In article ,
Ron Hardin wrote:

I've stripped two of the screws holding the hard
drive in my laptop (apparently lock-tite'd, from
the crack! noise the other two made when unscrewed
in my best philips screwing technique). (The chat
agent on the line unhelpfully had just asked me to
try removing the HD and memory, which is the rough
equivalent in this model of ``remove roof and
temporarily set aside'' for home repairs, as you
have to remove the screen and keyboard to get at
the memory. It must have been a little chat-agent
joke. Anyway that project stopped when the screws
stripped.)

I take it the next step is a screw extractor,
which I see too large a variety of to make a
choice. What's the most probably successful kind
of screw extractor? I have no experience with
extractors. I'd experiment, but would like to get
it done as neatly as possible on the first try.

Very tiny philips screw. A 3/32 drill fits in the
hole left by the other, removed, screws.

I've never seen an extractor that small, and if they exist I don't think
you'll be successful with it.

I think your best shot at this is with a drill. You'd need a drill press
or milling machine. You'd have to fixture the laptop so it can't wobble
around, and so the screw is dead coaxial with the drill. Then use a tiny
center drill first to spot the very center of the screw, and preferably
a carbide drill.

If you use the right drill, the remaining screw bits can be picked out,
or you can chase the threads with an appropriate tap.