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Which Screw Goes Where?
Anonymous Coward writes "I saw this link over at HardOCP. Finally, a definitive (well, they hedge a bit at the end) guide that explains
where to use each one of those little screws that come packed with new PC cases. All that and a 'test your knowledge' quiz in the bargain. Definitely bookmark-worthy."
So that some crazy Loonix zealot can't screw up your computer.
They go where they fit and they don't go where they don't fit (unless you are in a hurry.)
I saw this headline and figured it had something to do with pornography
To make a pun demonstrates the highest understanding of a language
If they can tell me where the one I always have left over is from, I'll be happy...
And I was really wondering which screws go where... (I _know_ mine are in the wrong places...)
If it's Microsoft we're talking about, you always screw the little guy. ;)
Looks like their webserver is about to receive the biggest scew of all.
...I'll procrastinate tomorrow...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Thank God for my Slashdot subscription. With some of those pictures of the screws running 200k, I know that everything is going to buckle within the first half hour. If that, even.
Which mades me think about an idea...
One of these days I'm going to post a story or article, or picture that'll make slashdot's front page. Then, just as the site get slashdotted...
I'll add porno banner popup hell to it!
I'm not sure how much money it would end up earning me, but damn, that would be cool to see how Slashdot would react. Would they pull the story? Add an update to it?
In fact, I think SCO should start having porno popups to help provide money to their warchest if the HTTP_REFERER is from slashdot.org :)
(P.S: No I probably wouldn't actually go through with something like that, but brainstorming can be fun)
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
I'm an expert at screwing!
Not exactly front page material, if you ask me.
The screws with the big threads attatch peices of case together, hard drives to the case, and component cards to the case... The finer threaded screw attatch the motherboard to the case, as well as 5 1/4" drives.
I didn't have to read the article for that.. Sorry.
This story will get more than 500 replies because it has the word "screw" in it and geeks are intrigued by experiences they haven't had yet!
A screwball should not put one of these together.
...except the last one! And it's that last one that's always left over and never fits anywhere. I would like to know where that one goes!
libertarianswag.com
Personally, I find that most screws fit almost anywhere when new ones come. They are pretty much this way so users do not have to go picking through them wondering...ughh where does this go? However, it is true that some screws, mainly for hodling IDE devices do have a bit of different sized screws, and it is nice to know what these kinds are. Also, screws for attaching fans to cases sometimes are not standard compy screws, although most cases have "fan cages" with clips so crews are not necessary. The only other place where I saw non-standard screws was for attaching heatsinks to mobo's and for attaching CPU Fans to heatsinks...thats about it.
(oh, btw, FP!!)
But the site sure seems screwed. I guess I'll look at it at 3:00am or so, unless they pulled it completly.
Little Brother, watching the watchers
Their server is screwed.
Ba da da bum....it had to be said...
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Old 5 1/4" HH Seagate hard disks could be damanged (case warp) by using 6-32 UNC screws of the wrong length.
Center IDE-era disks (early maxtors come to mind) could have the PCB damaged by using 6-32 UNC screws of the wrong length (i.e. case screws)
Seen both happen personally. Did neither. The first one ruined the seals on the disk. The second one let the smoke out.
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
Which Screw Goes Where?
Apparently the bunkermentality.net webserver could use a few more.
The coolest voice ever.
When it comes to screwing, if you don't know where it goes HardOCP is not the place to do your research.
Ahhhh, 10 is binary for 2 STUPID
Our little girl Susan is a most admirable slut, and pleases us mightily - Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)
I'll wager there are a lot of guys out there who have asked themselves on more than one occasion which screw are you REALLY supposed to use where,
Hey, if she doesn't complain...
The coolest voice ever.
"There is an purpose for every screw, and a screw for every purpose."
Procrastination sucks.
What does it say on the 3rd page, it got ./d before I got there.
And yes, I did know what all the screws were for. Even though I'm married I know about screwing.
Here's the recipe to simplify your life with computer case screws (no I'm not kidding):
- Go to your local computer hardware shop and beg them for a bag of screws. I say beg them, because they usually hold on to them like Ted Kennedy on a bottle of bourbon.
- Whenever you screw something in your case, use the biggest screw that'll fit. In the case of hard-disks, you'll have to use the right fit, with the flush head probably. With the cases' sheet-metal holes, and with most CDROM and diskette drives, if the screw is too big, just force it in real hard until it gives way.
- After a little while, and especially if you tinker in your case often, you'll notice that all the screws you need are the big ones. No need to remember what goes where. Voila!
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
i want to see the comments in that story
Well, there are seven thread sizes (0-80,2-56,4-40,6-32,8-32,10-24,1/4-20) which we commonly use, five head types (hex cap,socket cap, filister head, flat head, set screws), lengths from 1/4 inch to six inches and more in 1/8" increments.
So we just buy them as we need them, now.
It's not wasting time, I'm educating myself.
OK, so, where's a good place (online) to buy a set of extra screws? They tend to disappear like ball-point pens (especially case screws), but I know where to buy pens.
Ideally, I'd like a set that includes all the common screws; I'd also like to be able to buy a package of each type separately. It'd be really cool if each type was a different color or something, making it easier to tell them apart at a glance, but this is probably silly.
Recommendations?
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
What I've wanted to do for years is to go down to Fry's and just buy a Monster Screw Assortment. You know, 100 of each kind.
I have a bin full of (non-matching) screws from cases I've assembled over the years and what I really really would love to do is to throw them all out.
I did it a few years back with my kitchen silverware - I bought 2 complete sets of new silverware, took it home and threw out all the old stuff. Every single old, knife, fork and spoon got pitched. Now everything matches.
I would love to be able to do the same thing when assembling and taking apart my machines.
Does anybody sell such a thing?
You don't seem to speak binary. Let's see:
10 in binary = 1*2^1 + 0*2^0 = 2 + 0 = 2
You silly git.
It seems to me that the Internet is still growing, larger and larger, every day. It is a beautiful thing.
...
The fact that there is now a 'screw guide' in existence just floors me, at a point in my life where I simply thought I would never be flabbergasted again
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
you have been trolled monkeyboy
i would like to see some clip-on/slid-in cases and parts.
many furnitures can be assembled without screws, and they're pretty solid and stable, i'm sure one can achieve that in computers.
the lack of screws will also eliminate newbie mistakes of "make sure your motherboard is not in any contact with the case because of screws".
If the world were perfect, all screws would fit all holes and this site wouldn't be slashdotted...
Karma: Bad (mostly due to all those "In Soviet Russia" jokes)
As long as you have nerve endings in your fingers, you should not need a guide for what screw goes where.
;)
Just try one that looks right. If it's too small go bigger. If it feels like it's cross threading, use the other thread style (fine/coarse). If it feels like it's getting hard to screw too soon try a shorter one.
There, that's the whole damn guide. We're not talking a about a device that needs grade 5 bolts in one place an normal bolts in another. It's all obvious. Just follow this simple rule:
If it feels wrong, it's wrong, don't force it.
It should be applied to ANY screwing you do
Life is too short to proofread.
I also keep a plastic vial in my zippered toolset, and if I ever end up with unused screws, I put them in that. A mentor in college taught me that these leftovers are the fruits of "system improvements." You know, three screws can hold a hard drive, especially in a box you don't keep at your desk. The fourth one is an optimization, and a handy thing to keep in your cache.
[
...Push hard enough and they will fit in any hole. (mod me down)
adventure-today.com
So, what do I do with the fiber washers? The site's sladhdotted, and I want to know.
Real geeks thread their own screws. =D
fully - you'd think he'd at least get the spelling of screw right - its not THAT hard to include a "r"
it's all in the wrist!
The best part of the article is the link in the sidebar to Fastener Hut
-3Suns
~~~~
The Revolution will be Slashdotted
The M3 always seem to come in the same length and get used for 3.5" floppy drives, DVD-ROM, CDROM, Burner (ie anything that goes into the 5 1/4" bays). They usually get used to attach the motherboard by screwing into the brass standoffs that the mobo sits on (more on that later).
The 6-32 get used to secure PCI/AGP cards onto the case, for securing the case side panels, and sometimes also fit the standoffs used to secure a motherboard (Enlight cases are an example of this). If you try to put an M3 screw into a standoff that wants a 6-32, it will probably work going in but not out, which pretty much sucks but we've all done it. It's pretty hard to differentiate a 6-32 brass standoff from a M3 one just by looking at it.
Hard drives also use 6-32 screws, but they have to be shorter than what ordinarily gets used elsewhere. The hard drive manufacturers aren't obvious about what length is recommended, but 1/4" or 4mm is about right. For some cases with removable drive bays (like Antec), the hex head screws stick out too far and won't work, so you'll need a flat head. This is usually where the bag of screws you get with the case comes in useful, so I try to use those first. You don't want to use an ordinary 6-32 length screws (not sure how long they are), since they could damage the drive.
Other than screws, I suggest buying some paper washers that go between the screw and the motherboard. Not really necessary, but they insure that there's no electrical short and prevent damage of the motherboard. Well worth the $0.10 each or whatever.
Since you never seem to get directions with a case (or they're totally incomprehensible), I suggest separating all the hardware into groups to figure out what you've got. It's easiest just to buy the screws and washers in bulk and not mess with all the different weird screws you'll ordinarily get though.
If the screw fits and gets the job done, does it really matter? Once all the screws are tightly in place they're not going anywhere. Put the shell back on and no one would ever know you put the PCI screw on your hard drive, nor would they care. ...And if they did care they might have a strange fetish and I wouldn't trust them alone with my computer.
Ah, no, actually it would be 7 * 5 * 42, or 1470 - quite realistic, actually.
where's our fuzzy logic? aren't we human supposed to have the ability to try things and adjust accordingly.
next week we'll see "The Guide To Showers": If you prefer 32'C shower, turn the handle clock-wise 10 degree.....
Jealousy will get you nowhere!
Push hard enough and they will fit in any hole.
And exactly what sort of holes does one stuff whole women into?
The coolest voice ever.
Ha, this troll sucks.
When you start reading, you inadvertently forget to remember to breathe, and your body takes over again.
only 70 posts, and it is already down.... seems like they are screwed...
[blue] - The Ministry of Information approved this message...
A while back I put together a computer for someone and I wound up getting a case that was built without a single screw. Not one, not for the drives, or anything, honest to god.
Tim
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
Just once I would like to RTFA before it is \.'d to hell. I geuss I will just have to go rattle the Mason jar full of extra screws and stand offs and think about what the article was about.
Cases are like women... push hard enough and they'll take a big screw in any hole.
Last month a wireless start-up put an antenna up on my roof and sent 8 techs out to install wireless cards in two desktops (training some new techs, don't you know).
So I move one box a week later and notice that the BIG thumbscrew isn't in the right hole on my new Antec SLK3700-BQE case.
Further investigation reveals that the new card is in a slot with a too-big screw in the hole, but fortunately the tech didn't force it in and strip the threads. I had saved the bag of screws that Antec included (parts is parts) and got everything put back together, but sheesh!
Thank you, no. I've already bookmarked a 404.
Ignorance is the root of all evil.
Case screws are not bought, as much as gathered. They simply show up, unasked. Volunteer screws. "Hey...here I am, what can I screw into!?!"
They breed in desk drawers, behind PC cases, on the floor. Eventually, your vacuum eats them (or they eat it.
They fall out of old PC's of their own accord.
Rebuilding a PC for your friend is always a good source. There's always a few left over.
Bottom line...if you need to buy PC screws, obviously, you're not tinkering enough.
o god, please someone mod this thing up! :)
I think i will make a parallel slash page with this idea, instead of slashcode, i will use phpnuke, the graphics will be smileys stolen from M$N, and it will have a "Better displayed with Internet E$plorer 2.1 for Mac OS 6" banner
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
That's called a pocket screw because if everything works, you put it in your pocket and forget all about it.
In soviet russia, screws work the other way around... oh wait, they do!
you may find the Higgs in this signature.
Don't you know, the more screws left over is simply a show of how much more efficient you can make a computer?
I may well have one of the most efficient computers in the world!
I hope you idiot moderators know that the article the parent linked to is supposed to be satire. He recommends hitting your ram with a book to get it in place. If that doesn't give it away he recommends installing WinME and putting a pentium 4 in an AMD motherboard.
No comment here. I would if I had anything to say, but I just want to get past the LAMENESS FILTER!
Computers have screws??
Don't Tread on Me
they have nuts though...
like they say...
two nuts in the hand are better than a screw in the bushes...
hi hi...
Article currently redirects to a hosting companies site...
Wow! did we slashdot it back to oblivion or what?
Lousy facepalm.
The link to the story, http://www.bunkermentality.net/sg01.html, is a link to some "bargain computer parts" bullshit site. Why don't you check the link before you post the story, Timothy?
Travis
In Soviet Russia, hole screws you.
Then after I suspend the site thinking it's being DDOS'd I come refresh slashdot and what do I see?
Folks that site is on a small shared server, their hosting plan is like a 3 gig per MONTH plan (and they've never used much over 2.5 gigs in a month) so that server croaked FAST.
Now that I know it isn't a DDOS I'll see if I can get them on something that can handle it.
(I host this site and just suspended it due to the traffic killing the server).
They're on an empty server and DNS is updated, with some redirects going on, hopefully that'll help now.
--- www.f-theocean.com
In Yahoo! Directory Humor > 404 Error I found the 404 Research Lab which links to my favorite 404 of all time: THCNET's 404. Also in the Yahoo! Directory and 404 Research Lab are other interesting/funny 404's
/. article is actually not a 404. 404 is when a URL for a valid website is a file that is not found or doesn't exist; the link in /. redirects to an entirely different domain, which could be caused by any number of things other than a 404.
BTW, the problem with the link in the
Join moola.com, play games to earn money.
Are their really some people who read slashdot who do not know where each screw goes. Seriously... some stuff is "No Brainer"... Next we are going to get a slashdot article telling us how to turn the computer on.
I bet Goatse.cx knows where they go. (No I won't post the link)
What's an Esplorer? Is it that using a $ to "make fun" of Microsoft means more to you than making any sense at all? Yes, I think so. You're certainly at the right web site.
Yeah, here goes the obvious:
With screwing in the title, of *course* it's for your mom.
Just bought a few anodized thumb screws at my local PC dealer, to replace the philips ones. It makes live a lot easier when you have to open your case, I consider it money well spent (and yes, they are colored).
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
To save you some bandwidth, I can try to help. Mirror
I'm in desperate need of this information... they're like nails with little spiral thingies on them, but using the hammer tends to crash hard drive heads. This might be an conclusion to my endless RMAs, if only I could see the article!
1st: scoring an invite to Orkut and subsequently having almost all of the invitations I send out being rejected.
2nd: realising I'm still an INTJ personality type despite my best effort to change.
3rd: scoring 5/5 on the 'name the screw test'.
Things aren't looking up for me in the get-a-life-dept. are they?
-Brad
(after reading the article) I think i need to take a look in my computer again...
Hey wait, this isn't Fark...
/obvious
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
General Nanosystems is a cool store. I never knew their website went into so much detail, though.
--
E_NOSIG
I don't agree. They looked like PCI Card screws to me, which aren't always necessarily the same as case screws (may not have the lock nuts on them for example). All the CD-ROMs I have use the same screws as my hard drives....
7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
MrP-, you just wrote the funniest comment on this article. good show, gent.
Slashdotter hands a spare screw to a woman:
"hey, wanna screw?"
Thank you, I'll be here all night!
Thinking of screws, does anyone know where I can get screws that go into rackmounts? Oh, and is there a such thing as a generic mounting bracket?
Sig: I stole this sig.
Completely off topic, but the Donnie Darko sig..
Good stuff
I love that movie
At the same site here is something to get those all worked up over six different types of screws slavering. Some stills for a geek pr0n snuff movie: http://www55.dixiesys.com/~bunker/geekpr0n.html
Paul Beardsell
reminds me of the time I upgraded my daughter's cdrom drive in her iMac B. yeah, opened it up, swapped the drives and closed it up. I had 3 screws left over. hmmm...
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
Most modern pc cases have drive rails, they basically just pop onto the sides of drives with tabs, then everything slides in and out pretty easily.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
...what about those bloody little tiny jumpers that some hard drives come with?
Zilch
Seriously.
...when you've got duct tape?
-- Alastair
They moved it to a new server and the DNS hasn't caught up. Here is a direct link:
http://216.180.233.175/~bunker/
Its a 5.5mm its a useful and therefore common size any one with an allen key set most likely has a 5.5mm one.
I went to that site - what is it ???? neat site - just don't get it - user in need of a clue. Anybody help?
Stay tuned for new sig...
I am just sad. I've always prided my self on the idea that I was not too geeky.
/me hangs head in shame :(
That's over now, my fantacy of being somewhat normal is over now.
...he soldered the soldiers? (Lamest. Play on Words. Ever.)
I agree. Plus, I like the way my feet feel in my socks, you insensitive clod. Nice and squishy.
Personally I install the washers for mechanical strain relief. Do you guys use them or go commando?
Hey moron, I worked for Apple, am typing this on a Powerbook, got all five right, and was building 8088s while you were still trying to understand your diapers. If you want to look all smart, you tell me how your 1337 soldering skills revived a AMD 486 that was plugged in backwards and smoked the power lines. Uh huh, stupid kids these days don't know how to use a DMM except to jab the probes up their asses.....
You know what your next case mod is then: the PC bong.
I figure that if i really have to work hard to get that cross threaded wrong sized screw in the hole then it's less likely to fall out. Who the hell puts screws in their case anyway - mine has to come apart too often to bother with those silly little bastards. lay the cover on top and forget about it.
http://www.datadocktorn.nu/us_desktop1.php
;)
Brush up for that certification exam!
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Never can use to little lube when screwing :)
in uncomfortable places
But seriously, never force it, take it slow
and don't speed up until she yanks you in
deeper
Best. Slashdot Title. Ever.
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
What do you guys think? It's definitely up there.
"Orthodoxy means not thinking--not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." --Eric Blair
Since when do MSCE's know anything about hardware? All they know is MS product info.
yah know, not everyone already knows this stuff... when i first built a computer, i almost broke my mobo in half trying to unscrew a mistake because there were no instructions at all with the case....
They're toast now. Pingin' for the fjords. Shuffled off this mortal coil.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Comment removed based on user account deletion
"They go where they fit and they don't go where they don't fit (unless you are in a hurry.)"
Damn! Were's that Goatse.cx link when you need it?
I know a place where you can buy all the screws you want. If you want to come to my place and clean up you can have all the screws you find. Remember-Just try one that looks right. If it's too small go bigger. If it feels like it's cross threading, use the other style. If it feels like it's getting hard to screw too soon try a shorter one. Man, you wouldn't *believe* how many times I've run across screws that were literally forced into the wrong holes. I don't own a full set for nothing. Ultimately- push hard enough and they will fit in any hole. Perhaps you should email me your picture (if your a woman) and maybe I will give you a demonstration of which screw goes where.
oww, it huurts!
I really hate the fact that there are so many differant screw types. There should be one. They all work the same way so why not have a universal screw? Stupid engineers think their so cool with their screws. I can think of a screw... it's 3.55 mms long and .9 mms in diameter with a thread rate of 1 per .5 mms and I call it Screw 'U jaHG-000'. AKA 'Screw you jag-offs'. Pisses me off that 'scientists' feel so compelled to add unneeded complexities just to pad their meaningless lives with esteem.
Mine always end up at the bottom of my case, rattling around and waiting to short something out.
"Proudly Posting Without Reading The Article"
"As for torqueing(?) them down, I was always told to turn it until it breaks and then back off a quarter turn."
No wonder your dates are always complaining about you leaving your stuff over at their house.
Now what really confuses me are the white plastic drawing-pin sized things they sometimes give you. Their function is as mysterious as that paper handkerchief the barber gives you after cutting your hair.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
"And exactly what sort of holes does one stuff whole women into?"
Heh, heh. Ace Ventura movie with him coming out of the back end of a rhino.
Anyway ask someone who's into vore.
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
Seems to me like they forgot the obligatory standoff screw (not a rejected sexual advance by the way). I have seen those things in many odd materials, sizes and shapes over the years. Some are brass, some are aluminum, some aren't anything but plastic plugs - I've even seen molded cardboard ones on daughter cards (bad pun waiting to happen). Anyone who can identify them by case style, case manufacturer, use and thread count is a hardcore geek.
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Go ahead and mark this Troll, but it's true and would have saved drilling the rivets out!
...but which screw goes in the Beaver?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Trial-and-error will suffice for them. But can anybody tell me what the hell that metal ring that comes in the same bag as the screws is for? You know the thing, it's big enough to put your middle finger through the middle of, about half a centimetre thick, and has curved edges.
I'm sure I'm going to look stupid here when somebody tells me, but I've never worked out what it's for. It seems completely superflous to me. And maybe that site tells me, but it's smoked...
"As you can tell, PC innards are pretty much a machinist's nightmare. Case screws and hard drive screws are made according to English units of measure (or more correctly United States Customary Units) whereas CD-Rom and floppy drive mounting hardware are made to metric standards. Whose brilliant idea was this?" Well - er... When the rest of the world went for a logical standard of measurements, the USA clings to obsolescence in the name of traditionality. And then complain when people who use metric standards (like the Japanese) make things better than the americans (like CD-ROMS) and complain when they buy and install them them. Kudos to the case manufacturers for providing the right screws.
This perpetual motion machine Lisa made is a joke, it just keeps getting faster and faster. - Homer
All components using (metrical) M3 screws have originally been built by european and/or japanese companies: As far as I know, the 3,5" diskette has been introduced by Sony in 1980, the CD-ROM drive was originally developed by Philips and Sony and introduced in the midth of the eighties.
In contrast, the 5,25" floppy disk drive (which uses non-metric screws as well - if I remember correctly) was "invented" by Shugart in 1976, the harddisk is an american invention as well ...
Just an idea ...
---
Hey moron, I worked for Apple, am typing this on a Powerbook, got all five right, and was building 8088s while you were still trying to understand your diapers. If you want to look all smart, you tell me how your 1337 soldering skills revived a AMD 486 that was plugged in backwards and smoked the power lines. Uh huh, stupid kids these days don't know how to use a DMM except to jab the probes up their asses.....
Hm. Pretty unprofessional and frankly, just ugly.
With an attitude like yours, and you DO admit to be an Apple aficionado, like I said, just drop out now.
Haha. Classic.
They tried that with the PC/AT. Drives had a rail on the side, which slid into the chassis. Never caught on as you still had to screw the rail to the drive.
I screwed a mistake once. We eventually got divorced.
About the floppy / CDROM / hard drive screws and why are they mixed. When I was working for Olivetti back in the early 80's, we saw some of the first 3-1/2 inch floppy drives from ALPS and Sony. Since these came from Japan, and Japan uses metric sizes, they designed them with metric screws. The original 5-1/4 floppy drives came from the USA from Shugart (the original designers). The first Winchester hard drives originally came from IBM, IIRC, and since IBM is a US company, they used #6 screws. When Shugart and others (mostly US companies) started to build 5 1/4 hard drives, which are the same size as the 5 1/4 floppy drives, they used the same screws and mounting pattern as the Shugart "standard." They also used the same power connector so things would connect together with a minimum of odd connectors. So when manufactures started to build 3 1/2 sized hard drives, they used the same screw as the 5 1/4 hard drives. CDROM drives first came from Japanese / European manufactures (IIRC - Sony / Phillips), so they used "proper" screws - metric, not the holdout, oddball USA, still using the now outdated English sizing. One note about CDROM screws - IIRC, Floppy screws and CDROM screws both come in the short M5 4mm length. It seems that some of the early CDROM drives could get ruined if long (greater that 4mm) were used. The electronics were packed right up to the edges, and one could short out things inside if one used long screws. This problem has gone away, since the shrinking of the electronics, and dumb people who used the long M5 (greater than 5mm length) screws ruined the drives.
It won't work, since XT's only had 8-bit screws.
I like your nickname. Long live the Flecktones :)
Intercarve Networks, LLC
If you don't have a local computer show....too bad! You might try some of the larger PC vendors like newegg for spare parts.
If only the next generation of cases were designed with a single screw type for all items.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
The book is broken! What a crock!
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
Simple laws of being a handyman
1. Any tool can be the right tool.
2. All screws will fit, if trouble is encountered use a bigger hammer.
3. If all else fails there is always duct tape.
I agree, cyberguys rocks. I have two quibbles, though. (1) The brass $11.95/50pk thumbscrews are not LABELED as a #6/32 screw. Fortunately for me, I recognized them. (2) They don't carry a M3x0.5 thumbscrew (such as used by the Lian Li Cases). I'd really like a source for those that was cheaper than $0.75@.
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
But only 3 types of thread.... oh come on no one gives a smeg if it's round headed, or has a hex fitting or something else, it's the thread which counts, and there's only 3 types you have to worry about, CD/Floppy, Fan's and the screw which goes everywhere else :)
The screws are fairly easy to figure out except perhaps for those long ones who could damage certain hard drives, But what about all those plastic risers and weird shaped little clamps and other stuff that come with cases (specially generic ones) who don't come with a manual or anything, anyone knows about a site where there's a more through description of those
The last time I did this I found a pile of 486s put on the curb of the main street of my city. It was a couple of days before Christmas, so even though it was about 9pm on a Saturday night I was passed by a lot of pedestrians. I was sure that a fair number of them thought I was doing something illegal.
I am not sure whether a bored cop wouldn't have seen it the same way.
They each contained 40 megabytes of 72 pin RAM -- hard to get a hold of for a reasonable price, if you rebuild older computers. And they contained 1.2 Gig drives. Puny by today's standards. But not worthless.
I carried one computer home, and took the RAM and hard drives from two others. Worked fine. The drives had no bad sectors.
When I cannibalize an older computer I always screw the case back on. I wouldn't want some kid to get cut on the sharp edges found inside.
As per usual no effort had been made to erase the contents of the hard drive. However the cases had been sprawpainted with fluorescent orange spray paint.
Should the owners of these computers have been worried that they were throwing out toxic waste? If I cannibalize parts should I worry that I should be assuming some of the burden of making sure the computer gets put into the appropriate waste stream?
These computers also contained their original 100 megabyte drives. Disconnected. Clearly whomever put in the 1.2 gig drives had been too lazy to deal with them at the time.
Wherever the ants put them after being trained to sort them in space.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Computergeeks.com is a really good source for small parts - really good prices too - they don't always stock the screws but generally they have them in stock
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
When I cannibalize an older computer I always screw the case back on.
That's an important detail, You don't need to make life harder for the trash guys either. The odd time I've done it, I've taken them home, gutted them and stuck them back together with tape so that they can be thrown away in one good toss without slicing any wrists or splaying metal bits all over the road.
Getting anyone to recycle this stuff is very difficult, may as well reuse what you can.
actually i think i use the bigger case/hdd screws on the mobo as they hold it alot better if its goign to be held upright and say holding 2 athlons with huge heatsyncs.
the small ones don't fit in the brass coloured thingys without falling out do they? also the big ones have a much tighter grip into those little dot rise dealieys that are in a metal ring around the hole.
i havent built a machine in like half a year but im pretty sure thats how i built them in the past.
of course the worst screw is the compaq mounting screw where you have to use twice the normal amount of screws just so they can have the lil rails for easy component removal. of course you have to take the rails off the drives too so its actually making more work for you but ITS COMPAQ so it has to be gh3y.
i found some picatures! and they seem to back up that 103 is supposed to be used on the mainboard. so pishaw!
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
If you really need extras, salvage them from a carcass. After you do that once or twice and you build a couple of PCs you'll have so many you'll be throwing them under your tires from traction.
Damn top cover never closed! We had tons of them at work and the only time I ever got one to close right was by using a claw hammer to tap the cover into position on one that we were throwing out...
An eye for an eye... leaves the whole world blind.
Does anyone else remember those damned plastic standoffs that many older AT cases used to hold the motherboard? Arrgh! Nighmares of trying not to damage the bloody motherboard while trying to extract the STANDOFF FROM HELL!
An eye for an eye... leaves the whole world blind.
Do you know why nothing works after you "let the smoke out"?
It's magic smoke. It's what makes electronics work. You have to keep that magic smoke inside or it won't work anymore.
If you don't believe me just try it for yourself. Take a perfectly working piece of electronics that's supposed to use 110 and hook it up to 220. Almost assuredly this will let the magic smoke escape. That electronic device will never work again.
I think the magic smoke is how the electrons get around. Honest, I'm not on the magic smoke.