Help! PC Case lock is stuck! Door is stuck shut!

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Tard, Jun 27, 2006.

  1. Tard

    Tard Private First Class

    Hey all. I have a Thermaltake V5000D case that has a lock on the front panel. One day I was just fiddling with the lock, turning the key back and forth (fidgeting problem I have sometimes), then it just stopped turning with the lock in the locked position and now my front panel is locked shut! I am very thankful that the the door wasn't latched or I wouldn't be able to get to the on/off button and my optical drives and stuff. But my front panel is still locked and I cant get to my fan filter. Also, my door wont latch shut because the metal latch on the lock is in the way of it closing all the way. This is very annoying and is going to suck when I have to move my tower around with the door swinging away.

    I've tried turning the key in every position possible with every amount of force in my hand. I actually bent the crap out of one of my keys and cant completely straighten it out now. I've tried picking it and examined it with a flashlight for any obstructions in the hole. The next thing I can think of is mabye WD-40 on it because it seems the little levers in the lock are getting stuck when the key pushes them in and they dont come back down on top of the key. But I would like to ask you guys to see if anyone has ever had this problem and/or if you have any ideas to fix it. Thanks in advance!
     
  2. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Love to help but sadly thermaltakes website is not helpfull in schematics or decent pics of the area of the lock.... only thoughts I have are can you take the side panel off on the side nearest the lock and see if you can force the hook up? ( doesnt look like you can from another pic I searched for as the front panel is too flush to the side )

    If you can from the inside of th ecase see the back of the lock its latch-hook is only attached by a big screw from the looks of it and if you could unscrew it you would get access to the front I have no doubt.

    the pics I was looking at http://www.3dxtreme.net/index.php?id=thermaltakexvdv5000d2 ( 8th one down )


    Sadly appart from a locksmith, this is the only suggestions I have at present.
     
  3. COMPUABLE

    COMPUABLE First Sergeant

    >> Re: Help! PC Case lock is stuck! Door is stuck shut! I would like to ask you guys to see if anyone has ever had this problem and/or if you have any ideas to fix it. Thanks in advance! << Tard

    I did a little research for you and according to the FAQ-Q&A at the Thermaltake.com website:

    (Q) My lock is broken and the keys won't open my case! What can I do?

    (A) Please take a flathead screw driver and jam it into the lock to force it open. Then request a new lock assembly and keys from us. We at Thermaltake apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

    Please log onto our website at: http://eworks.thermaltake.com/erma/agreement.asp to complete the RMA request form online. The request form will allow you to request for replacement parts. If you have any questions regarding the RMA process, please contact our RMA department at rma@thermaltake.com

    If you are requesting for a missing part, by all means, you do not need to send anything back to us. If you are requesting for a replacement of a part of a product, you only need to send back the part that you need replaced.​

    Note: Since they apparently offer this service for customers who ‘cannot open’ their case; it stands to reason that they will also offer you a ‘replacement’ lock as well (not sure if there is any additional fee for this service, you'll have to check that out for yourself). Therefore, I believe that your best bet would be to contact Thermaltake.com technical support to see if they will do this for you.

    Additionally, when you contact them; to achieve the BEST possible results in this situation, my advice would be to simply tell them that the lock does not function and that you will need a replacement. In other words; leave out the "fiddling with/ fidgeting problem" which you told us about here in the forum. ;)

    Good Luck!
     
  4. Tard

    Tard Private First Class

    Sweet, THANKS A LOT, COMPUABLE!!

    I should have probably caught that on their site too. Sorry for the ignorance.

    I am going to do what your advised too about what to tell them. But in the end, it doesn't matter if I was fiddling with it or not. I was turning the key back and forth, which is what it's made to do. It wasn't like I was abusing the lock, hah.
     
  5. COMPUABLE

    COMPUABLE First Sergeant

    >> Sweet, THANKS A LOT, COMPUABLE! I am going to do what your advised too about what to tell them. But in the end, it doesn't matter if I was fiddling with it or not. I was turning the key back and forth, which is what it's made to do. It wasn't like I was abusing the lock, hah. <<

    Oh anytime Tard... My pleasure really! ;)

    I agree that it shouldn't really matter whether you were "fiddling with it" or not. It’s just that companies that sell hardware and peripherals online; more often than not, try to ‘weasel’ out of the warrantee for covering the cost of fixing or replacing their products if/when it is implied (even indirectly) that the cause of the malfunctioning or damaged product might be their customers' own fault.

    Therefore, it’s almost always better to give as little information as possible and just say “the part does not work” and that you want information on how to get a free replacement – period. For example one time a coworker of mine bought a large and expensive hard drive that did not function after installation from a small online company. The part came with a 60 day warrantee so arranging to get a new one delivered free of charge to his home should have been a simple phone call away.

    When he contacted the support technician to inquire about a replacement he was babbling away with the tech and said that when he inserted the hard drive he heard a small “pop” sound (implying that he might have ‘forced’ the HS into place). It wasn’t really necessary to add this information; my friend was just being ‘chatty’ while passing the time as the tech was verifying the purchase order on the company’s database.

    Anyway, the tech puts him on hold for a few minutes and then the ‘supervisor’ get’s on and says that since the damage was likely caused by forcing the hard drive into the slots; no "free replacement" would be made available. In the end; he wound up not only having to pay for the postage to mail the part back but an additional “repair and/or restocking” fee (or something like that) as well - instead of getting the part replaced and delivered to his home for free. The old World War II slogan "Loose Lips Might Sink Ships" most definitely applies when dealing with trying to get tech support or any online company to honor their parts replacement warrantees.

    Good Luck!
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2006

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