Solved! Toshiba Satellite: What are these screws or bolts and how do I remove them?

[Charles_124]

I would like to reuse part of a larger part from a Toshiba Satellite L955 Laptop, specifically the frame around the touchpad, which is not of one piece with the rest of the deck of the computer.

https/postimg.org/image/qdkcg7guv/

Looking at the underside of the deck, I cannot figure out how to detach the touchpad frame from the rest of the unit. The touchpad frame appears to be held in place by a brass screw / bolt on either side of the frame near the outer edge. Besides having a threaded hole in the middle, the head of each screw / bolt has ten points on the outer edge, but the screw / bolt is sunk into a hole so there appears to be no way to get it off by turning the outer edge. Maybe there is some sort of specialized tool that will engage the thread of the inner hole and allow the screw / bolt to be turned out of the hole that it is in? None of my computer-repair screwdriver heads will fit the inner hole.

https/postimg.org/image/4ryyv1z87/

Also, there may be additional fasteners holding the touchpad frame in place, as there are several black plastic-covered "bumps" all around the remaining edge--possibly rivets?

Unfortunately, Toshiba's spare parts supplier does not sell the touchpad frame as a stand-alone part, and they are a nightmare to deal with anyway, having botched a prior order of mine multiple times.

I TRIED UPLOADING PICTURES TO POSTIMAGE.ORG AND LINKING TO THEM, BUT THEY ARE NOT SHOWING UP HERE.

 

[Samaratin]

Do you have a Dremel?

 

[Charles_124]

Do you have a Dremel?

I could get a Dremel or borrow one. Would I need it for the brass screws or for those bumps under the black plastic or for both?

Thank you.

 

[1shado1]

Those brass things are nuts. Technically, they are not meant to be removed. A bolt /screw is meant to be threaded into them. The reason they have the points is to hold them stationary while a bolt/screw is being threaded into them. The black things very well might be some sort of rivets, as you have speculated.

 

[Charles_124]

Those brass things are nuts. Technically, they are not meant to be removed. A bolt /screw is meant to be threaded into them. The reason they have the points is to hold them stationary while a bolt/screw is being threaded into them. The black things very well might be some sort of rivets, as you have speculated.

So if I were to try taking the thing apart, I would need to carefully drill down with a Dremel into each nut to break it up so I could get to the screw/bolt below it in the hole. And then do the same with the rivets, being careful not to drill into the piece on the other side that I want to save. Might not work, but worth a try.

Thank you.

 

[1shado1]

Those brass things are nuts. Technically, they are not meant to be removed. A bolt /screw is meant to be threaded into them. The reason they have the points is to hold them stationary while a bolt/screw is being threaded into them. The black things very well might be some sort of rivets, as you have speculated.

So if I were to try taking the thing apart, I would need to carefully drill down with a Dremel into each nut to break it up so I could get to the screw/bolt below it in the hole. And then do the same with the rivets, being careful not to drill into the piece on the other side that I want to save. Might not work, but worth a try.

Thank you.

To be honest, I don't know for sure. I would probably Dremel those black plastic bumps to see if they are holding it in. Maybe the bolts going through the brass nuts from the other side of the trackpad (if there are any) are just holding a backing plate onto the trackpad or something similar. This is all just an uneducated guess on my part.

 

[Charles_124]

Those brass things are nuts. Technically, they are not meant to be removed. A bolt /screw is meant to be threaded into them. The reason they have the points is to hold them stationary while a bolt/screw is being threaded into them. The black things very well might be some sort of rivets, as you have speculated.

So if I were to try taking the thing apart, I would need to carefully drill down with a Dremel into each nut to break it up so I could get to the screw/bolt below it in the hole. And then do the same with the rivets, being careful not to drill into the piece on the other side that I want to save. Might not work, but worth a try.

Thank you.

To be honest, I don't know for sure. I would probably Dremel those black plastic bumps to see if they are holding it in. Maybe the bolts going through the brass nuts from the other side of the trackpad (if there are any) are just holding a backing plate onto the trackpad or something similar. This is all just an uneducated guess on my part.

No problem. I realize that Dremeling that part is my call and a potentially dicey one at that, and I have to live with the consequences. But I do thank you and the others for helping me try to figure out what those fasteners are. I may just wind up taking the old laptop deck to a computer repair store to see if they can detach that frame for me. Even if we get that part off, there is still the problem of figuring out how to attach that part to the new deck of my laptop.

The whole reason why I am even trying to do this is because I had to replace the deck on my three-year-old laptop when the right-click button broke (it is part of the deck unit), which meant taking out all the innards of the computer and reattaching them to the new deck. Unfortunately, I discovered that on the new deck the factory had used too big a screw to secure the touchpad frame to the rest of the unit and these screws (the same ones I am trying to remove on the old deck) are pushing up into the frame, buckling, and breaking it.

BUCKLED TOUCHPAD FRAME (LEFT-HAND SIDE):
http/

BROKEN TOUCHPAD FRAME -- SCREW EXPOSED (RIGHT-HAND SIDE):
http/

Toshiba's official spare parts dealer, National Parts Depot, is an absolute nightmare to deal with, having botched my order for parts twice (thrice if you count the defective part), then refusing to accept a return on one of those incorrect parts.

So I thought I would try to cannibalize the touchpad frame from my original laptop deck. May just wind up taking it all in to the repair shop and letting them do it, but I can't afford to be without a computer for even part of one day.

Thanks again to you and everyone else for listening and offering your best-educated advice. Don't know too much about computers myself. (Still can't believe I gutted my laptop and moved everything over to the new deck. And got the laptop to work properly on the first try. I watched a repair video on Youtube by Alt Tab Tech.)

 

[Samaratin]

what about a custom 3d printed case for the new housing

 

[Charles_124]

what about a custom 3d printed case for the new housing

Outside my pay grade, I'm afraid. And I don't have access to a 3-d printer. Plus the case is otherwise sound. Will try your earlier advice and see if I can get the piece I want off of the old laptop deck with a Dremel.

Thank you.