I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

Chieh
--
Hacking Digital Cameras -
http://www.camerahacker.com/books/Ha...gital_Cameras/

wrote:
I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

hvacrmedic

RP wrote:



wrote:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg


Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.


At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

hvacrmedic

Hi,
Also tight fitting blade screw driver will do it too.
Tony

Tony Hwang wrote:
RP wrote:



wrote:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg


Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.



At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

hvacrmedic

Hi,
Also tight fitting blade screw driver will do it too.
Tony

As long as you don't care to ruin the tip. But I've used a flat blade on
many an occasion

hvacrmedic

"TORX PLUS" [NOT TORX]

http://www.wihatools.com/716_IPR_serie.htm

buffalobill wrote:
"TORX PLUS" [NOT TORX]

http://www.wihatools.com/716_IPR_serie.htm

I should've looked!
In that case a dremel tool might be in order. A good stout drill bit and
a rethreader afterward

hvacrmedic

Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?

Dave

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

Chieh
--
Hacking Digital Cameras -
http://www.camerahacker.com/books/Ha...gital_Cameras/

"David C. Partridge" wrote:

Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?

Perhaps the drive already *is* dead.

Don't overestimate clean rooms - they contain 100 particles per cubic
meter as opposed to an "average" room containing 600 particles. A
"clean" "average" room will contain far less than the 600 particles.

For what it's worth, I've had a drive running non-stop for over a week
without its cover (platters exposed) and haven't had any hiccups. This
hype about "clean rooms" is a load of drivel.

There are those who will say "if you get one single particle of dust on
your platters, your drive will be irretrievably damaged."

Bollox. And bollox to FR, who will no doubt disagree.


Odie
--
Retrodata
www.retrodata.co.uk
Globally Local Data Recovery Experts

The Torx drivers sold in hardware have six points, and this monstrosity has
five. Of course, it is designed to be a ******* conifguration, and you can't
get the driver for it.

As the other fellow suggested, try slotted jewlers screw drivers, sometimes
you can get one to wedge in just right.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:%MHyf.238969$2k.125392@pd7tw1no...
RP wrote:



wrote:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he

http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg


Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.


At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

hvacrmedic

Hi,
Also tight fitting blade screw driver will do it too.
Tony

I'd dare to guess that if this fellow doesn't recognize a Torx screw
that he isn't aware that he should never open a hard drive.

Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the prying
eyes of consumers from sensitive stuff. Thats why they're used in
elevators.

My son has actually opened a defective laptop hard drive before and
amazingly it still functioned, for only a short time. Now its a
paperweight.

Handi

In article , RP wrote:


wrote:
I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he

http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/..._Screw.files.h
idden/5-point%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

Bzzzt! Thanks for playing. That's _not_ a Torx screw. Torx screws are
six-pointed, not five-pointed as described and shown.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

In article , "Handi" wrote:
I'd dare to guess that if this fellow doesn't recognize a Torx screw
that he isn't aware that he should never open a hard drive.

I guess you can't recognize one either. :-) What he has is not a Torx screw.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

wrote:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.


I'm not sure now if it was Radio Shack or Sears-- but I bought a $20
set that has about a dozen tips for jeweler's sized unusual screw
heads. There are a couple Torx Plus tips in there & I've taken apart
a bunch of hard drives with them. [I've been taking them apart to
play with the magnets--- not as strong as I expected in the newer
drives]

Curiosity got the best of me-- this isn't my set, but Sears has this
18pc set for $20;
Sears item #00941709000 Mfr. model #63518
[no torx plus but a T6, T7, T8, & T9 size Torx]

Ah -- Here it is- Radio Shack, $15
Model: 64-2973
Catalog #: 64-2973
Kronus 20-Piece Electronics Bit-Driver Set

1 x Ergonomic Anti-Static Handle
4 x Slotted Bits (2, 2.5, 3, and 4mm)
2 x Phillips Bits (#00, and #0)
5 x Torx Bits (T-6, T-7, T-8, T-9, and T-10)
3 x Hex Bits (1.5, 2, and 2.5mm)
2 x POZI Bits (#00, and #0)
3 x Hex Round Ball Bits (1.5, 2, 2,5mm)
1 x Plastic Carrying Case

Especially for such an inexpensive set is is pretty well built except
for the cheap plastic case.

Jim

Cough! I said class 1 not class 100!

Sure a drive will function for a while with the case off, but it will die
soonish (maybe a few days or weeks, but it will die).

If OTOH all you are doing is extracting the magnets from old drives - then
go right on ..

Dave
"Odie Ferrous" wrote in message
...
"David C. Partridge" wrote:

Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?

Perhaps the drive already *is* dead.

Don't overestimate clean rooms - they contain 100 particles per cubic
meter as opposed to an "average" room containing 600 particles. A
"clean" "average" room will contain far less than the 600 particles.

For what it's worth, I've had a drive running non-stop for over a week
without its cover (platters exposed) and haven't had any hiccups. This
hype about "clean rooms" is a load of drivel.

There are those who will say "if you get one single particle of dust on
your platters, your drive will be irretrievably damaged."

Bollox. And bollox to FR, who will no doubt disagree.


Odie
--
Retrodata
www.retrodata.co.uk
Globally Local Data Recovery Experts

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
In article , "Handi" wrote:
I'd dare to guess that if this fellow doesn't recognize a Torx screw
that he isn't aware that he should never open a hard drive.

I guess you can't recognize one either. :-)

The same to you.

What he has is not a Torx screw.

Yes it is, as someone else showed from the Wiha page.

Don't overestimate clean rooms - they contain 100 particles per cubic
meter as opposed to an "average" room containing 600 particles. A
"clean" "average" room will contain far less than the 600 particles.


Well, having managed a real clean room , you are way off base. First of all,
the particle count is per cubic foot. Clean rooms are classified by
the sustained particle count averaged around the entire room.

The average count in a typical home/office/light industrial room is about
500,000 particles per cubic foot, and the particlas are quite large (several
microns or tens of microns).

The first level of clean room we define is a class 100,000. This isn't a real
hard level to achieve and can sometimes be done without real expensive HEPA
filters if the working conditions are clean enough. The Space Shuttle high bay
room is maintained at class 100,000 (my experience is with NASA).

The next level is a class 10,000, which certainly requires a high level of
filtering and monitering with special clothing for the occupants. Next comes a
class 1000 which is getting serious. You are into laminar flow air systems and
special training for the people.

Computer chips are assembled in class 100 or even class 10 (!) rooms, since a
single particle can ruin a product. At this level, even the way you move can
disturb the room's particle count. Everyone is trained to move slowly and be
aware of where the downwash from the airflow over your body goes.

By this level, the particle size is usually measured at a much smaller,
sub-micron level also. A single small tear in a HEPA filter can take the room
out of spec for quite some time, requiring a long, slow damp swabbing of all
surfaces.

Dennis

"Odie Ferrous" wrote in message
...
"David C. Partridge" wrote:

Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?

Perhaps the drive already *is* dead.

Don't overestimate clean rooms - they contain 100 particles per cubic
meter as opposed to an "average" room containing 600 particles. A
"clean" "average" room will contain far less than the 600 particles.


you could contruct a clean box to stifle the clean room naybobs

somewhere, (i am looking for link in my encyclopedic favorites), on web
there was a design plan for clean room box involving a sturdy cardboard box
, spray contact cement, largish HEPA filter, shop vac, heavy ~ 5mil clear
plastic, duct tape then some spray either anti-static or water mist ? can't
remeber

well most could probably figure out how this stuff was used the only trick
was purging of contaminates when it was exposed when opening the box



For what it's worth, I've had a drive running non-stop for over a week
without its cover (platters exposed) and haven't had any hiccups. This
hype about "clean rooms" is a load of drivel.

There are those who will say "if you get one single particle of dust on
your platters, your drive will be irretrievably damaged."

Bollox. And bollox to FR, who will no doubt disagree.


Odie
--
Retrodata
www.retrodata.co.uk
Globally Local Data Recovery Experts

RP wrote in news:QoudnRknaMTLxVbeRVn-
:



buffalobill wrote:
"TORX PLUS" [NOT TORX]

If the screw only has FIVE sides instead of SIX like a Torx,then maybe it
should be Torx-MINUS. 8-)


(warning;humor attempt)



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
:

The Torx drivers sold in hardware have six points, and this
monstrosity has five. Of course, it is designed to be a *******
conifguration, and you can't get the driver for it.

As the other fellow suggested, try slotted jewlers screw drivers,
sometimes you can get one to wedge in just right.


Or you could grind down an Allen wrench to have 5 sides.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

writes:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

In my opinion, someone should be arrested for using these things.

Do a google search for 'star screwdriver computer'.
You'll get lots of hits.

wrote:
I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

Chieh
--
Hacking Digital Cameras -
http://www.camerahacker.com/books/Ha...gital_Cameras/


Well, the other posters who called it a Torx were almost on the mark.
What you have there is a Torx Plus which is marketed as a tamper
resistant screw and this time Textron has put some actual controls upon
the distribution of the tools needed to work properly with them. Guess
they learned that everyone and their brother was selling the regular
six-pointed Torx tools thus depriving them of any security benefits.
Same thing with the Tamper Torx which was identical but which had a pin
in the center of the star but which, once the pin was snapped off or the
tool had a hole drilled in the tip, was easily removed.

If you want to buy Torx Plus tools you must, in theory anyway, be a
legitimate user as defined by Textron although if you know anyone who
works with them they should be pretty easily obtained at the cost of a
case of beer. ;-)

http://www.textronfasteningsystems.c...lus/index.html

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

Handi wrote:
I'd dare to guess that if this fellow doesn't recognize a Torx screw
that he isn't aware that he should never open a hard drive.

Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the prying
eyes of consumers from sensitive stuff. Thats why they're used in
elevators.

My son has actually opened a defective laptop hard drive before and
amazingly it still functioned, for only a short time. Now its a
paperweight.

Handi


Hi,
Many will make one good drive from two bad ones. Some fails in
electronics part some fails in mechanical part.
Tony

David C. Partridge wrote:
Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

No matter what you do with it, the drive WILL die. It's the
unfortunate, but inevitable destiny that we all share.

I've opened hard drives again and again in very filthy rooms and
they've never shown any ill effects over the days, or in some cases
weeks, that I operated them. I do this all the time with old drives
because I can see what's happening inside the drive while I test my
control circuitry.

If I was manufacturing hundreds of thousands of drives and had to worry
about warranties and customer satisfaction, I'd be doing it in a clean
room. And I would buy a new drive before attempting to repair a damaged
one. But you definitely can operate a hard drive without the cover for
a while; probably long enough to do whatever you want if you don't
dawdle.

"buffalobill" wrote in message
oups.com...

"TORX PLUS" [NOT TORX]

http://www.wihatools.com/716_IPR_serie.htm


Getting closer! Many in the Torx Plus line still are six-pointed drivers. The
5-pointed ones are known as "Torx-Plus TR" (Tamper resistant).

Identification chart:
http://www.lara.com/cgi-bin/store/co...keywords=bt-ip

Torx-Plus TR sizes:
http://www.lara.com/torx-plus-tr.htm

jim menning

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
....

At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

Don't those have 6 points?

David C. Partridge wrote:
Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?




From the picture, it's the screws that hold together the external case.
Probably wants to upgrade the drive or put it in a different case.

Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the prying eyes
of consumers from sensitive stuff. Thats why they're used in elevators.

Not an accurate statement.

Torx drive screws have been used on vehicles for ten years plus. They are not
(in their standard form) an anti tamper fastener.

[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?

wrote:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he

http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?

No guarantee that it's the right size, (OD approx .057 in, about the same as
a T5 Torx) but search ebay for "5 pointed star screwdriver". Don't have a
recent Seagate drive on hand to try it on or I'd let you know if it fits.
You'll get a dozen or so hits from a guy named elvis fong who sells them
for Sony and Sharp PDAs. Price is about a buck plus 5 bucks or so shipping
from Hong Kong so call it 6 bucks or so total.

I ordered one a while back and he got it right out--seems to be a reliable
vendor.

Let him know that you're looking for a driver specifically for Seagate
drives and he might find one for you.

Thanks.

Chieh
--
Hacking Digital Cameras -
http://www.camerahacker.com/books/Ha...gital_Cameras/

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrench wrote:

[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?



Yes. Strong ones.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

wrench wrote:


[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as
[I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?

Yes, magnets in a hard drive. Part of the actuator.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage wrench wrote:
Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the
prying eyes of consumers from sensitive stuff. Thats why they're
used in elevators.

Not an accurate statement. Torx drive screws have been used on
vehicles for ten years plus. They are not (in their standard form)
an anti tamper fastener.

Definitely correct. For anti-tamper there is Torx with a pin
in the middle that needs a Torx driver with a hole. Standard
Torx is just very well suited for automated mounting and also
very well suited to use with a Torx bit in an electric drill.
Here you get a lot of "Spax" wood screws with Torx head.

Torx is optimised for maximum torque without damaging the
tool or screw and easier insertion than the standard 6-way
symmetric format. IMO ist qualifies as possibly the best
all around screw head format.

Arno

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage wrench wrote:

[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?

Yes, a pair of very strong ones in the moving-coil assembly that
forms the head actuator motor.

Arno

[I've been taking them apart to play with the magnets--- not as strong as
I
expected in the newer drives]

magnets? in a hard drive?

Voice Coil Assembly
http://www.storagereview.com/guide20...tActuator.html

"James Sweet" wrote in message news:3BQyf.7600$Zo.750@trnddc07
David C. Partridge wrote:
Hmmmm why do you want to open the case of the drive? If you open it
outside a class 1 clean room, the drive WILL die.

Or are you talking about the drive mounting screws?




From the picture, it's the screws that hold together the external case.
Probably wants to upgrade the drive or put it in a different case.

Whoa.
Someone actually *READ* the original post and looked at the linked picture.

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:39:08 GMT, "Handi"
wrote:

I'd dare to guess that if this fellow doesn't recognize a Torx screw
that he isn't aware that he should never open a hard drive.

Torx screws are seldom used for no other purpose then to keep the prying
eyes of consumers from sensitive stuff.

Too many maybes and negatives in this sentence for me to understand
it.

Thats why they're used in
elevators.

They're also used in my car just to hold the trunk struts on. Nothing
secret about that.

Don't get me started on what I used to do to elevators..

My son has actually opened a defective laptop hard drive before and
amazingly it still functioned, for only a short time. Now its a
paperweight.

Handi



Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

On 16 Jan 2006 08:17:07 -0800, "
wrote:
.....
I've opened hard drives again and again in very filthy rooms and
they've never shown any ill effects over the days, or in some cases
weeks, that I operated them. I do this all the time with old drives
because I can see what's happening inside the drive while I test my
control circuitry.

If I was manufacturing hundreds of thousands of drives and had to worry
about warranties and customer satisfaction, I'd be doing it in a clean
room. And I would buy a new drive before attempting to repair a damaged
one. But you definitely can operate a hard drive without the cover for
a while; probably long enough to do whatever you want if you don't
dawdle.

My drive is clicking, and one important partition has a very bad
directory structure. I'm not sure I can copy over even the good
partitions before it "fails". If I open it, what would I want to do
to stop the clicking, or to keep the clicking syndrome from preventing
me from copying the data to a good drive.

(The bad partition is FAT16 (because I was still running win3.1 and
win98 and wanted both OSes to access the parttiion.)

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 01:07:20 -0600, RP
wrote:

At any decent hardware or home supply store. It's called a Torx screw.
Typically an allen wrench will work just fine in the absence of a Torx
screw driver.

Torx is 6 pointed star and won't fit 5 star screw head well. If you
force the torx to work, you're liable to strip the wrench or worse the
screw head.
--
When you hear the toilet flush, and hear the words "uh oh", it's already
too late. - by anonymous Mother in Austin, TX
Spam block in place, no emil reply is expected at all.

what are you going to do with it when you get it apart ???



wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

Chieh
--
Hacking Digital Cameras -
http://www.camerahacker.com/books/Ha...gital_Cameras/

On 15 Jan 2006 23:00:04 -0800, had a flock of
green cheek conures squawk out:

I'm looking for a 5-point star shaped screwdriver. I bought a Seagate
80GB external hard drive. Its case uses these special screws. I shot a
picture of a screw he
http://www.gearhack.com/Forums/Tool/...int%20star.jpg

Does anyone know where I can find a screwdriver for these screws?
Thanks.

Chieh

http://www.wihatools.com/indexes/indxtorx.htm

Stephen
--