Replacement Hard Drive mounting screws for HP/Compaq dc5800 SFF?

[JSterrett]

My company recently acquired a large number of dc5800 SFF desktops from a local bank chain that was bought out and is replacing all thier old systems to conform to the purchasing bank's setup. These all had their hard drives removed and destroyed, but the drive mounting screws were not removed prior to drive destruction. I was able to find some screw sets on ebay, but the sellers are wanting like $15 or more for a set of 4 screws, so I was hoping someone on here might have a part number for the screws, and/or know where I might be able to purchase them in large amounts, as we have nearly a hundred of these desktops.

[lasvegaswireman]

Here is the HP Hardware Reference Guide for the dc5800 Small Form Factor Model. On pages 27 and 28, the guide indicates that the unit comes with spare (extra) 6-32 and M3 screws for use with HDDs and ODDs. Please see the below image for the screw locations;

Please send KUDOs

[JSterrett]

I am aware of those screws, however, they are not the ones I need. The (primary) hard drive mounting screws are longer, and have a blue silicone(?) insulator and look like the following picture...

[JSterrett]

Also....see highlighted area.....

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

This is the cheapest you are going to find them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Compaq-Hard-Drive-Mounting-Screws-Z400-8000-Elite-DC7800-DC7900-DC5800-/3...

They are proprietary and HP only provides them with a replacement hard drive.

No part numbers are available.

I recommend contacting one of the eBay sellers and see if you can get a better price if you buy in bulk.

[lasvegaswireman]

Please see this HP forum thread entitled "dc7900 HD Screws - Convertible Minitower" for a possible source of replacement "isolation mounting guide screws". You can also research this on the internet by clicking the links provided the Bing search of "hp 6-32 isolation mounting guide screws".

Please send KUDOs

[Paul_Tikkanen]

This seller shows a big bag of them.

Maybe they will cut you a deal...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SET-OF-4-HP-Hard-Drive-Mounting-Screws-8000-Elite-DC7800-DC7900-DC5800-AV-/2...

Where do these sellers find these things???  

[JSterrett]

I was able to come up with a workaround for these mounts using a couple of flat washers and 6-32 screws from older hp computers (the ones under the faceplate are too short, motherboard ones 'might' be long enough). Just stack 2-3 washers (depending on thickness) and screw 'em down.

Making it work is not an issue, just would be nice to have the proper hardware

The original screws have to come from somewhere, would be nice to find to find out who hp's supplier was for these, which is probably what those ebay sellers were able to do. Either that, or they have been scavenged from decommissioned computers.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

As they say, and as you proved, necessity is the mother of invention. 

$12 for a set of 4 screws that are worth maybe $1 at most, is exploitation at its best.

Maybe if you only needed one set you might pay that ransom, but when you need to find 4 screws for 100 PC's then that is simply not practical.

[k9taxi]

For anybody else needing drive mounting screws you can buy these parts at your hardware store:

#6-32 machine screws in 3/8" length

#4 washers

#10 washers

Place two #4 washers on each machine screw then place two or three #10 washers on each machine screw.  I found it works best when one side of the drive has two #10 washers and the other side has three #10 washers.  I purchased several used systems and found this solution worked perfectly and cost me about $1 to make a set of these.