM

Hey guys, I have a friend who has the 80GB PS3 and is wanting to replace his HDD to 320 GB, however, he happened to have stripped the blue screw that holds in the HDD. Thus, are there any simple tools, without it being too expensive of course, that he could use to remove the stripped blue screw? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

neos_peace · 03-02-2010, 02:12 AM

1st off-Thats sucks.

ok as far as the screw, my advise being this (since I have had it happen to me just not on the PS3 issue that is) get something that is VERY flat and see about wedging it under the head and act is if prying it out as you do this try unscrewing it. If that don't work see if you can grab hold of the head wiht a pair of pliers andand see bout twisting it out that way other then that, don't know what to tell you.

of course you can learn to use the other part of your brain and try manipulating the metal wiht your mind (like magneto or something)

out side of that have now idea what to tel you.

DJ Manyak · 03-02-2010, 02:18 AM

That's sucks I would try needle nose or something magentic

TL OWNS U · 03-02-2010, 02:22 AM

had that happen to me with my 1st PS3. The easiest way to get it out is to get a flat head screw driver and slide it under the screw and try to push it up until it comes out.

Septimus Prime · 03-02-2010, 02:23 AM

Yeah, use needle nose pliers.

u_nick · 03-02-2010, 02:29 AM

Yeah, when I did mine a couple months ago, my screw stripped too. I googled and found it was actually a common issue. Way more than I expected at least. It's just a really crappy screw. 95% of the time the recommended fix was needlenose pliers. I guess the head is just thick enough where the pliers can grab it nicely. Worked like a charm for me.

RocShemp · 03-02-2010, 04:00 AM

I took a saw blade an slowly sawed a new head on the screw so I could use a regular flat screwdriver.

Xerios · 03-02-2010, 01:18 PM

did it on my 60gb... used a flat head to turn a bit, and then used pliers to hold a bit n try that....

owa · 03-02-2010, 01:54 PM

Even though I had read that you need to be careful and I was, I still stripped it. Like some of the others, I used pliers to get it out.

groovyone · 03-02-2010, 02:37 PM

That one came out easy for me with the right screwdriver. I did have to drill out two of the HDD carrier screws though.

jono_0101 · 03-02-2010, 05:24 PM

the screws on the tray are what gave me trouble, i actually couldnt get one out, and i ended up just clipping the metal tab off the tray and then just replaced the HDD with only three screws holding it in place

Septimus Prime · 03-02-2010, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jono_0101

the screws on the tray are what gave me trouble, i actually couldnt get one out, and i ended up just clipping the metal tab off the tray and then just replaced the HDD with only three screws holding it in place

Needle nose pliers work well for those, too.

My own PS3 had screws that weren't over-torqued, so I easily took them out with a regular screwdriver. When I changed my friend's HDD, though, I ended up stripping a bunch of screws and had to use the pliers. They worked like a charm, though.

SlmShdy1 · 03-03-2010, 04:08 AM

I hate to state the obvious, but you could always try using the right size screwdriver straight from the beginning. I had to re-flow my CPU and GPU over the weekend (YLoD fix) and I tried using a small screwdriver to take out the HDD, but it started to strip it so I ended up using a screwdriver that's normally used for glasses. Worked perfectly and no stripped screw. Now it'll be easier to take out in the future.

phranctoast · 03-03-2010, 12:26 PM

I did the same thing and was able to turn it out with a needle nose pliers. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be..

Terjyn · 03-03-2010, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocShemp

I took a saw blade an slowly sawed a new head on the screw so I could use a regular flat screwdriver.

Those screws are SO soft I didn't even bother with a different tool. I just pushed hard enough with a flat head screwdriver to make a new flat head indentation (no joke).

choctaw · 03-03-2010, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jono_0101

the screws on the tray are what gave me trouble, i actually couldnt get one out, and i ended up just clipping the metal tab off the tray and then just replaced the HDD with only three screws holding it in place

The same exact thing happened to me. I had trouble with one tray screw and just ripped it off, then re-bent the metal so it would fit snug in the ps3...

jono_0101 · 03-03-2010, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choctaw

The same exact thing happened to me. I had trouble with one tray screw and just ripped it off, then re-bent the metal so it would fit snug in the ps3...

at least im not the only one

Jonalan34 · 03-18-2010, 06:49 PM

it did indeed happened to me last year. Same as some of you mention it.

scragham · 03-18-2010, 07:51 PM

i also used a small saw blade (one of the hobbyist saws that fits in an x-acto handle) to cut a new notch for a regular screw driver. then a combo of the screwdriver and pliers got it out for me.

that blue screw blows monkey chunks.

Propellarhead9 · 03-18-2010, 09:43 PM

Note to self be gentle with screw when I get around to replacing the harddrive in the PS3.

03-02-2010, 02:04 AM	#1
vladittude0583 Senior Member Member since:Oct 2007 Location:Jacksonville, FL Blu-ray collection:398 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:2	PS3 HDD Blue Screw Issue Hey guys, I have a friend who has the 80GB PS3 and is wanting to replace his HDD to 320 GB, however, he happened to have stripped the blue screw that holds in the HDD. Thus, are there any simple tools, without it being too expensive of course, that he could use to remove the stripped blue screw? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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03-02-2010, 02:12 AM	#2
neos_peace Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Shamokin Dam, Pa Home Theater Gallery:14 Blu-ray collection:279 Trading Score:1	1st off-Thats sucks. ok as far as the screw, my advise being this (since I have had it happen to me just not on the PS3 issue that is) get something that is VERY flat and see about wedging it under the head and act is if prying it out as you do this try unscrewing it. If that don't work see if you can grab hold of the head wiht a pair of pliers andand see bout twisting it out that way other then that, don't know what to tell you. of course you can learn to use the other part of your brain and try manipulating the metal wiht your mind (like magneto or something) out side of that have now idea what to tel you.

03-02-2010, 02:18 AM	#3
DJ Manyak Banned Member since:Jan 2010 Trading Score:45	That's sucks I would try needle nose or something magentic

03-02-2010, 02:22 AM	#4
TL OWNS U Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2009 Location:Missouri PSN: TLOWNESU Blu-ray collection:47 Blu-ray reviews:15 Trading Score:2	had that happen to me with my 1st PS3. The easiest way to get it out is to get a flat head screw driver and slide it under the screw and try to push it up until it comes out.

03-02-2010, 02:23 AM	#5
Septimus Prime Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jan 2008 Blu-ray collection:164 Trading Score:2	Yeah, use needle nose pliers.

03-02-2010, 02:29 AM	#6
u_nick Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jan 2007 Location:CT, US Trading Score:27	Yeah, when I did mine a couple months ago, my screw stripped too. I googled and found it was actually a common issue. Way more than I expected at least. It's just a really crappy screw. 95% of the time the recommended fix was needlenose pliers. I guess the head is just thick enough where the pliers can grab it nicely. Worked like a charm for me.

03-02-2010, 04:00 AM	#7
RocShemp Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jul 2009 Blu-ray reviews:2	I took a saw blade an slowly sawed a new head on the screw so I could use a regular flat screwdriver.

03-02-2010, 01:18 PM	#8
Xerios Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Irving, TX PSNetwork: Xerios Home Theater Gallery:3 Blu-ray collection:286 DVD collection:5 Trading Score:1	did it on my 60gb... used a flat head to turn a bit, and then used pliers to hold a bit n try that....

03-02-2010, 01:54 PM	#9
owa Blu-ray Knight Member since:Apr 2007 Blu-ray reviews: 96	Even though I had read that you need to be careful and I was, I still stripped it. Like some of the others, I used pliers to get it out.

03-02-2010, 02:37 PM	#10
groovyone Blu-ray Guru Member since:May 2007 Location:PSNetwork: groovyone	That one came out easy for me with the right screwdriver. I did have to drill out two of the HDD carrier screws though.

03-02-2010, 05:24 PM	#11
jono_0101 Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2008 Location:St. Louis Blu-ray collection:164 Trading Score:7	the screws on the tray are what gave me trouble, i actually couldnt get one out, and i ended up just clipping the metal tab off the tray and then just replaced the HDD with only three screws holding it in place

03-03-2010, 04:08 AM	#13
SlmShdy1 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Honolulu, HI PlayStation® PSN: SlmShdy1 Home Theater Gallery:39 Blu-ray collection:292	I hate to state the obvious, but you could always try using the right size screwdriver straight from the beginning. I had to re-flow my CPU and GPU over the weekend (YLoD fix) and I tried using a small screwdriver to take out the HDD, but it started to strip it so I ended up using a screwdriver that's normally used for glasses. Worked perfectly and no stripped screw. Now it'll be easier to take out in the future.

03-03-2010, 12:26 PM	#14
phranctoast Power Member Member since:Aug 2006 Location:Long Island, NY;psn:phranctoast Blu-ray collection:78	I did the same thing and was able to turn it out with a needle nose pliers. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be..

03-18-2010, 06:49 PM	#18
Jonalan34 Senior Member Top contributor Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Harvest, Alabama, USA Blu-ray collection:973 DVD collection:69 Blu-ray reviews:1	it did indeed happened to me last year. Same as some of you mention it.

03-18-2010, 07:51 PM	#19
scragham Expert Member Member since:Jul 2007	i also used a small saw blade (one of the hobbyist saws that fits in an x-acto handle) to cut a new notch for a regular screw driver. then a combo of the screwdriver and pliers got it out for me. that blue screw blows monkey chunks.

03-18-2010, 09:43 PM	#20
Propellarhead9 Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jul 2009 Location:Clarksville, Indiana 4K collection:498 Blu-ray collection:1719 Blu-ray reviews: 1 Trading Score:9	Note to self be gentle with screw when I get around to replacing the harddrive in the PS3.

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