[SOLVED] Swollen battery, unable to open case

[pondius]

I noticed yesterday that my laptop keyboard was bulging and assumed battery swelling. I immediately shut it down and disconnected it. The laptop is a Lenovo IdeaPad U330p.

I will replace the laptop but I am very eager to salvage the hard drive if possible, a fairly new SSD with precious and irreplaceable data on it. After bringing the laptop to a ventilated location I started removing the case screws around the bottom. Alas, the last one of the twelve does not budge, and also got stripped by my attempt. The case is metal.

If it wasn't for the battery issue, I would think I have to drill out the screw head to remove it, but bringing a drill near a swollen battery seems like a not so great idea.

Any ideas? Give up on the SSD or is there another way?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Mind sharing an image of which screw is stripped? You might want to use some JBWeld and a tooth pick atop of it to fasten the pick to the screws head overnight. once dry you could use it like an allen key to unscrew it, provided the screw you're referring to isn't captive. Sometimes captive screws are used to pop a cover open like that on Dell's newer Inspiron laptops. You will also need a spudger to pry the case parts open to prevent your fingers from being sliced.

 

[sizzling]

You should have a back up of your irreplaceable data, there are many ways it can be lost.

The battery if swollen is a lost cause. I’d get an external drive and backup your data before proceeding with anything else.

 

[pondius]

Thank you!

It is one of the front center screws, as seen in the picture.

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Mind sharing an image of which screw is stripped? You might want to use some JBWeld and a tooth pick atop of it to fasten the pick to the screws head overnight. once dry you could use it like an allen key to unscrew it, provided the screw you're referring to isn't captive. Sometimes captive screws are used to pop a cover open like that on Dell's newer Inspiron laptops. You will also need a spudger to pry the case parts open to prevent your fingers from being sliced.

 

[sizzling]

Just reviewing my post and realised it may not be clear. My suggestion is use the laptop for as long as it takes to backup your data even though the battery has swollen. Only once backed continue with the battery change.

 

[alceryes]

Just reviewing my post and realised it may not be clear. My suggestion is use the laptop for as long as it takes to backup your data even though the battery has swollen. Only once backed continue with the battery change.

...the best suggestion by far. Data backup FIRST - everything else SECOND.