How do i fix a broken M.2 standoff? (standoff broke off and stuck in the MB)

[tighecg]

Asus MAXIMUS IX CODE motherboard, Samsung 960 EVO.

So I have been working on my first full build in about 15 years, and I had what feels like a major catastrophe. When I went to install the standoff for my 960 EVO, the stud on the standoff broke off flush with the top of the MB standoff it screws into. I put it in finger tight, but it didn't feel quite right, so I decided to snug it a little more, and it snapped right off. I don't feel that I was being overly aggressive putting it in, and I was careful knowing that is was small and aluminum. It seemed to break off way to easily.

I have tried to back it out with jewelers screwdrivers, and even a small pocket knife, didn't work. I put a small drop of superglue on the end of a screwdriver and tried to back it out after it dried, no luck. I got a small drill bit, hoping that it would grab the stud better, and tried to back it out from the bottom of the MB, and even tried to thread it all the way through the bottom of the MB, still nothing. Tried a left hand thread drill bit with the same results(all of this was using the bit by hand, not in a drill). I am to the point of actually drilling the standoff out completely, or a small amount to try a screw extractor. I'm not crazy about the idea of drilling on the board, but it does not worry me, I drill in sensitive areas for work frequently. The other option is dealing with ASUS customer service, which from my research, doesn't seem like a good option.

This is the only M.2 slot with PCIe access on my board to my knowledge, and I believe I need that access to get the best performance out of my SSD. Also I hope to pick up another M.2 drive on a black Friday deal for the other slot, so I would like to fix this issue as opposed to just putting the drive in the other slot.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to get this out? Should I just drill it out? Does anyone have very recent asus customer support experience that would suggest they are better than I assume they are? Any guidance would be appreciated, thank you.

pics
https://imgur.com/a/ZkiFK

(sorry about the long post)

 

[vMax]

Double sided sticky tape, cut a small piece..The slighter thicker sponge type tape. Done well it should be fine as the pastic below will allow for a decent contact and should be no issues on the M.2 drive side either. Also, I presume you have a cover that fits over the whole drive and provides some thermal protection as well, so nothing will be seen once it is on.

I would not want to drill as just slight vibrations might damage some circuitry.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I'm not a fan of the double sided sticky tape: a 960 EVO gets warm in heavy use and that loosens the adhesive, and especially so since the M.2 is spring loaded and pushing up on the drive.

The best solution, of course, is to swage in another spacer of like type...but that needs special tools, carefully adjusted so you don't crush the motherboard in the process.

So... you might try a small standoff like that used beneath motherboards in some cases. If you have access to an assortment that would be best... get the type with one threaded stud and locate it in place from the backside with a nut and washer (a nylon one if it could short out circuitry); loctite the nut on so you can remove the screw from front later without fear of it spinning off. You may need to file it down to the correct height (they're very short).

Alternatively, you could get a simple spacer (drill out what you have maybe??) and hold the 960 EVO in place with a screw all the way through the drive, spacer and motherboard to a nut/washer. It would make removal more difficult since you'd need to get to back of the board to hold the nut but it would work very reliably once in place.

 

[tighecg]

Thanks for the responses, I'm leaning toward the drilling out solution. I am not a fan of the tape idea either, I also saw someone use hot glue to hold it down. I think I would prefer a clean 'modded' look to the tape. Thanks again!

 

[vMax]

No problems at all...Hope everything goes very well and do let us know how it goes...