Kid is building PC - screw head broke off - help
Posted by AdaraSedai@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 21 comments
My kid (12yo) is building a PC by himself. He over tightened a screw on the motherboard so that the screw head broke off and the screw is stuck in the standoff (if that is the name of the silver thing that the SSD would rest on). I know nothing about building PCs and would appreciate some help. Googling suggested some kind of drilling method which I am very much not comfortable attempting.
Will try to post a photo in the comments, hopefully that can help answer the below.
Is a screw extractor kit relevant here?
Is it possible to remove the standoff (?) to replace that whole thing?
What do we do? :( appreciate any help and advice here.
Hawk7117@reddit
Send some photos, but it sounds like the m.2 stand off is what is impacted here. These are removeable and most boards will either have an extra one preinstalled on the board for another m.2 slot or come with an extra one in the box.
Swapping the broken one out for a new one would be 100% doable if I am envisioning the situation right.
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
It’s a B650i AX gigabyte motherboard, would you happen to know if the m.2 standoff removable on that one?
Hawk7117@reddit
I don't know on that board off the top of my head if they are removeable, but on 90% of boards they are able to be removed with a small socket bit. This one looks removeable from the photo?
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
There’s definitely no spare one installed or on the box but if it’s removable couldn’t I try to order a new standoff as a spare part?
Hawk7117@reddit
you could, but you likely don't need to at all. Refer to edit 2
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
Kid is saying there is no heatsink so that’s not an option. We will try to unscrew the standoff 😬
Hawk7117@reddit
You are right lmao, That is not an m.2 heatsink but the chipset heatsink. Very odd design choice to sandwich the m.2 on top of it but I was wrong.
My personal advice would be to replace the board entire to make sure its the current size header you need. Not sure where you got it from, but if from Amazon they will send you a new one right away before they even receive the original one back.
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
I will (unhappily) tell him he was right 😂 How would this be covered by some kind of warranty though, I was assuming we’d need to buy a new one as its user error?
Hawk7117@reddit
Depends where you got it from, Amazon is very "no questions asked" about this sort of thing, other places are more diligent about finding out the issue.
Do what feels comfortable for you, I know I wouldn't have any moral qualms exchanging this on amazon.
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
Oh I have no argument with that, I just figured they wouldn’t accept it! Pretty sure he ordered from Amazon, do we just say something is broken and ask for a replacement or what? 😄
Hawk7117@reddit
Just say you want to exchange it on the order info page, they will ship a new one out right away free of charge. You only pay for it if the old one is not dropped off at a return center you choose within 30 days.
Hawk7117@reddit
I mean I am looking at it in the photo...
I mean the motherboard m.2 heatsink that would need to be removed anyways to install a drive.
I would double check on that lmao
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
Photo is in the OP now!
redlancer_1987@reddit
do not start drilling anything...
The whole standoff should unscrew either by hand or with a small pliers. As mentioned there may be others on the board you can swap to that spot.
Overarching advice is tell your kid to dial back on the torque. Barely hand tight on a PC is fine. They're not assembling an engine block.
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
Thank you, will try unscrewing it by hand. I’ve been very hands off on the building part of everything (had to help with drivers and troubleshooting once the first build was up and kinda running though) but will definitely re-iterate that advice to him!
According_Spare7788@reddit
Best if u can post a picture for ppl to get a clearer picture of the situation.
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
Managed to add a link in the OP now :)
knoxcos@reddit
The standoff should itself be removable from the case so you can replace it, no drilling needed, but I’m more concerned about the motherboard. Enough torque to snap the head, I imagine, really smashed the board’s layers possibly to failure. (Hopefully not)
AdaraSedai@reddit (OP)
I have a good photo but can’t figure out how to post it (besides linking but idk where to upload then). Kid ”absolutely can’t wait a week for a replacement to arrive” and wants to go ahead and yolo stuff but I will put him into researching unscrewing the standoff while I try to post the photo 🫠
Wor3q@reddit
Usually the standoffs are just screwed in, and you can unscrew them with a little hex wrench.
Also, many cases have extra standoffs for bigger boards, so you might be able to just use one of those.
Uhmattbravo@reddit
The standoff for an m.2 ssd should be able to be unscrewed and replaced.