[SOLVED] Broken M.2 standoff base from MB. How to fix?

Oct 10, 2020
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Hey guys, had a bit of a snafu tonight as I was trying to get the M.2 standoff out my MB, Basically, I had a bit of an accident (was too aggressive/rushing) and managed to break the base off of the M.2 standoff from the MB.
Not sure what to do or how to fix it. The standoff's base still seems to sit in the MB if I push it in, and then I can screw the standoff into the base gently by hand, and then plug the NVMe drive into the MB and secure the NVMe drive with the screw into the standoff, but if I pull the drive a bit, it pops out as the standoff base is uprooted from the MB. I tried pushing it in again, and this time it seems to stay there even when slightly pulling the NVMe drive upward (I didn't trying pulling hard, just a slight amount of pressure to see if it's secure). Do you think it would be safe if I tried booting up/using the system in the off chance the NVMe drive's standoff uproots itself from the MB while in operation?

I was thinking of trying to glue it, but not sure what glue to use and also I was worried that I might get some glue on the MB and it's hard to get it back in the hole, didn't want to get risk getting glue on the MB's PCB. Would that cause any damage to the MB if I were to get glue on it?

Here are some photos I took. You can see in the photos the 2280's SSD standoff base has completely come off of the MB:
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Solution
M3 is a standard thread, so not like it would be hard to find nuts, possibly even standoffs at a hardware store. Maybe not exactly what you would need though. Yes, online would be better. Always someone out there who buys these things in bulk and sells small amounts for a huge profit (hardware stores do this too). But when you only need one or two of something you will pay several hundred percent markup.

Metal nut and standoff would have been fine, baring any contact with something on the back of the motherboard or interference with the chassis. Not a complex mount. Can't really recommend a specific piece of hardware for the job without measuring the height of what you have there already.

Superglue should work fine.

Eximo

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Glue it in? Seems that might be what they do in the first place.

Longer standoff and a nut on the back of the motherboard if you want a harder mount. Would just need to measure the height of the thick part and find something similar. Or get a longer standoff and grind the top down.
 
Oct 10, 2020
2
0
10
Glue it in? Seems that might be what they do in the first place.

Longer standoff and a nut on the back of the motherboard if you want a harder mount. Would just need to measure the height of the thick part and find something similar. Or get a longer standoff and grind the top down.

Thanks for the reply. I bought some Supa Glue and have glued it in, so I will see what happens/if it holds OK (I decided to wait a full day to let the glue dry/cure before screwing/mounting the NVMe drive back in).

As for the nut on the back of the MB, would I need to get one that isn't metal? What type of store would I buy the nuts/standoffs at? I doubt I'd be able to get them in my town as I assume the standoff isn't a common item used on anything else, is it? I assume I'd have to order online?
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
M3 is a standard thread, so not like it would be hard to find nuts, possibly even standoffs at a hardware store. Maybe not exactly what you would need though. Yes, online would be better. Always someone out there who buys these things in bulk and sells small amounts for a huge profit (hardware stores do this too). But when you only need one or two of something you will pay several hundred percent markup.

Metal nut and standoff would have been fine, baring any contact with something on the back of the motherboard or interference with the chassis. Not a complex mount. Can't really recommend a specific piece of hardware for the job without measuring the height of what you have there already.

Superglue should work fine.
 
Solution
One could always run a very thin/small tie-strap thru it if the other two standoffs provide support, with the ratcheting part located under the mainboard, serving only to semi-snugly hold the SSD down.....when/if you wish to remove, just cut any part of it with dikes.
 
Oct 25, 2020
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Thanks for the reply. I bought some Supa Glue and have glued it in, so I will see what happens/if it holds OK (I decided to wait a full day to let the glue dry/cure before screwing/mounting the NVMe drive back in).

As for the nut on the back of the MB, would I need to get one that isn't metal? What type of store would I buy the nuts/standoffs at? I doubt I'd be able to get them in my town as I assume the standoff isn't a common item used on anything else, is it? I assume I'd have to order online?
Hey I have the same problem here.. Did you glue it? Did it work?
 
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