Re: Hard to Remove PM 2.0 x 3.0 Battery Hold Down Screws

Boris <[email protected]> wrote in 
news:[email protected]:

> wasbit <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:
> 
>> On 26/03/2024 23:23, Boris wrote:
>>> Laptop is my daughter's HP Spectre 13-ac000 x360 Convertible PC,
>>> purchased in March, 2017.  Some years ago (sorry, I don't know when)
>>> the laptop was giving "extreme low battery" warnings, and eventually
>>> wouldn't hold a charge, but it would boot up when using the charger. 
>>> Finally, the laptop wouldn't boot up even with the charger.  My
>>> daughter then put the thing in her closet and bought a new laptop.
>>> Yikes. 
>>> 
>>> She brought this up to me today, and I said let me see it.
>>> 
>>> I plugged it in, and the orange charging light went on.  An hour
>>> later, the charging light turned white.  Ok, guess it's charged, but
>>> it still wouldn't boot.  Nothing, not even a hint that anything's
>>> going on inside. 
>>> 
>>> Per troubleshooting advice, I pulled the charger, and held the on/off
>>> button for 30 seconds.  Plugged the charger back in, but still
>>> wouldn't boot up.  Troubleshooting suggested that the battery may be
>>> the cause and to remove battery and try again with just charger and
>>> battery removed. 
>>> 
>>> So I got the manual:
>>> 
>>> http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05357578.pdf
>>> 
>>> I got the back panel off (had to use a hairdryer to get the adhesive
>>> attached plastic caps off under the rubber feet, where the last two
>>> panel hold down screws were), but I can't get the PM 2.0 x 3.0 screws
>>> removed to get the battery out.  They are in there very, very tight. 
>>> I have tried very, very hard, with lots of pressure.  I just can't
>>> budge the screws here.
>>> 
>>> https://postimg.cc/bZ70k20R
>>> 
>>> I've always used jeweler's screwdrivers to do this type of work. 
>>> Would a computer technician screwdriver set make a difference?  Are
>>> the  points shorter to get tightly into the short depth of these
>>> small screw heads? 
>>> 
>>> TIA
>>> 
>> 
>> They are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) screws & probably put in 
>> with thread sealer.
>> Use an appropriate sized (No 1 or No 2) Phillips screwdriver or even
>> an angled screwdriver & bit. One the  thread seal is broken the screws
>> will undo easily.
>> 
>> 
> 
> I was unable to get the screws out with the tools I have on hand, so I 
> went to a local computer repair shop in the area, "Nerdy Dave's".  Dave 
> had the proper tools, and removed the screws with ease.
> 
> All screws did have a blue sealant on them.
> 
> I was now able to try and boot the machine without the battery, using 
> only the charger, which was my goal.  Didn't boot up.
> 
> The HP battery has a sticker on it with "replace with HP spare 859356-
> 855".  HP.com has discontinued the battery, and authorized resellers only 
> sell compatible batteries at $129.  No thanks, not for a 'compatible' 
> battery.  I'm not a fan of eBay, but I found an OEM's new, unopened HP 
> battery on eBay for $34.  Wonder how old it is.  It should arrive in 
> about a week.  I'll report back then.
> 
> If the machine still won't boot up with a replacement battery, I'll get 
> the data off the SSD.
> 
> Thanks to all.

The replacement battery arrived a few days ago.  This is it:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364525829384

The markings on the replacement battery are nearly identical to those on 
the original battery.  I've attached a photo of both, side by side, for 
comparison.  Note that the old battery has a mfg. date of March 2017, and 
the new battery has a mfg. date of August 2023.  The old battery has a TIS 
(?) number, and two, square silver stickers on each bottom side.  The new 
battery has none of these three items.

The new battery was difficult to connect because the cable was 1/8" longer 
than the old battery's cable, and it also had stiff shrink tubing on part 
of the cable.  I considered cutting the shrink tubing off, but with some 
forceful contortionist bending, I was able to compactly stuff the cable 
such that the battery fit, and secure the bottom panel, flush.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/BjNMSrQ

Once the new battery was charged up, the laptop booted up just fine. I 
disconnected the charger, checked all Windows settings, installed waiting 
updates, and then surfed for a few hours to see how the battery held up 
under use.  After one hour, battery was down to 90%, and after two hours, 
battery was down to 81%.  I left it alone, and checked on the battery at 9 
p.m., it was at 77%.  The laptop put itself to sleep, and I woke it up 
about 15 hours later.  Battery was at 70%.  I'll give it back to my 
daughter and we'll see how it performs under her regular use.