I use a small screwdriver as described here http://www.dmspinballs.com/epromswap.html

Eric

Make sure you only put it under the ic and not under part of the socket ?
Probably sounds dumb but you never know.. that's about the only thing you can do wrong.

Sometimes it'll make a sound when it's an old board.. as long as you are sure you only have the ic and pull up that shouldn't matter..

Also, make sure that the board is on a flat surface and that you're not holding the board up in the air while trying to pull the chip.

Grip it and rip it.

Well not really. I guess if you want to use your IC puller you could use a small screwdriver do prey up a little bit on the ends then use it.
It will be easier to do it with the board out but not needed. It's creeky because that puppy has been living in there for decades.

Personally I just use a screwdriver and then I use it again to straighten the legs out I just bent.
Some people don't like that round these parts

Team gently twist up each end with a screwdriver reporting in. The only time I bent pins was when I tried using one of the cheap little IC pullers, but maybe I'm a dummy. I know ForceFlow won't stand for this screwdriver crap, he's too professional!

Depends where they are is how they get bent. I was doing my PM and only one side was accessible, so I just put the driver in the one side, twisted, jammed, & pried it out of there...kind of like shucking a clam.

Just make sure the chip is sitting in a socket and not directly soldered to the board.

And yes, pulling it from the pin directly is fine. Easier if board is out, but it's fine either way.

That's a good point.

jonesjb, go ahead and post a photo of the chip you're trying to remove.

I admit to using enough force in one case that the chip flew across the room and was lost for several days until it showed up by sticking to the bottom of my foot.

These but I prefer the simple metal one.

image_(resized).jpg

image_(resized).jpg

image_(resized).jpg

Those two 3M parts are not chip pullers. They are chip clips, used to access the legs of the chip with clip leads or a probe easier.
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Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
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I bent the end of one of those pocket screwdrivers about a half inch and use it to pry under the ROM at each end a little at a time. Works like a charm!

The creaking you hear is very normal when they are tight as they actually should be. Being the old timer that I am, I heard this all the time taking memory chips out of PC's. Get a small flat head screw driver and slowly insert it between the chip and the socket. Then twist left and right slowly. Then push it in further. Slowly, twisting as you go. You can lift a bit also. You will see it start to come out. Don't worry about bending the pins a bit. You can easily straighten them back out.

The chip puller from your picture is too small to be of any use, like others have suggested just use a screwdriver. I personally would never pull an IC from a board that is still in the system since it puts unneccesary stresses on several parts of the board. I see that there is nothing covering the IC window, not sure if you recently removed the sticker or if it was like that for awhile, but having the window exposed like that can result in corrupttion of the data stored in the IC.

Yep, small screwdriver and twist, I always do it that way, just be careful, I did back in the day screw up a cpu because the screwdriver went in too far, and scratched the traces under the socket.. Learned a good lesson from that one, and I have never had an issue again..and remember to do it SLOWLY..

Make sure the game is powered off! Also, if you want to play it safe, use one hand around the socket with a little pressure while to use the screwdriver, that way your not putting all the pressure on the whole board.

It's not good ... The chip pictured is an EPROM (Erasable Programable Read Only Memory) these are erased by shining ultra-violet light through the window. While small amounts of UV wont erase it, it could be enough to corrupt the data stored on it. You can cover it with anything including a smiley face sticker

The rom is probably fine. But cover the window as suggested.
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Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact
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If the ROM is corrupt, then screwing it up taking it out is a moot point.

Well, not really, since an eprom can be erased and used again.

I was once taught to pretend I was on the moon, and I needed that chip to get back to earth, that's how careful you want to be. Also, if you can't get a screwdriver started between the chip and socket, try a small pocketknife blade.

Best tool for removing socketed ROMs.

ROM-puller_(resized).jpg

Small flathead is all you need really. I never use a chip puller for DIL packages.

Small flat head to get under one side of the chip and between the socket house. NOT against the PCB!! Twist the flat or gently pry to start working the first end loose. Once it raises up slightly, repeat on the other end going back and forth and it comes out. If you pry against the PCB you can pull the entire socket house off.

I don't like the chip pullers either. Most of the times it will result in bent pins at 1 of the sides. I use this lovely little tool:

schroevendraaiers-268_10p_(resized).jpg

Awesome!

Shhewwwww....that's a relief....
Sorry...snarky this morning...
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://ChrisHiblerPinball.com/contact
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/index.htm
http://www.PinWiki.com - The Place to go for Pinball Repair Info