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Obtaining Replacement Parts for Your Laptop?
halosfan asks: "I recently broke the LCD bezel (the plastic thing that holds the LCD and related wires together) on a laptop that I bought half a year ago. I checked eBay as well as a few online stores specializing in laptop replacement parts, but still couldn't find the replacement. I contacted the manufacturer, but they were absolutely useless. Local laptop repair shop said they wouldn't replace the bezel without replacing the LCD, which isn't acceptable. It is an extremely frustrating situation, as the bezel is a minor part that I otherwise couldn't care less about, but it is necessary to carry the laptop around. I am wondering what other ways are there to obtain a laptop replacement part? Also, any recommendations for manufacturers that are good about making obscure replacement parts for their laptops available to the general public?" Does your laptop manufacturer make it easy or hard to get the necessary replacement parts?
An Anonymous Coward asks: I woke up this morning and once again I was hungry. I have heard of various solutions to this problems in the past and have even tried a few (eating, snacking, etc.) My question to the Slashdot community is this: What do you do when you're hungry? Are their any uber-geek solutions to this problem? I know I can't be the only one who experiences it."
Last time my Discman broke, they wanted to charge me over 100$ to replace the lil' spinny thingie inside of it because they'd replace the whole bottom part of it.. which includes the lens and pretty much all the electronics.. Laptops are the same, your best bet with a laptop is to take a good extended warranty and pray you don't need to use it..
In a word, eBay. I just got a new CPU fan, power board and bag o' screws for my old N505VE Sony ultralight. Total cost was around 10$.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Duct tape.
My side hobby is auto-repair and restoration. Together, my father and I have restored several vehicles (1970 Pontiac GTO Judge, 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R, 1968 Chevrolet Corvair convertible, and a 1982 Volvo GL to Mustang 5.0 conversion, if anyone here cares,) and one of the best things we did was to scavenge junkyards for 95%-complete vehicles that were just rusting away. If we got one with a good body, but a blown engine, then that would be our project car, and we would just scavence a rustbucket that was still good under the hood and swap out the drivetrain.
When I took a job in the IT field and began repairing computers, I applied this same logic. If I had a laptop with a cracked case, but the internals were still fine, then I would try and scavenge a laptop with a dead motherboard that still had a good case and was discarded because it just didn't work. You can easily swap out things like that. I've done it on several Dell Inspirons and IBM ThinkPads, you can have a couple "parts" machines going at once and just get replacements from those. Sometimes on eBay you get lucky and find an auction for something like "Pallet of 100 Broken ThinkPads" for $50 and you can get some serious finds. If you want to take a bit of a risk you can even try "dumpster diving" outside of office buildings, schools and libraries. Often times when something breaks or is very obsolete these places will just toss it out. My favorite find so far was an IBM ThinkPad 486, complete, with two working batteries and all the cables in a case, that was just sitting in a dumpster because it was too old to run modern software.
Find out who the case manufacturer is - most cases are made by Taiwanese manufacturers, even brand names. One of the biggest is HyperData Direct - check their web site to see if they carry a generic case part for your laptop.
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Unfortunately, I really couldn't say where you need to go, if the company that produced your laptop can't help you, maybe you could find a broken laptop (same model mind you) and strip it down for the parts you need?
This is why I dropped the jack for an extended warrenty. Normal ware and tear has cracked the back hinge on my laptop in less then 6mo. It still works okay but its a crack. Before my 3 years is up, this thing is getting fixed so that it will have some life left it in.
Same goes for the keyboard
The touchpad (which is already honky cause it took a static electricity shock)
And the CD drive
etc etc etc.
If you are just going to buy and sit and never work to get shit replaced, then yes -- the warrenty coverage is worthless. Buy it and use it, and then you have gotten something.
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
How about finding a replacement battery controller card? Hard to find, and expensive to fix. My old dell needs one, and only dell seems to be able to fix it (for quite the fee). My brothers compaq has the same problem. The battery itself is fine, but the card that controls the charging and such wont' do a thing.
RTFQ. It's the first place he mentioned looking.
Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
to make it hard.
Even batteries, that ought to be a commidity, are still expensive. $147 for a 760e ThinkPad battery? The laptop isn't worth that much.
Always been real happy with Dell and its replacement of busted laptop componets. Although this was as a corporate customer and if they need to replace other parts (the LCD in this case) to fix the problem, it was always warrantied work and no extra cost came to me because of it. I'm guessing the author is a home/personal user, which if the laptop was purchased new I'm surprised the replacement isn't warrantied (don't most come with 12 month warranties?).
GG reading comprehension.
Thanks for coming out though.
It's becoming more common these days for 'custom' parts like these to be bundled.
I recently broke a wiring harness on my girlfriend's Pontiac Aztec. I could replace it in about five minutes if I could get Pontiac to sell me the part. But they won't, not without purchasing the entire headlight module, for 300 dollars.
Your best bet is to do what I'm doing for that part - namely, hitting junkyards(in your case, eBay). Another possibility is to find a user's group/forum for these laptops - I know when I had a Sparcbook, there was always a guy or two with broken ones who would send you some weird random part.
Look at the example of Apple's disposible iPod
Technology changes setting up support and the supply line to do this wouldn't be worth the customer satisfaction or $ it would generate.
Better spend resources creating the next rev of the product.
>Local laptop repair shop said they wouldn't replace the bezel without replacing the LCD, which isn't acceptable.
Why isn't this acceptable?
If its due to cost, what did you expect from a laptop? How much do you think that piece of plastic is going to cost you?
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
I just ran into the same thing. The hinges on my laptop screen can no longer hold me PERFECT LCD screen vertical. ~$600 to replace the LCD/hinges. Jerks.
=====
imagetweak.netWeb-based image t
...idiots. RTFP.
Suits up fireproof jacket...
duct tape
There's a site called PB Parts that has Apple laptop parts. I replaced my iBook HD there and my brother replaced his PowerBook keyboard with a part from there. Some of their prices are a little high, but still cheaper than getting it repaired by Apple or a reseller if you don't have a warranty.
I work at my college servicing the IBM ThinkPads that the school leases. (There's your background
The manufacturer should have replacement parts as long as the thing is under warranty and possibly a while after.
I've probably replaced about 4,000 LCD bezels by now and I know exactly what you mean.
The place that was trying to replace the ENTIRE assembly on you was doing nothing more than trying to rip you off BIG TIME. LCDs can cost more than the laptop their in, and that piece of plastic probably costs $.50 to make. (Even though IBM charges ~$50 for one)
I recommend just trying harder to contact the original manufacturer.
Question everything
When it comes to plastic parts, like bezels, I usually resort to delicate use of epoxy and super thin reinforcements.
My experience with plastic repair parts is that they are usually not sold separately, and are hard to find unless you can cannabalize.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Try ebay, if you can't find it there you may be in trouble. :)
If you can read this sig - the bitch fell off.
Was this accidental damage, or a manufacturing defect? Given that it's only half a year old, it should still be under warranty (assuming it's not accidental damage, such as you dropping it on the floor). You should be able to just send it in to the manufacturer and have them either repair it for you or ship you a refurb or new one.
I have purchased replacement batteries and a replacement keyboard for my aging Dell Inspiron 3700 from laptopsforless.com. I wasn't terribly impressed with the lifetime of the batteries - they wore out in just over a year, whereas the original Dells had lasted 18 months before dying (I can be hard on batteries). The keyboard was a refurb, but has performed adequately.
You could always buy a sacrificial laptop on eBay and use it for parts. If it's old enough, it won't cost you too much.
Seriously, is Slashdot now a parts distibutor/parts locator service? I've seen some people keep their cell phones together with rubber bands, perhaps that would work in this case. Liquid nails may be too permanent...
What exactly do you mean by "Don't touch this button?"
mm duck tape. can't play quack 3 arena without it.
How cool would it be to pay $50 bucks to the local woodshop teacher to make a custom bezel?
And lots of sanding.
it is good whack?
Reminds me of the little diddy they said in Brave New World, and piped into the heads of children at an early age: "better to spend than to mend". It seems our society is geared more towards the "just buy a new one" mentality nowadays. *cough*iPod*cough* Personally I'd find a way to MacGuyver a new part or fix it so that the device was still (safely) usable until the day I either do find a new part, or break it beyond repair.
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
I believe that these two components are generally considered one part (as in they have the same part number when they come from the factory).
While the plastic is worth very little, if the factory will only ship them as one part, you are out of luck. I doubt you could find a store who would split them apart.
I know that on my old compaq (Armada 7400), when the repair-man came to fix the LCD, he took the plastic surrounding it with him. I believe it is simpler for repairs as you only have to put a couple of screws in place and attach a cable or two and the screen is ready to go.
I doubt that you will be able to find this, although I would like to be proved wrong. I assume it is out of warantee, since most companies would probably fix it if it still were.
It is most likely a cost item being the reason the factory/supplier won't sell them as anything other than one item.
Good Luck
-CPM
---You're all I need, When the water runs deep, You're all I need, Now I cry my soul to sleep -- Collective Soul, Needs
if it's still available. Then swap out the broken piece with the good one on the new laptop. Then return the new laptop with the broken piece. Done.
I've had these problems with Acer before. They won't replace the bevel without replacing the screen (which costs); but worse, they won't replace the casing when it has broken, as it involves replacing the motherboard. Why the casing is integral to the motherboard I cannot understand. This means you really need to show 'motherboard damage' before they will do anything under their accidental damage cover.
And then there is the wait. I live in the UK; Acer keeps its European operations mostly in Eire. Any repair has to be flown their. Major repairs are flown out to Asia. The last AD problem I had left me without a laptop for 6 weeks; they wouldn't give me a temporary computer.
Exercise your right not to vote. thinkoutside.org
... for laptops: A new laptop.
Seriously, though. I used to fix laptops. Typically the LCD and bezel came as one part, and couldn't be purchased separately.
Something very similar recently happened to my Inspiron 8000. Two years after buying the thing, the connections between the audio jacks and the mobo were loose. I called tech support, was still under warranty, and they offered to fix everything else that was wrong also, which included little stupid things like a chip in the bezel, and a dvd drive that took an extra second to rev up.
My point being, you've only had this for 6 months.. two years later, and the Dell person was practically begging me to come up with more things for her to fix, gave me a free LCD bezel, as well as sent someone to install it for me, all covered under warranty. Have you tried having them replace it for free?
damn, someone beat me to it.
StarManta
I don't think BMW has ever complained about their 2% marketshare. Neither has Apple.
I usually have no problem getting what I want from Compaq as long as the following conditions are met:
:-(
1. Have a lot of money
2. Compaq/HP actually has the part listed
3. Compaq/HP actually has the part in stock
4. Compaq/HP actually ships the order
5. I finally give up and buy a new laptop
Hope this helps
Sorry I almost forgot:
6. ???
7. Profit
My next Slashdot post will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
Or, what you do, is you buy from Costco and return the machine every 5 months... that ruse was cooler a while ago when you could have it for a year and then return it...
My neighbour bought appleCare and boy did THAT pay for itself. His screen just up and DIED. First it turned weird colours and then it just died. Luckily he had appleCare, because at the time it was a $1200 repair!
So, extended warranties (the more extended the better) are WORTH every penny on laptops. You hope and pray you never need it, but when you do need it, and you don't have it, yer fucked big time.
good luck,
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
What part of 'I checked Ebay' didn't you understand? :-)
superblog.org: all your favourite blogs on o
I had snapped off the metal hinge that attaches the LCD panel to the base. (And my laptop is out of warantee) I looked up part numbers in dells online manuals, called a Dell representative, and $40 later, they sent me the part, no fuss whatsoever.
I was actually really surprised that the process went so smoothly.
Why aren't you encrypting your e-mail?
Laptops aren't meant to be serviceable. They're meant to be sealed up like a Pharoah's tomb and left alone for eternity, because everything inside is laid out just so, and all those printed wire ribbons are fairly delicate. It's hard to get replacement parts without going through an authorized repair depot. The manufacturer does not have the money to put in a system for ordering parts piecemeal.
If you buy through authorized dealers, you get this thing called a warranty and a service contract. They're pretty good for getting your laptop fixed. I broke the LCD on my Sony Vaio, and they fixed it and the noisy fan which I didn't even ask about. Same with a co-worker and his Dell, he broke the hinge and Dell fixed it.
My best solution for you is to find another dead one on Ebay and scavenge the corpse. The other solution is to make friends with someone at a repair depot so they can backdoor you a piece here and there.
...as long as you don't mind an entirely new notebook surrounding the replacement part you desire. And don't mind paying for it as well.
Some people don't like them, but I got a Dell, I've never had any problems getting things fixed.
At work some of my colleagues use Dell laptops, when something breaks, a Dell tech shows up fixes/replaces things, makes you sign and leaves.
Get extended warranties for laptops.
Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
If you had at all mentioned who made your laptop, we could've helped you more.
I have a Toshiba laptop, and their support page actually links to a reseller to purchase parts from. www.nationalparts.com if you're interested. I bought some parts from them and they are well stocked and responsive.
Unfortunately my laptop is going on 4 years old, so they don't stock those parts anymore, but take a look. Their front page also mentions other brands, so check with them even if you have something other than toshiba.
(No I don't work for them)
Ebay is a great place to trade notebook parts around and around... unfortunately the prices go up for the small parts as they become seperated from their original computer (buy a used, broken notebook for $50, sell HDD for $40, sell LCD for $60, sell CD-ROM drive for $20, etc).
No, the answer is JB-Weld (www.jbweld.net) or a similar epoxy. It's the modern nerd answer to tape on your glasses.
are often very hard to find for most laptop models - never mind the parts, unless you work in a shop. And many shops just ship the stuff out to a factory service center, anyhow ....
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
pbparts.com has come to my rescue so many times, I can't think of buying a tiBook again without having a relationship with these guys ...
... can't do it with a Dell!
Anyway, tiBook. The best 'user-replaceable/serviceable' laptop you can invest in. *tons* of after-market parts.
I've replaced the case on mine 3 times. Not easy, definitely like gutting a fish and expecting it to swim again, but hey
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Had a Compaq 1800xt with the 15in display and the lid hinge broke so that you could only either have the lid closed or laying all the way open/flat. The repair shop said it would have to replace the entire display for ~$900. Yikes! Freakin' more than the laptop was worth...
I also have a cousin who works for Compaq nee HP, and he looked it up and sure enough, there was no way to replace the 50 cent hinges without replacing the $850 screen.
Needless to say, the laptop was retired to the kitchen (used as a wireless terminal) and we purchased a new laptop. But I always thought this was a lone experience kind of thing. Now I know.
Have any other Compaq laptop owners had similar experiences with the lid of their laptop? I see a class action lawsuit. My laptop was only two years old...
Your mom always said, a PB&J is better than nothing, and God is nothing, is a PB&J better than God?
I've used them a couple times and had no problems...
http://www.parts-people.com
Try Partsolver.com
I broke one of the hinges on my laptop, just one. The Dell people I talked to new exactly what I was talking about and got me "refurbished" parts for like $20, which I then installed myself. I ended up having to replace the screen holder itself, which is why the price was so high, but the coolest thing was they just did some kind of simple text search and said, "Yep, we have it. I can have it to you in two days..." And that was that. Their online service manual led me through the process of replacing the part, and that was that. Go dell.
I bought a Toshiba 3110CT laptop right when they were getting phased out so I saved some bucks. I sunk $300 for 3-year warranty support.
I dropped the laptop while it had a wifi card sticking out of it. PCMCIA slot now can't register any cards. Brought it in to the Warranty shop, they gave me a new motherboard. 1 day turn-around time.
Dropped again, Harddrive died. Asked for a a new harddrive and they did it while I waited.
Best money I ever spent.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
Try a PowerBook G4. I dropped my PowerBook G4 three feet to a tile floor and it didn't phase the titanium case. No cheap plastic parts to replace on these bad boys... and it's got OS X.
Nope. Mollusk snot.
C|N>K
Duck tape.
Setting his threshold to 5, Sparky eliminated most of the trolls on /.
Laptops really need to be brought out of the obscure and expensive parts world they currently live in. I personally think parts for them should be readly accessable as desktop parts are. Might make for some interesting new PC designs as well as easy to fix laptops.
As far as my laptop goes, the warrenty just ran out I think. Three year Dell at home service. I did find that my batteries that have worked flawlessly for the three years I had it just died. I saw batteries.com has replacements as well as Dell. I'm not buying Dell because of their lousy support services, but I'm going to check their prices for the heck of it.
Once something breaks on this laptop I think I'm SOL with the warrenty out. I ain't going through the hassle of contacting Dell and getting charged an arm and a leg to fix a 3 year old Inspiron 8000.
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
this article really hits home for me. I own a dell lattitude l400. the machine has several mechanical flaws and has broken several times while I have owned it over the last (almost) three years. the hinges broke and dell, after talking to them two bazillion times, fixed it by replacing the entire chasse of the machine. the power connector also goes back which results in the replacemnt of the entire power adaptor. this morning i noticed the gateway solo 3350 a friend of a friend had is almost identical to my machine but has a much higher quality power cord connector. any idea how I can find the origianl manufactur and buy one of those?
Will Stokes Album Shaper http://albumshaper.sf.net
I have had several IBM thinkpads, and never had trouble getting repacement parts.. ebay has lots of parts like LCD's and such..
I spilt some booze on my TP21 a while back, it was a bit spendy, but I got a new keyboard direct from IBM parts for $75. it was actualy nice to have have a new keyboard, types much nicer than the original one did.
Check out Impact Computers. They're a small company but they have a lot of different items, LCD bezels too. Also if it's Compaq or HP find out what the part number is for the bezel on HP PartSurfer. That will get you the pieces you need to reference.
You could also try Froogle.
Cheers,
Scott
Most people that have the skillset necessary to repair a notebook computer would value their time at greater than $75 per hour. If your options are to either buy a $150 part or spend two hours looking for it on Ebay and various other sites, your best bet is probably just buying the new part.
I'm a big tall mofo.
and some plastic glue and bobs your uncle, fannys your aunt blah blah.. seriously ;p
moo
My girlfriend at the time smashed the LCD panel on her Canon laptop. All I had to do to fix it was to remove the offending part, get the part number off it and call up Canon's parts department. Fixed the laptop and saved a lot of cash.
I've also done this for a Clarion car stereo's tape player (yeah tapes!), and a Mitsubishi 91TXM montitor's control panel.
Besides, how can I break something that is already broken. Trick is to get the parts department and not the bobo head sales/support people.
It has to be the same model as yours. Take it, extract what you need and discard the rest.
I know there is quite a bit of Apple stuff out there on 3rd party sites, but I assume you have a PC.
Some other ideas: If you can reassemble the part, try making a mold and making a new epoxy part.
I broke a key on my beloved Casio Sk-1 Sampler, and made a whole new key out of rosewood, plastic (hinge) and a pen spring.
Call it a day and use it as a headless router/firewall/server.
Sell it on eBay and use the proceeds to get something else.
Not great options, but assuming that the problem is inabillity to find the part in question - either make a new one, keep looking for a used one, or pass it on to someone else.
My opinion, if it is still under warranty? Break the LCD too*. Hey, you'd get it replaced that way!
You could even call ahead of time and say it was broke, and if they come onsite, wait till the day they come to break it so you wouldn't be without it too long.
*Just make sure that it is indeed covered by the warranty
Bondo the puppy and get a bungy loop to keep it closed.
For the life of the laptop, you should never have a reason to remove the bezel again. If the LCD breaks then you'll need to get a new bezel anyways.
I don't know the dielectric properties of Bondo, so make sure you have some plastic insulation around the LCD HV supply and connections.
machinator omnis sine licentia
Some of PB Parts prices were REALLY high. When the inverter cable running through the hinge to my iBook monitor frayed and shorted (I've had hinge issues with both my Apple laptops - my Wallstreet hinges actually cracked!) they were charging $100 for it. Apple charged even more to repair the whole thing. As it turns out, Small Dog sold the part for around $30, although you have to talk to their techs directly to get the price quoted. I'd familiarize yourself with PB parts prices first, and then go ask Small Dog.
---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?
Many years ago, when I was doing computer repair for the masses as my job, a customer brought in a laptop they had dropped. I determined immediately before taking it apart that the only thing broken was the tiny thin flourescent tube that lit the backlight. The customer wasn't in any rush and was willing to wait as long as they didn't have to buy a new laptop. First I called the laptop manufacturer. They couldn't help me, but told me who manufactured the displays. I called them, and after some work got a smart person on the phone. They told me they didn't have the bulb, but they could have one sent over on the next shipment from Japan, and would sell it to me. I said go for it. So we waited... several months. One day, the bulb arrived. I put it in, wrapped it up, charged the customer the little bit for the part and my time, and everyone was happy. I don't remember the bill, but it was probably under $100.
Too bad this is not the norm.
Time to Epoxy the Bezel back together.
Interesting topic, I spent the whole day looking for a connector (doesn't know its name, its usally on laptops, where you insert flatcable (from the keyboard) to the motherboard. (the kabel is usually made of some kind of transparent plastics with one side of the end where the plating is on the cable).
Don't know its english name, though I have looked at all the online stores I could find to see a picture of it.
Has anyone seen a link to where I can by them, and to know its name would be great!
Thanks
I recently called Sony to get a replacement for a faulty CD-R/DVD drive in my laptop that was out of warranty. First I called parts figuring I could have them just ship me the part and I would replace it myself. The parts department said that I had to call tech support.
:)
Tech support wants to go through all of their canned troubleshooting responses (Indian call ctr which made it difficult to understand the tech). At the end of the conversation once I convinced this guy that the drive was indeed faulty (2+ hours later), I'm then told that I have to ship to a Sony authorized center at a cost of $250 + shipping + 3 weeks turn around time. They refused to just sell me the part. ?????? Why the heck should Sony or any other manufacturer care if I want to buy a part (Outside of wanting to fleece me)? Send me the part, if I trash my laptop opening it up, it's out of warranty anyway! Very frustrating to say the least, so I ended up hunting online and found a dealer that sells Sony parts. 4 days later I have the part which took all of 30mins to put in the machine.
The article didn't specify which manufacturer's product you were looking for parts (Or if it did I missed it). There are sites out there that deal with this sort of stuff but as always be care who your buying stuff from.
Here's the site I got the Sony parts from: http://www.impactcomputers.com
Happy hunting
What the heck is funny about that? I've got duct tape holding my battery on right now. :)
There is nothing inherently safe about liberty. That's why so many people died protecting it.
My Sager has the identical problem... can't recharge the battery (been using it as a mobile desktop for about two years now).
I contacted Sager to fix it... ouchie... shipping costs, plus a diagnostic fee, plus labor, plus parts... it was going to cost more than this old laptop is worth.
I'd love to lay my hands on a replacement battery charging board... but it's impossible to find the part. It's been a great laptop, but that's the drawback when you buy from a smaller manufacturer... there's a paucity of replacement parts available.
At least when you buy an IBM, even if it sucks, you know there's thousands of them out there that you can cannibalize for repairs.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
I had this same problem. My 2 year old laptop came up with a broken hinge screw, it snapped off a chunk of the plastic backing on my LCD.
Pretty useless now.
It took about 3 weeks, but someone ended up offering up exactly the piece I needed, for $20.
I had them ship the piece to the repair center in SLC and then I got my laptop back.
Now, if only I could get the same kind of service for my blacklisted ACPI bios....
I've had mixed experiences with fixing my laptop. Recently, the hard drive went dead; however, since 2 1/2 inch drives are commodity parts, it was trivial to order a new one, open up the laptop and bung it in.
However, my laptop is also suffering from a broken wireless unit. It uses a GemTek WL-388F mini-USB 802.11b wireless module, which sits in a small compartment accessible via a panel on the underside. I fried the module while flashing its firmware, and I've had no success in finding a replacement anywhere; I guess this is because the module is much less of a commodity part than the hard drive was. If anyone could tell me where to find a replacement module, I would be very grateful!
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
None of these companies actually manufacture their own parts. What happens is that they outsource all manufacturing to a US management company or importer, who then contracts it out to a manufacturer, etc. Its complex and I'm not fully informed, but it goes on like that to some factory in China.
Anyway, as you've found getting repairs done is stupidly expensive; we are a consumer culture and are quietly losing any ability to produce or maintain durable products. I had a simlar problem with my mother's digital camera this Christmas; the battery door got broken off and Panasonic wanted $150 to fix it (Camera is like $300).
Anyway, digging around I found out that there are a bunch of parts suppliers across the country, and that some of them even sell the replacements directly either by phone or, in best cases, online!
So call the company that made your product and see if you can't dig up some more informaion on where they get their parts, etc. Tell them your situation, what you want, and push until you talk with a manager or senior agent who can give you the info you need. You can then either do the repair work yourself (anything non-electrical is usually easy, just puzzlish) or find a smart friend to do it.
Rick
Excellent point. Now, what about looking for a trashed out (i.e. cheap or free) laptop of simular make and parting it out?
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
I had a compaq contura aero, righto a POS laptop when it was new, remarkable as it sold for the sub $1000 range, and served me very well for a number of years... well enough till the hindge broke... I believe compaq called it a clutch as it was a stiff hinge that kept the laptop upright.
In all fairness to compaq, I was actually able to talk to someone at some point who was able to give me the part number. This was after 4-8 hours navigating their voice menus, each person refering me to another department to people who didn't feel it was their job to look up laptop part numbers, me having to tell them in all honesty "look, they refered me to you". I was at it so long I got to know each department head by their first name. I was even more annoyed when i couldn't order the part number from them, but had to resort to ordering it from a local shop, and local shops varried in price by a good deal for this damn hindge clutch. $25 to $50 bucks, though the $25 people had a minimum order of $50, so I stuck with the $35 people as I didn't need anything else trivial from compaq.
I wouldn't order a compaq again, but this is because of their funky arse propriority software, not due to their parts department. It's slow, slugish, a whole bunch of no fun, but it was proven to be possible to order a trivial part from them.
-----
Sony Vaio celeron 500 range or so... MB blew but the screen seemed OK. Sony had replacement motherboards, they wanted $1200 or so for the motherboard, and basicly at that time, I think 2001, you could get a replacement laptop for that. Could order the part no problem, but it was just equal to the value of a new lame laptop.
-----
As far as a trivial piece of plastic is concerned.... I'd consider either consulting an auto body shop that can work with fiberglass, making it your self, or wait till someone has your part or a lame laptop. Making it your self you have the option to color it how you choose, an audobody shop will have access to epoxy paints with a flex adheasive that will really take a beating.
If it was me, i'd disassemble the laptop, mask off the areas where you don't want the fiberglass resin to stick either with tape, oil, or poor wax into it. poor in the fiberglass resin, let gravity do it's work to make a smooth plastic bit, and presto. sand, primer, paint to your taste. Don't blame me if you fuck up, double stick tape and spray glue are your friend.
www.repc.com in seattle is a really spiffy for trival parts, as are other PC recyclers as they love people like your self to buy trivial junk so they don't have to dispose of it. I've gotten many a trivial piece of plastic from there. Why not actually share the make / model of your laptop to see if anyone has a spare?
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Of course this probably violates some Terms of ebay, so you might want do this with a different ISP and account name. :)
Think outside the bezel, folks!
Usually a bezel kit is like a $10-15 component for a certified repair shop (includes the plastics, screws, etc). You don't need to replace the whole LCD, and I have never worked on a laptop that didn't have a seperate bezel kit. This is such a common repair. Usually the manufacturer won't sell these parts though to consumers, so you need to get them from a repair shop (or other methods). You need a shop that has the repair and parts number documentation for that manufacturer (which I think should be more publicly available, but that's me). The install can be tricky and kind of technical (knowing how much pressure to use, how to remove the existing bezel (credit cards work great for this) etc). You will probably need a jewelers philip screw drive and a torx-8.
Most of the trouble is getting past all the shmoes and keep calling until you can get a parts person that will help you from the manufacturer, or repair shop. So many repair shops are just out to gouge you, so many telephone assistants just don't care.
Well, Why bother replacing it if it is still functional? If all it does if hold the wires in place, Throw sum chewing gum, duct tape, and super glue in there and it will be as good as new :-P
Duct Tape. =)
#6495ED - cornflower blue
Before you laugh, you can make your own parts in plastic.
Plenty of books out there to teach you how to create a mould and cast your own out of scrap plastic.
All it takes is a bit of patience.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I had the same problem with an old (5,6 years?) gateway laptop. At the time that I bought it, it was a higher end model, and I got it with a 3 year warranty. Unfortunately, the case cracked a year or two ago and it was about 2 years out of warranty. I contacted them to find out if I could purchase the parts from them and fix it myself... They said I had to send it to them, but they ended up fixing it and a number of other small problems for free. I was ***very*** suprised, but thank you very much Gateway. If and when I buy another laptop, I'll put them under serious consideration.
JB weld. Fixes anything but relationships.
More music, fewer hits
I have a 1998 era laptop I bought from the now out of business Quantex.
I was able to find out that the manufacturer is a company out of Taiwan named Compal.
I'm finding myself in need of a new keyboard, touchpad assembly(buttons), and I'd like to pick up a second hard disk sleeve.
I emailed their support desk 3 times between November and December 2003 asking for parts information. To date these emails have been ignored.
I've been to local shops and looked on Ebay, but I can't find the parts I need. Well, in truth I found the drive sleeve, but they wanted $50.00 for it. Way too much for $2.00 worth of plastic...
I get the sense that these compaies don't really care about the consumer, even if we're willing to spend money for parts. It's a shame.
I've even tried Dell, who at the time marketed the same model laptop as an Inspiron. Their service department wants nothing to do with Quantex laptops, even though the parts are exactly the same.
wbs.
Huh?
IBM makes it extremely easy to order replacement parts directly from their Depot. If you wanted to build a thinkpad from scratch you could (albeit without a warranty). IBM also does cross shipping of replacement parts to end users. If you call the service dept, and sound as though you have a clue, they will cross ship many parts during your warranty period.
IBM also publishes their service manuals, which is of great help. I had a minor creak in my Thinkpad, so I downloaded a service manual, took it apart, and tightened the creaky part into place.
I don't mean to sound like an IBM evangelist, but they really do rule!
all you folks who are clamoring about using an extended warranty are completely off-topic. the poster wants help for a D.I.Y. job. he/she either does not want to, or cannot send the laptop in for repairs, waiting God-knows how many weeks for the repair turnaround.
The diskette drive doors on the original IBM PC and Apple ][s. They would break (flimsy design) and the drive would not latch closed properly for the diskette.
In the early '80s, somebody came up with the idea of buying a whole bunch of the doors and selling them, along with a few other "frequently broken parts" for around $50. Sounds like a lot, but it was a lot cheaper than a $400 diskette drive.
As I remember, a number of companies (IBM and RS come to mind) started selling similar kits.
myke
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
Be a man...use duct tape.
Depending on the brand of laptop, I work for a company called Pomeroy IT solutions. I've replaced countless hinges and bezels on laptops without replacing the LCD. If there is a branch near you find it, if not contact me and I'll tell you how to get in contact with someone at the Birmingham branch. You'll have to ship it to them and back. What brand of laptop is it?
---- "Excuse me. Where's the children's gun section?"
NBC News had a story on extended warranties a few weeks ago. Conclusion: Extended warranties are worthless on pretty much everything. The only exception: Laptops. They are *mandatory* on laptops.
IBM is just great with Thinkpads. The service manual for all Thinkpad models is available online as a PDF file. It has incredibly detailed instructions for assembling the laptop from several hundred FRUs. You can order the FRUs from IBM or cheaper from a number of resellers. They seem to keep good stock on parts for older models.
A few years ago a friend of mine dropped her T20 Thinkpad onto asphalt from about 4 feet. It made quite a mess. I thought that it was going to be a total write-off, but I found the IBM info, ordered about $150 of little broken bits and restored the thing to perfect working order in about a week. It was great.
I've been a devoted Thinkpad fan ever since. I bought a new keyboard for my T23 recently, it took about 5 minutes to order the right part and another 5 minutes to install it. IBM really does do service manuals and parts the way you think a big company should do it.
jeff
i have called sony several times regarding various plastic bits and pieces that have broken on several sonys i have had.
some parts broke due to wear and tear, others to damage done when i upgraded a hard drive and broke some plastic tabs off small parts as i was trying to take it apart.
by talking nicely to the tech on the phone, i talked them into faxing me an exploded view for reference, then ordered the parts needed, which, surprisingly, they sell to end users.
granted, the parts were a rip-off (like $40 for a small plastic door), but they were less than buying a whole sub-assembly.
I don't know if anyone suggested it, but another option is simply to try and fix the broken piece. If the part is really unavailable, get some super glue.
Another option is to fabricate a new one - get a thick sheet of aluminum and some cutting tools (dremel, etc) and make a new bezel that is a lot better and stronger than the original plastic one.
www.impactcomputers.com and www.laptopparts.com I have purchased parts from both of these places to replace parts on my old Toshiba 366mhz laptop, and even upgraded it. These are decent websites, but look around on prices first. one of the two has an excellent parts search utility.
I have always had decent luck getting misc. plastic and other parts for Toshiba Laptops. There are several companies on the web offering plastic pieces, system boards, batteries, cd/dvd rom drives, etc at moderately reasonable prices. These include: www.mytoshiba.com www.laptopparts.com (not just toshiba, appears to be a fair amount of dell stuff here) http://www.priorityelectronics.com/toshiba.htm (limited selection) I think that www.partsolver.com has a service of some sort to search for parts. Your best bet for insuring that replacement parts are availiable is to find a 'mom and pop' style store localy which is also a service center for the brand in question. Their prices for the laptop will be slightly higher, but you can 'check before you buy' by looking at the unit, picking out the things that look likely to break and asking them if they can come up with a part number for the component. Robert H.
I just created a new website called www.pricetag.com - you could post a request to buy what you're looking for and maybe someone will see it and be able to sell it to you. There's no risk since it's free of charge.
Oh wait, that was a different thread...
Try http://www.toybuilders.com/ as they have those rather nifty 3D printing machines so you could whip them the original and your CAD attempts and they may be able to make you something.
I reckon there will come a time when we will all be printing out our replacement parts at home.
Powered by onion juice.
I see you missed the earlier article about glue based on mussel snot, I would think the solution is obvious
My brother had bought some 200Mhz Pentium MMX laptops from eBay. His sons stepped on the screens and cracked them. He found a replacement part, paid some good money for it, and bought an IBM repair manual. The part did not work and obviously was designed for a different Thinkpad. The IBM repair of the Thinkpad would cost more than the price of buying one used on eBay.
So he gave them to me. I have a laptop just like it that works, but my son dropped it and damaged the hard drive. Same model Thinkpad. I often wanted to get a 9Gig drive for it and dual-boot Windows 98 and Linux on it. I've been to afraid to open it up and change out the hard drive without ruining something. Not the same as working on an ATX case.
The cracked screen Thinkpads can be used as a desktop with a monitor. They are sans CD-ROM, but I have a PCMCIA CD-ROM from my brother. Windows 98 got installed over a network, Windows 95 got installed first from a Zip Drive, and then an upgrade to 98 was done over a network shared CD-ROM.
No local shop will repair it, unless they are an IBM dealer and they will charge more than the laptop is worth.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
I've owned a bunch of IBM Thinkpads, and have done various things to them (replaced keyboards, etc.). As far as I'm concerned, their support has been really, really, good.
You can download full service documentation (with exploded parts diagrams) from their public web site, and the parts organization does a good job of (a) helping you figure out the right part number and (b) actually selling it to you.
The prices for what I've needed seemed generally reasonable (~$50 for a keyboard). In one instance, though, I discovered that to fix an intermittent DC power input jack they wanted me to replace the DC converter module for $150. Since I only paid $450 for the machine in the first place, I wasn't about to do that, but I was able to use the on-line manual to disassemble the thing far enough to resolder the DC jack myself.
Compare this to my Sony Vaio, where they won't even tell you how to replace the hard disk.
So, at least until something changes I'm sold on Thinkpads for serviceability.
Found a site called PowerBook FixIt the other day that specializes in inexpensive replacement Apple laptop parts. They seem to be far less than what Apple charges, and significantly cheaper than other Apple sites (like PBParts and Small Dog) URI: http://www.PBFixIt.com/
If you can't answer the question, then why are you posting anything at all?
I really couldn't say.
Do you just like to see your name on the page, or do you really think you are contributing by typing "I really couldn't say" over and over?
I really couldn't say.
Does your laptop manufacturer make it easy or hard to get the necessary replacement parts?
I don't own a notebook you insensitive clod!!!
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it.
We have the technology.
We have the capability to build the world's first aluminum laptop.
This computer will be that laptop.
We can make it better than it was before.
Better. Stronger. Faster.
While I absolutely LOVE Apple's Powerbook G4 and also Mac OS X, I also appreciate IBM's astounding build quality. If you really have to use Windows for some bizarre reason or another, or if you want to run Linux on your laptop, at least get a GOOD laptop. An IBM Thinkpad T41. Now that's quality.
You can get it repaired with CA glue (Check hobby strores) or take it to a place that does motorcycle body panel repair, and have any missing parts re-melted and formed.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
A long time ago, I had that problem with my PowerBook 145B. I took it to 1800wefixmacs here in the Bay Area. In and out in 15 minutes with a new bezel. I can't recall how much it cost, but it must not have been much (I'm a cheap bastard, and a student at that time).
At first, I thought something had burnt out. The battery wouldn't recharge and when I plugged it in the mains nothing happened. It sounds simple now, but even the repair shop said it was the motherboard and wanted GBP250 to fix it.
... " "FIGURE OF EIGHT?!?!" he says "We can't sell those in the UK - they're not even in the catalogue!"
Eventually, something gave, a dry contact touched and I managed to get the thing powered up again. Identified the problem as the adapter and went about getting a new one. After several calls to IBM, giving them the model numnber which didn't appear to exist in their catalogue, a chap with a German sounding name was put in charge of my case. The laptop was outside warranty but only just, and I was in a different country to where I bought it (Japan). Apparently, IBM Japan build their own models which can be completely different (and usually better spec'd). "Is my experience representative of the quality of IBM's products?" was the question I put to the German. "No, but we don't really know what model it is. We know it's the i1800 i-Series but in the UK, that's a midrange computer not a laptop!".
"OK" I said, "I don't need any parts for the laptop only the adapter. It's a figure of eight
This goes on for about 2 days (I was a student) and after A LOT of online research I found that a figure of eight cord adapter set was available after all under a different product number. If I quote one number, it's not available. If I quoted another number, which referred to exactly the same product , then for GBP50, the adapter was mine.
This was my first experience of IBM's product number madness - the same product has different numbers according to where it's being sold and which package or set it's part of!
Moral: The German guy was as confused as me. He conceeded that with IBM parts doing your homework is the only way, because they sure as hell don't have a clue!
"It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax
I needed a "new" notebook, so I bought an eBay'd Compaq Armada M300 - under 3 pounds, under $400. Great stuff, runs any operating system like charm, has 2-hourish battery life. It has a slow proc and only 800x600 graphics, but it is cheap, disposable, light, etc.
Then I dropped it, and it landed on the inserted wireless card. The machine seemed fine, but the PCMCIA guts inside got sheared off the daughterboard. Compaq's durability was not at fault, IMO, just my stooopidity.
I went to the HP partsfinder, and _every_ little piece was available, most of them at good prices. The daughtercard was $35, and the instructions to replace it were online. Strangely, the only expensive things were the commodity parts - memory, cpu, hard drive, etc. And the LCD, of course - they always are.
However, not satisified with that, I went to ebay and searched for the part number - and got a new daughercard for $15.
Moral: stick to models that the big corps are buying, if possible. Their IT shops don't suffer the higher prices and foolishness that consumers buying consumer models do. Corollary: see if there's a corporate version of your consumer notebook, and then look for parts again - Compaq/HP use the same guts in their presarios as they do in their corporate line, for example.
Jonathan
Same thing has happened to me and that has resulted in my sony vaio gr100K sitting in my junk yard. The only problem is that its not powering up. It does gets charged but I think there is some problem with the switch. I tried to find someone who can do it in Los Angeles, but most of them would charge $250 to have a look at it. My guess is that the cable that connects the switch to motherboard is damaged when I tried opening it, but I am not sure. Any suggestions about anyone in LA? or has anyone experienced this type of problem?
I've had the same nail-scratching-blackboard experience, trying to locate the part I needed. Sony (USA) was clueless, Sony (JPN) was uptight, and the manufacturer of the part (some Korean company) just ignored me.
So how did I fix my dilemma? I used an old technique....called "pulling it from another"
I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. I needed to replace a part of the laptop screen about 9 months ago on an older laptop. The cost would be well over $600. I found that to be ridiculous. Not only that, but I could not just buy the part I needed -- I had to buy a half-dozen other parts as well -- because they don't sell that replacement part outside of a "kit". Ridiculous.
I said "no thanks" (they computer wasn't worth it anyway... as I mentioned, this laptop was about 2 years old). For not much more than it would have cost me to replace the part(s), I got a new laptop. Oh... but I did *not* buy from that manufacturer who was trying to jam me on replacement parts, and I informed them of this and the reasons behind it!
Seems that (unfortuntately) laptops are "disposable" in a sense. If you are unfortunate enough to break one, you might as well just throw it away. Replacement parts are so costly that a new laptop is usually a better buy (at least in my situation). Now I have a somewhat broken laptop in my closet.... just a replacement part away from being good as gold.
I'd had my Dell Laptop for just over a year (oh but a month out of warrantee!) when it suffered an accidental meeting with a glass of water. Dell wanted $270 just to send it in and look at it, and their only advice for getting rid of the error message that appears every time I boot was to take out the hard drive and "wipe it off." *hangs head* They lost a lot of my respect. Later I had a sticky key and again, their desire was that I send them the whole computer at $270. Then pay more for a new keyboard and any service time. Bah. I feel your pain. Consult the manufacturer (you didn't mention brand), and try yellow pages. You never know what little hole-in-the wall might be down the street. I happened to find a compy store that even gives a discount to students from my college and problems got taken care of for less than $100.
For something that is supposed to be portable, laptops sure are fragile.
My school required us to buy a certain laptop, and I carried that laptop with me every day for four years, in a backpack full of books, in all kinds of weather, subjected to all kinds of impacts.
The service center on campus was certified to repair all the student laptops, therefore they had all kinds of replacement parts. In addition, the mass purchase included a four-year warranty on each laptop, in case you did something like subject it to a direct lightning strike and it had to be sent back. But they had all the case parts. I had two front bezels replaced, a back bezel, top and bottom of the case, hard drive, motherboard, power control board, and floppy drive as well. I did not think I overly abused my laptop, it's the wear and tear you get from running it 24/7 and packing and unpacking it every hour between classes.
Virtually everyone I knew at school had to get their laptop serviced at one time or another. I have to say that for a laptop, the best accessory you can add to it is a warranty for however long you plan to use the laptop. If it's impossible to get individual parts six months out, how about two years?
Of course you need to realize why they won't just sell you little plastic parts cheaply: the parts are being kept on reserve, based on statistical analysis, to service the laptops coming in on extended warranty. When you buy a warranty, you are basically reserving all those esoteric little parts you won't find anywhere else.
If you don't want to shell out a hundred or so dollars more for a warranty on your laptop, you don't need that laptop bad enough to begin with.
...
Had the same thing happen half a dozen times on my old pos Prostar. The case was made of a weak plastic and the hinge was set too tight breaking the case and hinge repeatedly.
/repair/warehouse located near enough that I could go bug the repair guy and got them to replace the lid and hinge.
Fortunately the company had their corp. headquarters
I know others who'd had the same problem who went the DIY route (which frankly seemed to work much better) and used epoxy compounds to bond & strengthen the cracked parts.
Also, any recommendations for manufacturers that are good about making obscure replacement parts for their laptops available to the general public?
I have a Dell Inspiron laptop, the bezel started cracking about 18 months after I purchased it, and there were also cracks in the case. Dell replaced both free of charge. They also carry the bezel in the online store for a pretty reasonable amount.
Not everything about Dell is right, but replacing the plastic parts for free or reasonable cost? They were wonderful.
Just one experience, of course.
Sailing over the event horizon
I recently bought a used Sony Vaio, which had a broken latch. I called tech support, they transfered me to parts. Parts told me I needed a new bezel. So I ordered factory restore CD's ($20), a new Bezel ($50), and a service manual ($20). No problem. I found other place online that sold parts for Vaio's, but Sony's parts department was surprisingly the same price as everywhere else.
Upon examination, the left hinge was broken, the front bezel, and the screen didn't light up.
Boy was I upset. I had to sit in a jury room all day with no laptop.
Once home, I took the laptop apart and discovered that I'd broken the FL inverter board(what causes the screen backlight to illuminate). Now, this is a Toshiba Laptop, and I had taken the thing into be serviced - so I called up the service center and asked them to order in some parts for me. They did, and I replaced everything myself - becoming intimately familiar with my laptop in the process.
Once I got the FL inverter board replaced, the screen still didn't light.
I called the Toshiba Service Center (Compar in Minneapolis, great guys) and they said, "It's gotta be the fluorescent bulb..."
Huh? Fluorescent bulb?
They explained to me that the way the screen illuminates is there is a tiny fluorescent bulb that runs along the bottom of the screen. You have to remove the LCD panel, take off the tape and some screws and you'll be able to access a tiny fluorescent bulb that is the thickness of a #2 pencil lead (about 1mm dia) and it is the length(width) of the screen. Turns out the FL inverter board is nothing but a high-tech ballast. They told me that they weren't sure if they could replace the bulb without replacing the screen - but just about any bulb from any screen, provided it was the same length, would work.
Now, my friend had a DELL laptop that he'd stepped on and cracked the LCD, but the backlight still worked. It too was a 15" screen, so I took out his old bulb and put it in my screen, but his bulb was about 3mm to long! SO, I pulled out my Dremmel and cut away the metal & plastic so the fluorescent bulb could extend beyond the side of the LCD Panel. It only extended about 1mm out from the edge of the panel. When I put the screen back into its mounting, it barely fit. I had to cut the wires to the bulb, and solder on the ones for my old broken bulb, but when I powered it up, I had my laptop back.
It was only then that I noticed that the piece of glass that runs behind the LCD was cracked (NOT the LCD panel itself) but the glass that distributes the light emitted from the bulb. All that means is that the upper left corner of the screen has a wavy shadow. I can live with that.
All told? The drop cost me just under $200 to repair, and the income earned from jury duty wasn't even enough to cover half of it.
Oh, and the trial I heard? Some guy that was charged with being a male prostitute (ouch!). We found him guilty. I dunno why he even fought the charges - he could make a killing on the inside. The entire time I was in trial, I was thinking of Goatse. Damn you Slashdot.
Silly faggot, dicks are for chicks!
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
I've never had a laptop, primarily because I'm so biased against them. I've always considered laptops to be disposable - extrememly expensive, underpowered, fragile and disposable. It's unfortunate that owners get screwed when they break, but ... It's also exactly what I would expect.
I was hoping this was changing, but it sounds like it isn't.
To keep manufactuing costs down and inventories low they tend to calculate exactly how many parts they will need for a production run and maybe some extra. They dont want to sit on a large inventory paying storage costs and have the risk that the parts will not be sold. But if 30% of their sales have service agreements with them they can plan for normal usage ware and tear and keep a more reasonable inventory on hand, or replace and refurbish.
This happens to most low to moderate priced items. Look at the television and VCR repair. Who would pay $50 to have a belt replaced on a 3year old VCR when a much better model is avaliable for $100.
Even desktops are almost always replaced as opposed to upgraded after 3 years.
This is a pain in the ass when somethng breaks but optimizing supply chains and reducing manufacturing costs have made the notebook availiable for a few hundred dollars less than it would be otherwise.
Now there are other factors than should also be considered when pricing something like enviromental costs and surprises in demand that also need to be factored in but we dont need to go into those now.
My suggestion is to find an alternate use of the laptop like the group that makes svga picture frames.
I have secretly hidden some mispelled words in this post. Can you find them?
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/
I find none of the vedors good for repairs and replacement parts. They would rather you buy a new laptop, for a problem such as this I would suggest epoxy.
Have a local machine shop make one for you from aluminum, blueprinted from the plastic part.
Machine shops that specialize in 'blueprinting' do this frequently for engines and other larger components, and can do some pretty precise work. I'm sure if you talked with someone by bringing in the laptop and the plastic part to replace, that they might be able to fabricate something for you.
It may not be the cheapest way, but damn it would look trick!
http://www.capdat.com/ they service a lot of makes and models. give them a call if they support your brand of notebook and see if they have the part in stock. I used them once on a gateway notebook. great service from them.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Yeah. These laptop companies really piss me off. Once during a important meeting my laptops power adapter failed and I had to wait 3 freakin days to get another power adapter. Thank god, I had my personal laptop in my hotel.
Only then after numerous trips to bestbuys did I come to the realization that all power adapters are made differently. They dont work with each other. There are no ( as far as I know ) companies making these things.
Talk about locking out competition =(
Dell has a spare parts line, IBM lets you order stuff off their website, and most other OEMs have similar setups.
A word of advice, from a former (english-speaking) tech-support monkey:
Call tech support and get a part number. The companies almost invariably blame you if you have the wrong part number. Techs have the software and resources to look up the proper part number -- make sure you get it!
REM Old programmers don't die. They just GOSUB without RETURN.
If you have a Toshiba or HP notebook, Epson or Canon printer etc... these guys have lots of parts.
BalamI've had the same thing happen. Keyboard broke, they sent a new one with no questions.
It seems like the big deal these days is to sell service. On things that its hard to get stupid little replacement parts for such as laptops and discmans they may actually be worthwhile. This may affect price modeling as i think. Service costs are raised so that they can say look how much it costs to fix this? wouldnt you rather buy a warranty? (for them its a great deal because they make money, play the odds.) Having worked at Best Buy i will tell you they make a LOT of money on their service plans which is why the employees are pushed to reccomend them. Some things its not worth it (like a 20 dollar servics plan on a 50 dollar cd player) but for a several thousand dollar laptop, shelling out a nother hundred or two to get some kind of warranty may not be a bad idea. I have a laptop my school has made me purchase, but i am glad they put an extended warranty on it because ive already had to replace the lcd screen, and the battery and i have only had it for just over a year
Does anyone else have problems with the LCD screen to laptop connection getting loose?
Looking for these type parts are nothing but headaches. I suggest going to Barnes and Noble, and spend $25 bucks for the Linux Toys book, and make the Picture frame project.
"If you have done 6 impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways" -- hhgg
No not in the store. Call 1888Bestbuy and select the option for Best Buy PartSearch. You tell them the model of the notebook and what you need, give them a while to look and they will probably find it. I have ordered several off items from there and they have come through every time.
Fiberglass and Resin
Lots of resin.
There are two alternative strategies.
1) plastic welding is a viable repair - you will find that if you contact your local panel banger (autobody repair shop) that they will be able to offer advise how to proceed.
The laptops are injection moulded plastics - possibly a TPE same as is used in the auto industy so the same techniques may apply.
2) glue it yourself. Call up your local 3M representative and ask them what structural glues they have for the plastic your lap top is made of. One product that MIGHT work is DP8005.
Another option is to contact polyurathane supply company. Those people have a nice website with good technical information.
------------
The type of equipment you need to plastic weld is generally an injection hot melt gun - they typically sell for about $5000 bux and are not too difficult to learn how to use. These guns force plastic under pressure into the crack and form a seam that is over 80% as strong as the original. The plastic comes in rods and is available in ABS, TPE, TFE,
You may want to check your Yellow Pages - look under PLASTIC WELDING equipment - call a supplier of the equipment and ask for a referal to who has the gun. Try to get to know the guy a bit and pay him well - broken plastic parts are a fact of life and these guys can do magic!!!
I used to work in a motorcycles-only body shop. We'd do custom jobs to harley's and bullet bikes. The work on the bullet-bikes ('crotch-rockets' as they are sometimes known) largely involved prepping the fairings and repairing small cracks.
Since fairings are made out of PVC, it was a simple matter to repair cracks in them with a soldering iron and a strip of raw pvc (or some old bits of fairing laying around). The welds would come out as strong or stronger than the original PVC. The only side effect would be an awful scarring effect, which we would then sand out, fill with bondo and apply primer. Good as new.
Your laptop bezel is made out of PVC or a similar polymer. It would probably be a simple matter to weld the crack back together, or whatever (hinges, clips &etc).
The most important part of this technique, however, is to work in a place with good ventilation and *WEAR A GODDAM FACE MASK*. The fumes and smoke of the process are toxic, carcinogenic and easilly filtered by a cheap paper mask over you mouth and nose. You know, like Michael Jackson would wear on the streets of Hong Kong. Eye protection is a good idea, too. This is why I still have lungs and vision.
I would always do the plastic welding in the paint booth, with the painter's mask and the fans on high. Since you'd only need to do a small amount, the face mask and a kitchen or bathroom fan would probably suffice.
And remember: this is slashdot. think before you take any advice.
I've had to send at least four Panasonic Toughbooks out of a fleet of 30+ back for repair over the past year or so, due to hardware issues and repair. Each time, it's been a painless call to the Service Repair Center to get an RMA, ship it to them, and then get it back within 2-3 days. I've *never* had such ease with other brands I've had to deal with *koff*Dell*koff*Gateway*koff.
General rule is that extended warranties and no-hassle repairs are the best way to go. When the warranty is up, look to upgrade and/or replace.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
Also known as "liquid nails"
I probably spelled it wrong... but this stuff works great for fixing a lot of stuff. It hardens nicely, and comes out of a silicon tube so it's easy to get in place. No mixing like epoxy (which would be my other recommendation) and bonds to most substances.
I've used it for such far-out things as molding a fender an old car. The originally fender succombed to rust and had about 1" removed. Putting some of this stuff in, molding it into shape as it hardened a bit, and then painting when dry made it actually somewhat hard to notice (it did crack a bit in cold weather, so for automotive/outdoor uses I now recommend going over it with fibreglass before painting, but still nice for large projects).
Seriously, this stuff works great and is quite moldable. You'd probably better use gloves otherwise you will end up with brown hands - people might assume you have a wiping problem - but it's fairly easy to use.
a) Put PolyEurethane cylinder in calking tube.
b) Apply to surface to be fixed, smooth with gloved (rubber gloves) hand and/or paint scaper.
c) Let dry for awhile, mold again as needed as it begins to harden.
d) Trim excess with an X-acto
e) Paint as appropriate (spray paint or model paints work well).
A lot of people balk at such "unorthodox" fixing methods. But if 95% can't tell how you did a job without looking right up close (assuming you did it well) it's better than nothing (or a $500 bill for a new LCD)
Apparently, the same part as in "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press"
I think the words "not" and "no" confuse judges. They think it means "unless I think it's OK".
Ditto, I've rebuilt my olf HP Omnibook hinges with duct tape too. [Diety] forbid I ever try to take it through an airport these days though...
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
How does that work? I want to guess you did something clever, like drop the 5 liter Mustang motor and transmission into the Volvo, which would be pretty cool. A boring looking car with some serious torque.
I have a friend with a SONY notebook. It stopped working, so I called for my non-technical friend. They were good enough in the initial phone conversations, and took my name and address - even though they were told I was not the owner and it WAS NOT THE owners address.
So had to ship it in for evaluation and repair. Sony said put a NOTE with the owners information INSIDE the package and the REFERENCE NUMBER that was used in my phone conversation. Not only was a NOTE put inside the package, the package was prominently marked with the appropriate information about the OWNER. Mail from SONY arrives addressed to me at MY ADDRESS. Sony wants $1000 to rapair/replace motherboard and battery which they claim was not the right battery. I call sony and say, "WTF?" They go back and -OOPS it is the right battery, now they only want $799++ to fix. I tell them to contact the original OWNER. THey say they don't have the information. I tell them, it was sent both IN AND ON the package. I speak with another friend of mine who also has/d a SONY LAPTOP. His crapped out also (hmmm, I know ONLY 2 people with SONY laptops and both of them CRAPPED OUT...), and SONY wanted 799++ to fix. Sony tries to find notes/original package. Sony won't say that they've lost it, instead they say, "It is unavailable to us..." (those fuckers). I pointedly ask them if they are having RELIABILITY PROBLEMS with their notebooks/laptops... their answer: "...not to our knowledge..." Eventually they resolve the loss of information (I supply them with the info). 100% of the people I know who purchased SONY notebooks had major problems within 24 months of purchase. Based on this and phone treatment, I'll never knowingly buy anything SONY.
I have a Toshiba laptop from Circuit City, sent it to be have something fixed in it (turned out to be a loose wire I think.). They claimed to of found liquid within the laptop and terminated my warrenty or something I think. I later took it apart and saw no signs of liquid. The repair person who located the fault said that they had heard of the company doing this to many people I think.
For my old Pismo PowerBook, I have found just about every replacement part thorough online PowerBook repair shops, to eBay. But when it comes to screens, I have yet to find just the screen bezel, since there is probably a lot of mounting with the LCD, and backlighting (and antennas for some).
As posted earlier, look for junked models, and depending on your computer, some models might share the same plastics even though they have different guts.
"This is you left and that's your left. This is your right and that's your right. You're gonna die!
Just last week my Compaq Presario 2800T display failed (after about 18 months). That is, I was opening the lid and saw 1/2 of the pixel columns disappear (actually went to mid-level gray I think). I'm pretty sure it's just the cable connection. I bought it nearly-new from another person, so an extended warrantee wasn't an option.
I checked where the nearest service center is, and the phone message listed the two Radio Shacks in town (I'm in a smaller city in Northern California--about 100,000 people). Yeah, like I'm going to trust my $1800 laptop to the guys at Radio Shack. Sure.
I checked the parts list, and my screen is a 1400x1050 (SXGA+) display, so replacing it would cost nearly $1000. If that's the cost to fix it, I'll end up getting a replacement, and give this to my wife as her machine (hooked up to monitor, etc.). You can bet the replacement won't be from HP/Compaq. I would have purchased a Thinkpad in the first place, but I can't stand that stiking eraser-head of a mouse interface.
My personal choice is Ebay. I had an old Gateway Solo 2500 I bought for $150. Catch? Bad keyboard, and bad touchpad. I scope out google, prices are like US$70-80 each! So then I hit up Ebay, got the touchpad for about US$16, and the keyboard for about US$10. On another occasion, I had some guy drop an old Compaq Armada E500, broke off all the plastic on the corner and ripped open the screwholes holding the hinge together. Estimates ran like US$800 for a new screen, which would not even address the dead plastic! So I hit up Ebay yet again, got an "as-is" unit that was only missing a cd-rom drive, floppy drive, battery, and hard drive, all of which were good on my unit with the dead plastic. I buy it for US$160, open it up, swap the good floppy, hdd, cd drive, and battery, works splendidly. So I guess I am 2/2. It honestly depends on what sort of part you are looking for. If it is a relatively simple part like a keyboard or a touchpad, do not expect to get reamed, but if it is like a screen, or processor, seriously consider getting a new laptop. It may just be too much hassle to justify the expense. My advice is to keep checking Ebay, try changing up your search terms, look for "as-is" or "for parts" units. Also, check if your laptop manufacturer sells a "plastics kit" for you particular unit, I have had luck with those before, they have all sorts of plastic doodads that tend to break off. Good luck man!
I hate sigs.
I was a laptop technician for a few years awhile back. I worked at CompUSA, and they had about 30-40 broken laptops at a time, they would "field destroy" them about once a month (talk about a waste). You *might* try talking to their laptop technician (if they have one) and see if they have a broken laptop that is to be field destroyed with the bezel you need. Don't be surprised if they treat you like shit, CompUSA is notorius for that. Anyway, I helped a customer out when I could.
When I went to work for a smaller shop, I stockpiled any laptops that the customer didn't want repaired because of prohibitive costs, and would use them as spare parts to fix laptops that came in. Unfortunately, getting parts is a pain, they are way overpriced. Sony is the worst. I don't care how slim their notebooks are, wait until you have to replace the stupid keyboard and it costs you $400. Your best bet is EBay, after that there is a website called laptopparts or laptopking or something (or there was about 2 years ago). Still priced kinda high, but usually you can find small plastic parts/cables for relatively cheap. Also, don't necessarily blame the guy who had to order the whole part and wanted to charge $$$, sometimes the part supplier will ONLY sell the screen as an entire unit. I'm not saying that's what happened, but I've run across that before.
Going forward, your best bet in buying a new laptop is to buy a model that looks similiar to others by the same mfg. If you buy that crazy small, weird shaped thingy, with all the nifty gadgets and crap, make sure you buy an extended warranty for 3 years, because the first time you have anything fixed you will have paid for the cost of the warranty, hell they'll probably have to replace the thing because parts will be so hard to get. If you don't have a warranty, guess what? You're screwed.
Oh, and even though I was a laptop technician for 4 years, I never owned one. After seeing how many came in broken, costs of repairs, and quality of components... I probably never will. Cept for Apple, Apple always had some seriously kick ass hardware in their machines.
Forgive me, I just started doing a little research when I read your story. Of course I started with 'open notebook' and related searches, but I didn't find anything. Anyone know of any industry group trying to create and open standard there?
Anyhow, I'm interested in your problem for selfish reasons, family and friends have been asking me about building/upgrading existing/fixing their notebooks for years. I've dodged them this whole time because I couldn't afford one myself, but this is finally starting to change.
So, anyhow, if I where going to buy a computer today I'd look seriously at building a 'barebones' notebooks. A few familiar companies seem to be building barebones notebooks, which is basically a motherboard and graphics card wrapped up with a keyboard, LCD screen and a case. ASUS, ECS, AOpen, Arima (??) and FIC seem to sell them. I couldn't guarantee it, but I bet you'd have much better luck getting a replacement part from someone like ECS or ASUS, plus you get to pick out or upgrade things like your CPU, hard/cd/dvd drive and memory.
Here are a couple of quick links to product pages for a few of the manufacturers:
Aopen
ECS
ASUS
Arima
FIC
Most of these links came from this site, which seems to specialize in mobile computing bare bone systems and hardware. Man, is it lunch time yet?
Quack, quack.
-ccm
Too much Law; not enough Order.
Some platicss are completely ungluable, or if they do glue they crumble at the first opportunity.
Another route might be the plastic that you bake in your oven and hardens, they go by the name of Fimo and Sculpey. You can find them in alot of art stores.
But I think I would go the metal route myself. Maybe find a professional to do a nice job.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
I've got a toshiba portege 3480 with a busted keyboard (alchohol poured inadvertantly onto it). No such luck yet finding a replacement save for the entire unit.
While this isn't something everyone can do, it's good to know some hardware repair geeks. This is exactly why.
;-)
Repairing laptops is getting harder and harder these days, because the manufacturers, in general, are getting very picky about what is in and out of warranty. It used to be that you could get by with everything under the sun short of a cracked screen. That's all changed with all the big manufacturers.
And more than that, often you have to mail your laptop in, rather than take it to someplace local. When you do that, the manufacturer cuts you off from your equipment, and the tech off from your plea as to why this wasn't a case of "misuse."
It's been my experience that what you need to do is to just plain know someone who does warranty repairs on the type of laptop you own. I mean know the technician by his first name. This is the part where you need a friend, badly.
Those horror stories about the $75 hinges and $56 for four hinge screws...they're true, because there's markup in there! A company has to make money at repairing things, and service is where companies get margin. Usually that margin on 'little' stuff like this is in the neighborhood of 100% or more. Cut that $75 and $56 in half, and isn't that more reasonable?
The trouble is, the company has to make a profit on the item, plus they likely had a 'shipping and handling and administrative fee' for having their folks order the parts for you, recieve them, etc.
If you're in a big company, surely you have in-house folks, or people on-staff from then manufacturer (or who come around on a regular basis.) Get to know them, they can be your best of friends right now. Ply them with a lunch, and a soda now and again! You'd be surprised how far a good Tech will go if you feed him once in a while.
And the average tech isn't deaf to your pleas. They understand how badly it sucks to have a broken laptop that you depend on day in and day out, at home and at work. Usually if you treat them well, they'll work to take care of you when you really need it.
Awk! Pieces of eight. Pieces of eight. Pieces of seven... ERROR: General Protection Fault. [Paroty Error.]
When the headphone jack on my Fujitsu Lifebook P-2046 wore out, I called regular tech support and they transferred me, with no hassle, to the parts department. The part I needed was about $4, so I decided to order two of them since I use the headphone jack frequently. Though they sent me the wrong part (line out & in jacks instead of headphone jack), they quickly overnighted the correct part to me and told me to keep the incorrect parts since it was their mistake, so now I have extra of those jacks as well. This was on a computer about four months past the end of the warranty.
One of the hinges on my Sony laptop (a PCG-FXA63) is busted. Sony has an all-or-nothing repair deal - if I wanted it fixed, I'd have to pay $700 to fix things like the hard drive and the CD drive as well (which work just fine). Not to mention I'd have to ship the d**n thing to California, which is the nearest service center (I live in Maine). I'm going to pay much more careful attention to repair plans in the future when I buy laptops...
--- Bwah?
You could get someone to make you a bezel, and wouldn't cost you much.
:)
~$50 bucks... with labour. if it's a simple job.
Call around, and check out some of your local machinists... it it's just there to hold your LCD in place, probably some thin aluminum extrusions would do the trick. Might even look cool.
Money cannot buy happiness, but can buy something soo darn close, that you can't really tell the difference
Should go with an IBM Thinkpad, excellent quality, great service.
We've got 5 toshiba porteges onsite. When something fails you flip a spare over and swap out parts. It works beautifully.
The only problem is when you want to replace the parts that you have used in the spares.
by the company I used to work for simply because there was no authorised repair depots in Australia (or so they thought) for Gateway laptops. Gateway is a company that has gone bust in Australia. I overhauled the machine but figured it was most likely a power issue. After a week or so of searching, I finally found a place that repairs Gateway laptops and put it in for repairs. It took weeks and weeks to get anywhere and when it finally came back the clip on the machine was still broken, despite explicitly asking for it to be replaced. The motherboard was replaced though and I finally had a machine I could use. I can certainly can sympathise with anyone else trying to get laptops fixed. They are a pain!! I would recommend to anyone buying a new laptop to pay the extra money and get the warranty extended to 3 years. It's worth it.
I couldn't think of a sig.
what part of "well-regulated militia" do you not understand?
http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_Repair.htmlt s of very pratical stuff on how to repair thinkgs like CDs. HOwever, integrating many of the comments on /. suggests a need for a new open source software/web site: oem parts.net
lo
That is for any model #/serial number, or for any product code, of anything, you find an oem parts list and exploded view, just like for appliances on the sears web site
Many Thanks,
Luke
the laptop is dead, but the screen was fine, a beautiful
15" lcd. Does anybody know how to reuse this somehow? Or
can point to a sight with info? Thanks
http://www.converseengineering.com/
There is a company called Small Dog Electronics (http://www.smalldog.com) based in Waitsfield, USA. My physics prof broke a part on his laptop (I'm not sure if he called it the bezel or not, but it did have something to do with holding the LCD in place). He took it to Smalldog because the manufacturer's parts were hard to find, and they fixed it. Probably saved him a lot of money over what the manufacturer would have charged him. The lesson here: these guys deal in factory refurbished goods, so they are likely to have some spare parts lying around, even from slightly older models.
10 Bits= $.25
100 Bits= $.50
110 Bits= $.75
1000 Bits= 1 byte
We had a Vaio die (MB) a few months after the 1 year warranty ran out. It was going to cost us ***$2,000*** to get a new one (only one place i the metro area would touch this system). Since a new one was $1,500 or so, we bought a new one and kept the old one for parts.
That's not a business-friendly approach, in my book.
Why don't you just manufacture your own parts with a 3D printer? Download the shapefile off P2P and print away-- I'm sure someone has scanned this exact same bezel part and shared it by now.
It shouldn't cost you more than a few pennies assuming you bought a generic LiquidPlastic cartridge to go with your blackmarket OpenPrinter, instead of those crappy DRM-locked ones that only print what's on the authorized list. </backtothefuture>
--
Power to the Peaceful
I have a few of these, and Sony is quite insufficient in this aspect.
By total coincidence one of my friends made me aware of these guys, and they seem to have everything for VAIOs that is.
I am NOT affiliated with them, but it took me so long to find this place that if it helps somebody else then.....
I have been able to buy from the IBM web site parts for my laptop (a ultra-portable X30 machine). There is a PDF which lists all parts, and you can order anything. When it comes to screws and some stuff like that, they sell "packs" with dozens of replacement pieces and coated screws (they are coated so once installed they never go out unless you unscrew them. when you remove a coated screw, you have to put a new coated one because the coating is gone when you remove it). I have been able to replace small parts and replace my french keyboard for an english one (the keyboard comes with coated screws of course, everything that is required).
That's why I choosed IBM. You can have any part as long as you pay it AND the shipping costs are free since IBM takes care of those. So when you get an IBM laptop, you can order anything, from small plastic parts or adhesive covers to hide screws to the CPU-child board that plugs onto the motherboard. Kick ass.
--
Gilbert Fernandes
Duct Tape.
Cut that $75 and $56 in half, and isn't that more reasonable?
A hinge before markup at 37.5 sounds completely reasonable.
Can you bend over for a minute while I fit said hinges?
I was an Apple service technician for nearly 5 years specialising in laptops, for several years I was also a NEC authorised warranty repairer for thier laptops.
I spent two years onsite at a regional private school with a laptop program, and have over the years repaired and reshelled thousands of laptops.
A few observations:
* Laptops are made to much smaller tolerances than desktop machines.
* Even experienced technicians frequently stuff up laptop repairs becuase the force parts or don't use sufficient care in replacing them correctly.
* Laptops are less robust the desktops, but are expected to put up with more wear & tear and percussive damage than the avaerage desktop.
It was not uncommon to have laptops come in for rework where the previous technician had not replaced some - or most - of the casing screws, adding to the amount of damage done by the twisting of the case in normal use.
Hinge and LCD issues were not uncommon, in most cases you would see damage to the left hinge and the top right corner of the screen, the reason being that most users are right handed and the pull the screen open from the right corner - causing torsion damage to the LCD panel and putting uneven force on the hinges.
If the hinges were tightened as they became loose, minimal damage would be caused, if the hinge was allowed to continue loosening, the hinge would eventually break free and start doing damage to the plastic enlosure.
Most manaufacturers will not cover damage to plastics under warranty. Apple did mass replacements of the PB190/5300 series laptop casings due to issues with the plastic itself, but this was unusual.
My tips for a long laptop life are as follows:
* Always use two hands when opening your laptop - one at each corner. If you MUST use one hand, open it from the centre of the screen, not one corner.
* When connecting and disconnecting cables from your laptop, ensure that you can actually see what you're aiming for (we used to get huge numbers of devices where the ports had been pushed clear off the boards), tiping the laptop onto it's nose can be a good way to do this.
* Keep it clean, use a damp cloth with nothing stronger than a mild glass cleaner for cleaning the LCD and touchpad, make sure the touchpad is dry before using it again.
* Get a padded bag, and learn how to pack it properly. We used to get lots of laptops in bags when screens were damaged by having the AC adaptor or something else with hard square corners being pressed onto the back of the screen in a tight bag.
* Don't over wrap the cables - the wires inside the cables will break if they are always being wrapped into tight bundles - especially if wrapped over an AC adaptor.
* Always disconnect the AC adaptor and it's powercable from the laptop before putting it away. Having to plug the power cable together before connecting it to the laptop ensures that you have a good connection each time. I've see a lot of damaged power adaptors that had power cables half in, causing shorts.
My oldest laptop is a PB150 which is still going strong except for a bad battery.
cheers
Sara
a Macgrrl in an NT World
TOSHIBA, repaired my laptop last week and sent it back to me reimaged. Only problem, the image on bootup had msblast running. I immediatly was attacked. Took about 2 hours to finish getting it off and updated accordingly.
At least when it came to be time to replace the cpu fan in my latitude CPX, I had some trouble, but managed to find the part.
Problem is this fan is custom made for dell by sunon. Bonus is dell does not hold the inventory of this stuff. I managed to trace the unit down to Allied Electronics. The best part is they do accept personal orders. Well, $25 and a week later, I had my CPU fan.
Point is, most laptop parts can be bought from 3rd parties. It's a lot of work, but in the end is often worth it. Another good point to keep in mind is that there are only a handful of laptop makers, so you'll see many clones on the market. Look at alienware's old area-51m (the pre alien look one), then look at an older offering from clevo.....look similar? That's because it's the exact same unit. Usually the only custom parts are outer body parts, and the occaisional gimmick (sound systems, lockslots, docking hardware, etc)
Ahh.. The printermakers have gotten smart about that. The ink cartridges they include aren't even full anymore! Bastards!
A quick find for duct tape over this thread yielded 20 results.
I think we have a winner!
How could I say to men: "Speak louder, shout! For I am deaf!"? -Ludwig van Beethoven
What about all those stories about Apple laptops being indestructible?
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
Got tired of explaining manually, so read my journal, 2nd entry.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Most parts we deal with are ABS.
Plastic Welder is designed to glue ABS.
Wal Mart, True Value Hardware stores, and lots of other places sell it.
If they call it "Plastic Welder" its the Duro stuff under licence.
Laptops are unique per production run. No extra parts are available. You may have noticed that new warranties are 90 days or cost prohibitive. Production runs are contracted through overseas makes who "bid" on specifications (ie ram, speed, hdd, video, sound) for a certain number of units. The contract prohibits distribution to other "manufacturers". Not that it can be enforced, but the offender risks never getting another production run from dell or gateway again.
any laptop = extended warranty required
;)
this is what i tell all of my customers. i give them advice on which laptop to buy, but i stress that because laptops are so proprietary it is critical that they purchase a three-year parts and labor warranty too.
if there is a laptop manufacturer out there that offers some reasonably cost effective replacement parts service i'd bet the laptop's initial cost is higher than average. it all seems to come down to economics.
it also seems to come down to whether a company is interested providing a superior product. since there isn't a great demand for superior products only small companies are able to offer this. (heh, i guess that's economics
i recently had a customer purchase a laptop from powernotebooks.com. very nice product. strong commitment to a quality build and linux compatible hardware. not sure about their replacement parts offering but the customer picked up their three-year parts and labor warranty, so they have no worries for at least three years.
and I noticed when they got broken, they stayed broken. That is, their condition was always chronic.
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
I broke the trackpoint (aka "the nipple") on my ol' Thinkpad 600X. You need to replace the whole keyboard thoug, so I bought one on eBay... and 3 keys were dead. Out $50. But there are IBM service depots EVERYWHERE and I had it fixed for $350 (CDN) in 2 days. For an old, discontinued model I think it was pretty cheap. I'll probably be able to get parts for this old thing in 2013.
Micron has a great exchange program on their laptops - if they can recognize 48% of the laptop, they'll replace it. Feel free to spill soda on it, close the lcd with a pen on your keyboard, rip the power adapter out of the back when somebody trips on it - they've got you covered.
I don't really get the love affair with duct tape. It works, but a much better tape for most electronics-type tinkering is gaffer tape. It's expensive, and you won't find it at the local hardware store, but I think it's well worth it. You should be able to find it at a (professional) photo supply store.
The standard gaffer type has a matte black finish (so that it doesn't reflect light in a photo shoot) and you can easily tear it perfectly horizontally or vertically. It has a pretty good adhesive, but doesn't gum up the surface like duct tape does when you remove it.
Here's one place selling it.
I think I paid less at my local photo store for the roll I have here.
Also, on a laptop, the matte black will look a lot better than the shiny silver of duct tape.
I broke a laptop last year, and after much frustration found 1800PCParts. Depending on the brand, they sell replacement parts for many (read MANY) major laptop vendors. In fact, when you call HP Parts store you are actually speaking with them. Cheers!
Most of you probably have no idea who Guido Hatzis is but as his uncle the plumber once said "There is nothing sticky tape can't fix" this is especially true with laptops as no company is willing fix the bastards without chrging like a bull in a china shop. The things are actually designed this way as big companies don't like people to be able to fix things themselves
if you want "No More Hiroshimas" then I say "You First. No More Pearl Harbors."
I did alot of research into converting an LCD from a laptop to a monitor. This website has kits/components for sale and forums that discuss all kinds of weird electronics issues (including LCDs). Best of luck!
Rip the remaining bezel pieces off... wire it to your tower and make a new LAN box with included LCD. Then buy a new laptop. Or better, build a new mini-PC for your car/truck/SUV and mount the LCD into your center console. :)
Seriously, most companies replace the full LCD anytime anything around it or supporting it breaks. I've found replacement parts on Ebay before, but if they're not available for your system yet, you may be out of luck.
Barebones laptops are bad deals. THey have no battery and they usually use cheap desktop components vs the low power, low heat notebook components. When you compare prices, barebones machines are actually a lot more expensive for what you get.
Best to get a refurb real notebook!
It is about time to start asking for modular, standarize, open hardware from the vendors!
Small plastic parts like hinges and bezels can almost always be ordered one part at a time. The problem is you have to know what to order and who to order it from. The guy at the service shop has a parts/depot person. For major brands like Compaq, HP, Dell etc you call up a parts department give them a tech number and billing code and they'd overnight the parts to you. Hell, all you needed was the part number off the dealie and they'd do the lookup.
For the consumer you're at the mercy of vendor. Many don't want to be in the business of dealing with credit card numbers. They want to send a company an invoice and get paid.
You're almost better off dealing with a computer maker that has a large consumber division that already does parts sales to consumers.
Spills aparently aren't covered.
Brand new laptop, someone spilled coffee on it and certain keys stopped working.
Dell wants $650 for a new motherboard.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
Dell will sell you refurbished hard drive screws for $0.05 each.
Do a search on Dell's support website for it.
hmm... for fun I enjoy launching DDoS attacks against 127.87.42.5
we don't need no steenking warranties. *breaks out soldering iron*
If you want to fix parts, you would get a desktop...
...Are easily obtained from IBM. I needed to replace the DC/DC board in my thinkpad 600, and a few simple calls to IBM tech support got me forwarded to the parts dept. They were more than happy to sell me whatever individual parts I needed. Decent prices too.
Not only this, but the reason I knew i needed to replace the DC/DC board was because IBM had posted PDFs of the technical service manual and parts manual for my laptop to their website.
What you shoud learn? IBM laptops are good. Mine's over 5 years old and I still use it every day.
~Jester
CC does cover misuse, and I think loss. The thing is you have to purchase it within two weeks of receiving your laptop. It isn't something that can be added on later. And to Dell's credit, they took care of a power wart with next day shipping. Anyone who has had a similiar experience with Best Buy? I doubt it. Checking out www.bestbuysux.org is a definite must before buying their extended warranty.
A boring looking car with some serious torque.
How about a 1980 Chevette with a Buick 3.8L V6 stuffed under the hood. Been there, done that: 12.8 seconds on the quarter mile and completely drivable. Nothing that you can't do with a MIG welder and a Sawzall.
Never got around to building the motor to Buick Grand National specs - turbocharger was no problem to fit in, but I couldn't find any place to put the intercooler.
Hot Rod magazine outdid me in the April 2000 issue, though - Cadillac 500 CID V8 in a Chevette (this picture is from another car, not the one in their 20-page spread). That's 8.3L, bigger than any factory engine in a Corvette, let alone Chevette. Biggest production automobile engine in the smallest and lightest production front-engine RWD body.
It's all about power to weight ratio...
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
Though they don't cover loss or theft (insurance issue), Extended warranties are great. CompUSA sells an excelent warranty called TAP and it even covers intentional dammage. I can't remember what the acronym stands for, but any CompUSA sales rep is more than happy to sell you one. You don't even need to buy the product from them. You just need to prove that it works.
Their warranty is usually a one time use deal, but it can save your wallet. My friend's mobo died in his laptop and it took 2 months and $900+ to get it replaced. A $350 TAP warranty would have saved him the time and money. If they don't have the part or laptop, they usually give you an equvelent or better system to replace the broken one. After a couple of years, you are garunteed to get a better system. They will even offer to sell you another TAP warranty.
Want an easy upgrade? A little bit before the warranty is up, take your shotgun to it and they'll replace it with a newer one with better specs.
The only other company's extended warranty that I am familiar with is Dell's. Their's is similar to CompUSA's, but it doesn't cover intentional dammage ("hammer marks" is their site's example), but does go on for the full term. CompUSA's ends when the full term expires or you use it before the end of the term. Dell's goes on for the full term. So you could get the four year warranty, drop the sucker down a flight of concrete stairs into a poll every 1.9 years, and be getting a nice upgrade. After the term, I am not familiar with. Also, I don't know if they will keep track if you have a history of "accidentally" dropping your laptop whenever you're garunteed to get a nice upgrade from the warranty.
Employees at CompUSA, on the other hand, aren't paid enough to care. Some even encourage abusing the warranty. Plus the person that sells you the TAP warranty gets a commission.
As for other companies, research them for yourself. Research heavily before you lay down the cash. I suggest calling the department that handles claims and giving the rep some senarios. They are the ones that will be deciding whether you will get a sweet upgrade or a denail and holey (from your shotgun) laptop in your hands.
check out techspareparts.com. watch the 40%restock fee if you send the part back though.
My dad owns and operates a Fadal CNC milling machine. He might be able to machine a new bezel out of aluminem or maybe even wood...
This message brought to you by Jack Schitt's Previously Shat Shit
I work in at and Apple Dealer and it took an experienced tech 6 hours to replace a bezel. If you read the guide for dissembling an ibook it just tells you the parts you need to remove before you get to the bezel (basicly the entire computer)
The bezel is the part that remains!
Sig you!
It'll cost you $2 and very little time.
This may be guerrilla tactics, more befitting of a hardcore pocket protector type than of an image conscious professional, but it works: repair the darn broken part. I have had a good deal of success patching laptop case parts with fiberglass fabric and 2-component glue.
- Select the patch area, and scratch the surface on either or both sides of a cracked part, at least 1/2 inch each side of the crack
- further scratch deep indentations, both parallel and at cross angle with the crack, to provide better mechanical grip for the glue
- surround the area with a "dike" made with Playdo or Blue Tack, to delimit the range that will be "flooded" with glue
- apply a first thin layer of 2-component epoxy glue
- apply 1st layer of fiber, let rest for about the setting time
- carefully and completely soak the fiber with more fresh mixed epoxy
- add 2nd fiber layer
- let rest for setting time
- soak with more fresh epoxy
- wait for setting time or longer
- remove Blue Tack / Playdo
- neatly trim patch with box cutter.
If needed / possible, repeat on the opposite face of the cracked part. For a bezel, it may be sufficient to do the repair on the internal side.
I first did that as my support was 1000 miles away in another country, and I needed the machine ASAP. The crack was right at the LCD hinge - mechanically critical - but the repair held up til I got a new comp a year later.
Looked unusual, but gave the lappie that battle-hardened look that client personnel took as sign of shopfloor cred. I would not have done it if at the time, instead of manufacturing operations consulting, I had been in strategy or finance.
Ah yes, Best Buy, the answer to all your Customer Service woes.
Does anyone know of a good source for Dell Latitude CXP parts? I have a dead lcd panal that could use replacement....
Thanks for any help!
Mauro.
I find all my laptop replacement parts on eBay really cheap. Cause I do it eBay ;)
I am wondering what other ways are there to obtain a laptop replacement part?
;-)
Do what I do... when you need replacement parts, you can always get them off the store display models at best buy.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
...and sorry to say that now (it doesn't help you much), but now you know why they make an optional 3 year waranty. Besides, I thought every laptop had a full 1 year waranty.
... how comes this isnt solved yet?
;-)
If i had axxs to SCO sources they would be all around the net now, for linux developpers to check what's wrong in our code. Yet i havent searched, and if i'd do perhaps i'll find something on kazaa, bitorrent, emule, dc++ or such networks which might come up with revelant stuff. (just ideas... *hint*hint*).
I "really" think they're no threat just for that reason, if they could do some damage to linux and i'd have axxs to the sources, i'd just do a check to see what's going wrong, and post results (or the whole source) somewhere. If there's no such *big news* that's a 95% certitude there's nothing going on. That, or the guy that checked just invested in SCO
Anonymous Coward -- Sucking Cocks Overnight
I recently broke a wiring harness on my girlfriend's Pontiac Aztec.
Please do everyone's eyes a favor and roll that "vehicle" off the end of a pier. It's really rare that USAland makes an attractive automobile, but the Aztec marked a new low, in my opinion.
100% completely serious question: Do you or your girlfriend find the Aztec attractive? As in "Hey, that's a really great looking vehicle!" ? I'm genuinely curious if my taste in mainstream on this one.
two words: duck tape
atm I must say that hardware error is the least of my troubles.. Fujitsu-Siemens is refusing to update the videodriver for my Amilo A.. its closing in on 2 years old driver now and performance is below garbage..so.. FuSHITsu-Sucks can go dissapear into prehistory for all I care.. my former laptop a Compaq Armada 7800 was like a brick.. rock solid.. im sure it would survive getting dropped from the moon and onto mt.everest..it eventually wore out of old age..
I did buy an extended warrant for my nintendo gamecube.. some hingy thingie under the lid broke off DURING USE.. it just made lots of noise and when I opened the lid the disc was undamaged but it was never to play again.. so.. having experienced lameass excuses by various shops and such to avoid warranty wich my DVD player.. I accidentally dropped a cup of coco into the fanhole on the left side.. and voila.. extended warranty effective.. new gamecube my way..
they play it dirty so we have to play dirty.. or coco too..
I'm glad this was brought up, because I thought about sending in an "ask slashdot" on how slashdot viewers feel about extended service plans. I work for a major retailer (one which is mentioned on this site a lot) and sell these myself, and I get lot of people saying like, "My brother says to never get this, etc. etc.," and I'd like to know what people have against them.
In all honesty, I could go either way on an extended service plan on a desktop. Never use past experiences with PCs as a benchmark for what your new PC will operate like, cause it could be completely different. It could fail after 6 months. I've seen people with failed screens and failed harddrives who back after a few weeks. This is why we offer the service plans, because you never know what could happen. To someone like me, who can do all the work himself, it's nice to cover the parts. If the monitor and system were covered (which, depending on the price range, is sometimes the case), I'd probably get it. Otherwise, it depends on the cost and who's dealing with it (Circuit City sends out *all* their systems regardless, whereas CompUSA and Best Buy do most of their work in-house, unless it requires a specific part to be ordered in).
Laptops, on the other hand, are a different story. I wish I could tell a customer outright, but you would be stupid not to buy the service plan on a notebook. This is the perfect example. Notebook parts are so expensive and hard to come by...you can't just walk in to a store, buy a new laptop harddrive (usually), and install it yourself...you gotta have a deathwish to do something like that. Factor in the costs of labor, you're in over your head. I know our service plans cover the battery up to 2 times a year...you're talking a $100 to $250 battery. That in itself covers the cost of the plan, for a single battery which is guaranteed to fail. Plus, if we can't fix it, we replace it...if we mess something up, we replace it.
Unfortunately, people do buy laptops and don't get the extended service plan. It's unfortunate because they're literally up the creek if it fails. They don't seem to understand, regardless of what I tell them, how risky it is to deal with a notebook. I'd give my left leg before I'd have to deal with over the phone tech support or customer service on an issue like this. Granted, people might get gyped or get bad service from an extended service plan; that's the way the world works. But you know, you have options. You can usually complain to the higher ups in the company to have something done about it. You have the facts with you there in black and white in the pamphlet...it's almost a contract...if the company breaches it, you're entitled to fight it. So please, before you tell your friends that "extended service plans are crap, don't buy them," make sure you explain to them the costs and risks they'd be incurring by not going with one, and how much money they'll be wasting in the end. I'd love to hear what others think on this subject matter.
Mom had a laptop that the CPU fan died on. I found the part number after considerable frustration, but Gateway refused to sell it to me saying that they have to replace it. This was akin to telling a car owner they have to have their windhsield wipers replaced at the dealer....oh and it's 2 hours labor to install those wipers at $75 an hour. The final salt in the wound was that I'd have to sign off that they might toast the hard drive in the process. No way. Dudette Mom, you'd getting a Dell and I told Gateway to take a flying leap with your dwindling market share.
Ok, it's difficult sometimes, but you can get parts... On a COMPAQ Presario 1220 I got when it was nearly brand new, after about a day of using it, I decided it was time to crack the sucker open. This was not too terrible, but having not experience with flexible circuits, I managed to ruin some of them in the process... no big deal, look at the part number sticker, call compaq parts and request it by PART NUMBER. NOT by part type/model...
THIS IS KEY!!!!!!
There's two things at work here:
1) the Operator on the other line has no idea how to fix a laptop, they just know how to enter a part number and take credit cards
2) the company makes more money if you DON'T replace the part, or at least don't replace it yourself.
Having repaired the said Presario, and two Sony VAIO laptops (F630, R505, both had fan failures, DON'T BUY THESE MACHINES). I can tell you that Social Engineering will sometimes be your best bet.
I mean to say, on several sites, you can piece together the part number information you need.. perhaps, if you can get the Sony part number off of a part resale site, and then corroborate that number on another parts site, you can generally assume you have the right part number. Then call Sony's part service (NOT customer service, just SERVICE) number, tell them something like you need to order a part, part number "xyzabc-ten-billion.1.reva" and when they say they have it, ask them to verify that it belongs in whatever machine you're trying to fix... if you call them, they usually want a "research fee" to find the part number based on a description. In any case, you kinda have to play yourself off as an authorized repair tech.
Finally, remember that the part will cost 5-10times more than it should and it's YOUR FAULT that their crappy plastic bezel broke in the first place.
This has worked for me before and hopefully, it will work for you.
I have a Sager 2850 from a few years ago I bought off a friend. Very very good condition except the usual scratch here and there and general use and wear and tear. I plan to keep this as long as I can keep it running as it is a trusty linux machine...but my problem is that first off the battery is dead for the most part, lasting only between 5 and 10 minutes TOPS thought the charge indicator on the battery itself says it's full. Sager techs, generous enough to give me well out of warrenty support, told me to try to drain the battery fully, which was a problem when it wouldn't stay on for more than 30 seconds at one point. Finally this happened, drained, and I recharged it, but alas no more than 5 mins charge. I've looked for a replacement for my laptop battery from sager, their price being $120. my AC adapter has also went to crap that could be replaced for an extra $60 or so. WHen I purchased the lappy it had two adapters with it, the original one that came with it died after about a year and a half of my use, and the second one doesn't always fit very well into the plug on the side of the machine. I have to keep it propped up or something to get it to contact properly with the inside (Keep in mind this was the reccomended adapter from sager). Does anyone know where to get these old replacement parts for a little less money? I've looked around and didn't find much to help me on my sacred quest. :o\
BTW, I'm not upset at all with this lappy...it has definately been a workhorse over the years. The previous owner taking it to and from work every day and my using it in school as a trusty slackware box. I would definatly reccomend Sager to anyone wanting a long lasting powerful machine.
Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day.
This might not be related to this post, but what are your experiences with laptop (under warranty) replacement from your vendors?
I have sent myne for service 5 times for the same problem and never got it fixed and Toshiba says they don't have a replacement policy. Not sure what I am supposed to do!!!
I had an old laptop whose screen had gone black (I could see stuff on the screen if I shined a flashlight into it). To get it repaired from the manufacturer was going to take around $600. I opened up the laptop and looked at the part number for the internal display (ub133x01). I could find those on the net for around $250-$300. After further investigation, I found out that the problem was probably a) the inverter or b) the ccfl (cold cathode flourescent light). I found each of these on the net for under $20 shipped so I ordered the ccfl, replaced the existing one and it worked.
The following is the document that got me on my way to repairing the backlight:
http://www.moniserv.com/images/ccflin
Some car brands, the "enthusiast" makes, have a community built around them, with many suppliers of aftermarket parts, and service and repair information traded among their fans. The same is true of some computers -- Thinkpads, Toughbooks, Powerbooks, the better Toshibas, and maybe a few others. With these brands there always seems to be a community of people trading parts and information, and gurus to turn to for support. I can get virtually anything I need for a Thinkpad on eBay. There are dealers and tinkerers who refurbish, repair, and sell old ones, etc. The key is to stick with these brands.
So I get this refurbished IBM T20 from Foto Connection for $609. My first T20 has been acting psycho and I *hate* change - P700 is plenty fast enough for FBSD 4.9, I got all sorts of T20 gizmos around, so I chose to standardize.
The new machine shows up and its sweet - floppy, DVD, 12.0 gig drive, power supply. I also paid the $249 for a three year Repair Tech service contract.
All is good until I leave the machine running for about an hour - the 12.0 is whining like a cat in heat - obvious impending bearing failure.
I call Repair Tech first to find out if they'll cover a new 30.0 gig disk if I install it. I can't get a straight answer from them, they say call Foto Connection.
I call Foto Connection. They say they have a fourteen day return the whole machine warrantee and suggest I call IBM. At this point I'll point out to readers that in Alex Haley's 'Roots' the word 'foto' in Kunta Kinte's native language means 'penis'. This *will* be relevant in a minute.
I call IBM and after much IVR nonsense and leaving a voicemail a nice fellow named Clyde calls me, assures me that this machine was sold 'as is' to the purchaser, and would I like him to just conference them in so we can talk it over? Yay IBM! No service but they offer to cut right to the chase - abusing SCOX is not their only talent.
Once Foto (aka Penis) Connection is cornered they grudgingly agree to take the machine back and send me a new one. They can't just send a drive, no guaranteee I won't get another Horny Cat HD in a replacement unit, so I decide to write off the 12.0 gig - I'll probably add a nice, quiet 30 gig if I don't use the 20 gig from my other unit.
So at the end of the day I've got a T20 with a noisy drive and a dubious third party warrantee. Luckily dismantling the other T20 and replacing its miniPCI ethernet card seems to have cured it of whatever was ailing it. I've got production FBSD 4.9 on the new machine and the old one has been host to Knoppix (cool), FreeBSD 5.2RC (almost cooked), and OpenBSD 3.4 (jury out, mostly due to misbehavior of 3.4 code on Soekris machines) on a spare 3.0 gig disk.
I feel pretty pleased with what I've got at the end of the day - working machine on my desk, fairly trustworthy hot spare doubling as test box, but this could have been ugly if the original machine died completely and the warrantee turned out to be bunk, which might very well be the case.
Foo *and* bar on Foto(Penis) Connection and RepairTechInc - I'm going to check out IBM factory refurb + service when the second T20 finally breathes its last.
I am very easy to get along with, but I don't have time to waste being nice to people who are being stupid. -Theo
Bondo car body filler works great for rebuilding plastic parts. You can whittle it with a knife easily before it completely hardens, and then if you have a dremel tool, clean it up easily. (otherwise just sandpaper works fine). It is about as hard as wood. If you need something harder/stronger, use fiberglass resin, also in the automotive section. Its more liquidy before it sets so it can be harder to work with though.
Also, it's a bit stretchy, which helps for some applications. Back when I had by 71 Chevy van (bought heavily misused in ~1984), there were several parts you just couldn't find junkyard replacements for (since they'd rusted out on _all_ Chevy vans, and spending $600 to replace the windows because you can't buy the hanger brackets separately is pretty silly on a $1200 car), and duct tape worked just fine.
But yes, gaffer tape is often better for applications like that.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Shortly thereafter the LCD screen got cracked, which simplified the problem :-) It's now a nice web terminal and printer server, and can drive a monitor at 1024x768 if you don't mind 8-bit color.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
these guys have tons of strange laptop parts. batteries and chargers for everything from ipod to vaio. they alos have panels, drives, and other parts. If they don't have it, you're not going to get it.
http://www.laptopsforless.com/
JON
After perusing the entire string the amazing thing I noticed is nobody mentioned the best source of
downstream stuff...LOCAL HAMFESTS...
Google the subject...visit the next nearest Hamfest...Viola...parts galore, cheap, new contacts and stuff adinfinitum...
Did you look in places like this? You've gotta figure that someone has realized that there's a business in buying dead laptops for parts salvage (like they do for cars). There's another company that deals in parts for PDAs. It would already be worth more than the PDA itself to send my two year old Visor in for repairs, and that's before charging for parts, but I could get a used motherboard for twenty bucks.
===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
way to go, anonymous coward! excellent info.
Heard an interesting story: Company using something called a CCD (Communication Control Device?) goes out...They call IBM, who somehow find a replacement part (these things are about 15 years old!), get the cust up and running 11 hours later. Turns out they are fault taulerant, and have two processors so if one goes, the other takes over
10 points.
If it's under warranty, break it enough to need warranty work.
If it's insured, have it stolen.
You're paying for these "services" so use em when you have to.
Do not meddle in the affairs of geeks for they are subtle and quick to anger
Breakfast served all day!
These guys are pretty cool. If there's one near you, they'll assemble battery packs for you. -DJ
Quite a while back I bought 2-3 damaged Compaq LTE 5XXX laptops for parts. I used the spare parts to upgrade the 90Mhz cpu in the old laptop I had at the time to a 120Mhz ( wow, heh ). Also I was able to build another working laptop using these parts. How much did I spend? Several hours + $50 for a cpu card upgrade and a new laptop.
However, be prepared to reverse engineer the (dis)assmebly -- but if you're on slashdot you might find this to be a new hobby. I still have my old LTE 5XXX notes and some parts if anyone is interested! hah =)
Not a lot at the moment. It wil run xfce just about but its time has gone I think. The sad thing is there is no usable PC smaller than the PC110 since it came out in 1994..
I have a Compaq laptop that was bought in the US by the Dot Com I was working for which went under 2 years back. I bought the laptop for $500US (An Armada M700 850MHz with 320Meg of RAM, still does the job fine for me at home)... anyway, on returning to Australia I had the battery just die and not recharge any more... on checking their website (hard to navigate, but very handy to be able to bring up warrenty info based on your serial number) I found the machine has a 3 year warrenty.
I had it picked up and delivered back with new battery within a few days.
Months later and the powerpack gave up the ghost... around a 3 day turnaround there, they just sent out a new powerpack with no further questions (I think they have issues).
Recently the fan stopped working so I called them up to have that fixed and thought they could also fix up a couple of niggly things that were bugging me about it, a) one of the buttons for the nipple was getting annoying to click properly, and b) the speakers had deteriorated to where the sound from them was very average.
Now I thought the last two items could be put down to usual wear and tear and I would be charged for them, or not be able to have them repaired.
But nope... system board replaced, new top part of the case, new speakers and nipple/buttons...
Works better than new now.
I'm a happy camper who has not been out of pocket once.
(Admittedly those are a reasonable list of faults, but nothing catostrophic)
That happened to me recently. Ironically, a desktop LCD fell on my laptop's (expensive) 1920x1200 screen, breaking it. $600 later and 1 day later, I had an entre new top assembly. It took 10 min to replace. Dell made it very easy. What did I learn? That extended "unlimited" warrenty is worth it for laptops. I could have driven over the PC and it would have been replaced for free.
--Brian
In non-English speaking countries, I've found this marvel of infinite utility called "American Tape" in both English and translated to other languages.
-- Len
I heard a joke once:
Q: What do you call a dealer's lot with three Pontiac Azteks?
A: A lifetime supply.
You're not the only one who thinks that thing is hideous; it sold so poorly that Pontiac had to kill it early. Anyone who actually bought it thinking it looked nice probably has other serious problems with taste, like pink flamingos in the front yard, etc.
I was just sitting there checking my email when all of a sudden a stream of smoke started coming from the ac adapter. I tried a new adapter, but it wouldn't draw power from that. Thankfully, it still booted under battery power, and it had enough for me to back up most of my data. After a lengthy battle with compaq, (despite the fact that a similar model adapter had been recalled due to the possibility of over-heating) I was informed that under no circumstances would they even look at the thing.
So in the end, I lost out on $1500+, but I guess I should count my blessings... if the laptop had been running on my desk overnight or something to that effect, my whole apartment would probably have burned down, and I may well have been consumed by the flames.
The lesson I learned is never to buy compaq, as they obviously don't care very much about product quality, potential life threatening hazards, etc. So now my problem is this; I have an adapter from a natioanl electronics chain with a breaker in it, and I have a lap top that would boot under battery power, now I need a power module for the motherboard and instructions for installing it. If anyone out there has any advice on where I could obtain these, I would be much obliged.
I am currently making a site that will allow people to post small laptop parts for sale, as well as have a tutorial section for how to fix common problems with laptops. Users can submit their own tutorials in exchange for credit to post some small parts for sale, all using paypal. IF your interested to know when the site is up, email me at tmchoops2003@yahoo.com to be notified when it is running.
http://www.laramyplasticwelders.com/
Industrial quality, inexpensive, easy to field strip and repair. Been using them for years on motorcyle and car stuff.
The best universal replacement part ever. I prefer the "classic silver" but, red adds a nice touch.
We are blind to the Worlds within us
waiting to be born...
My laptop is what you would call a lemon. Everything, and I mean everything, except the processor, and the bottom half of the case have been replaced in my inspiron. (even the clips that hold the drives and batter in). I have never had one issue. I make a call...within 3 days a Dell authorized repair person is in my house fixing it.
Most manufacturers of laptops in my experience offer a full year's warranty on parts included in the base price.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
BOOYAH!!!
With my dick in yer ass you failing faggot.
http://www.laptopparts.com/default.asp
Warrenty? Don't need no stinkin' warrenty when I carry a seldom-needed laptop so old the risk of destroying it is worth the adventure of fixing it.
I haven't seen anyone here mention it yet, surprisingly enough, but my strong recommendation would be to check out an epoxy like JB-Weld. If you want my personal opinion, it's the modern nerd answer to tape on your glasses. That's just my own, first-hand experience, though.
Another little-known trick that I would have expected someone to suggest by now: duct tape. I might be the only one to bring it up, and of course YMMV, but give it some thought. Good luck!
My Toshiba Satellite 1955-S801 has many problems that are widespread enough to be considered design problems, but Toshiba doesn't provide a mechanism for getting things fixed. Their repairs are outsourced to other companies who don't even want to talk to you unless your repair costs about as much as a new laptop.
I won't be buying *anything* else from Toshiba.
I work as a technician for a huge canadian eletronic store and we often have to do repairs on laptops under our extended warranty (I don't want to go into the "extended warranties aren't worth crap" thing please). Most of our parts are coming from Computer Parts Unlimited (www.cpumart.com) and I think that they do sell to individuals too.
as far as I know, if your laptop is a compaq presario you are out of luck though since they are only selling the whole lcd panel with bezel, mask, hinges and inverter. Other than that you should be able to find the part you need.
How can they sell you a new one if the old one doesn't break?
Capitalism at its finest!
Their other trick is:"built in January,Different by July!"
"Now sir, is that REV. A-1,B-3 or X-17?"
my dad just spent a good three hours disassembling my dell laptop (an inspiron 7000, circa 1998) to replace the hinges and brackets that hold the LCD on... it was a pain in the ass but with diagrams it wasn't impossible. i got the parts off ebay.
...and that's all there is to it.
Bought a HP laptop in 2000, got the 'No Lemon' warrenty. 3 months before the policy expired in 2003 had the 4th failure. Got new laptop worth $1600 as that was original purchase price of HP. We got a much better machine for $1600 in 2003 than we did in 2000. Also got another 'No Lemon' policy :)
...that you guys watch WAY too much TV.
over the past two years as a personal computer technician i've been aware of hundreds of new and used hard drives. i wouldn't swear off any of the big names, but:
1. ibm/hitachi 60 gig deskstars have made me lose enough money to make me stop buying hitachis for a long while.
2. those skinny little maxtors piss me off, although one of them made me 300 dollars. ahhh, yes. money.
i like western digitals and have only seen the 20 gig caviar or earlier fail, and i've never seen a seagate fail. this is, of course, excepting all those failures brought on by hdd's smacking against things.
those don't count.
Please stop stalking me, bro.
I can get nearly ANY individual item for my old Dell CPI on EBAY.
= ht tp%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcI SAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSor t&query=dell+cpi
YES, ANYTHING, AND CHEAP TOO!!!
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl
Have you tried http://sparepartswarehouse.com?
We use Dell's Complete Care package and I'm pretty impressed with their service. We had a guy at work back over his laptop after a company picnic (having kids will do that to you). I'm amazed at how quickly we got things resolved.
He was back in action within a couple of days.
I'd don't know if I'd pay the money for a home system unless you were dragging it all over the place.
In general, Dell's service is pretty good, although sitting through the troubleshooting flow with the tech is annoying sometimes. Nearly all of them don't have a good grasp of basic troubleshooting techniques once they have to leave the script behind.
On the positive side, the techs they send out on the calls seem fairly good and the systems tend to keep working afterwards.
We stepped outside the safe zone once and tried a small Linux laptop vendor in the midwest. What a mess!!
We've had a laptop with a bad external power supply and a user-damaged keyboard for about 9 months. They're refusing to replace the power supply because the keyboard was damaged by the end user.
They only provide e-mail support (assuming you can get them to e-mail at all). Usually, you have to write them nastygrams to get them to even respond.
Luckily, the hardware is owned by the military (we're contractors) and we can toss the issue of warranty support in the lap of the IGs office if we have to .
Don't anthropomorphize computers, they don't like it.
Have you tried Crazy Glue? :)
...and pop off the back of the display (4 screws) and unscrew the hinge (2 screws) to access the bezel. You don't need to pull the topcase / bottom case off. I don't think the bezel's covered under warranty, so you hopefully won't have to charge customers as much... everyone saves time.
Another good one: intermittent flickering on the iBook LCD can often be resolved by replacing the reed switch cable rather than the entire display assembly. Only useful for out of warranty repairs as it does take time (2 hrs) but good for helping those who can't afford an entire display assembly.
Wrists killing you? Not in 2 weeks. Learn Dvorak.
My office is (lately) almost exclusively Dell, and I've had plenty of people break bezels, break keyboard keys, etc, etc, so I've gone all through the steps of buying and replacing parts - and getting Dell to do it. If you get the three year warranty with next (business) day on-site support (standard, iirc - and if not, it's worth the upgrade cost), all you have to do is get on the phone with tech support and say "The plastic bezel molding around my LCD has snapped. Replace it." Sure, you have to play twenty questions as they go through their usual diagnostics script, but with a bit of patience you'll get a technician on your doorstep the next day to install parts. (Be warned, however, that these technicians are not always particularly clever, and I've known them to break working things in an attempt to fix whatever your problem is - and of course, then you just have to call tech support again and start over.) I've never seen them refuse anything, regardless of how obvious it is user error. (Like the certian someone who manages to magically make her laptop keyboard stop functioning every thirty days - replaced it four times and counting!)
Of course, all of this assumes a warrenty of some sort. Dell's is fortunately pretty decent. (Since I've seen plenty of perfectly good Dell boxes die after six months, eight months, etc, for no reason in particular, I consider this a good thing!)
Ignoring whether extended warranties are worth the bet in the first place (which of course depends on the equipment), there is the very difficult to determine factor of the quality of the warranty service provided.
Big box electronics chain in my country survives mostly on the sale of extended warranties. They have no margin on straight goods, so there is very high pressure to sell extended warranties. BUT their actual service center is so pathetic as to be practically non-existent. They are desperate to sell extended warranties, but then don't even attempt to honor those warranties.
Similarly a major (top 3) hardware vendor relies on a large long-established service center in the downtown core of my city for warranty service, both regular and extended. However, the service center will deny almost anything as being under warranty. You practically have to hold a gun to their head. Plus even once they agree to fixing something 'under warranty', they make it quite clear that you go to the back-of-the-line, and will be fixed after EVERYONE else, and they'll try to tack on all sorts of extra, non-warranty covered charges. This behaviour is NOT the vendor's fault, the service center is skanky and wants to hoover up all the labor charges they possibly can.
However, I only know these details because my particular area of IT work made me familiar. For even the average geek out there, it could be extremely difficult to find out whether ANY warranty is worth the paper it's printed on with a vendor you haven't dealt with before.
Great! They're Jesus Freaks (TM)!
Thanks anyway, but I prefer to give my money to folks who are considerate enough to keep their religious propaganda out of their business.
Could you the glue from common blue mussels to put you laptop together?
Skyline Engineering, Inc for all your Gateway laptop needs.
'Pleasure is the Disease, Pain is the Cure' - Lilith
As a retailer of complete computer systems and repair work, I can only say one thing. It's good to do your homework BEFORE you buy ANYTHING. Steer clear of name brands and when dealing with smaller companies check around with people who have worked with them in the past.
My company has been retailing custom PCs and notebooks for 10 years now, and I stayed with the same notebook distributor for 8 years until they screwed me badly on a notebook claiming there wasn't anything wrong with it when the video memory was bad.
The company I use now ONLY sells to retailers and not the general public, but they do assist you to find a local retailer. They support their hardware for as long as it's possible. They actually have the knowledge and tools to find what little I can't find in my shop...oh, and they speak english. I've had nothing but great luck with them since I started using them. The name of the company is "Spartan" and can be found at www.spartanco.com.
And to the guy that wrote this article.....you're not checking the right shops if they're telling you they can't replace just the plastic around the display. Coming from someone who's worked on just about every laptop ever made....as long as it's not 4 years old or older, they shouldn't have a problem finding ONLY the parts they need.
Which goes to what I always say, just because the shop is a local shop, doesn't mean they won't try to screw you just like the big boys.....again you HAVE to check them out with other people. Our shop always costed a bit more than any of the others around. We were $50/hr while everyone around us was only $40. But we also only charged 2 hours where someone else charged 3 or 4, plus we didn't sell you parts you didn't need. We had even been known to repair your part instead of replacing it when the cost to replace was too high.
Anyway, I get kind of annoyed by so called geeks, who don't seem to understand these painfully simple rules. If it's THAT big of a deal....there's this wonderful little product out there called "Tech Hold"....find it, use it on the plastic and be done with it. You'll be able to carry it again.
...is that the vendor is almost certainly not the manufacturer. Like the hundreds of CD-R companies that sell the CDs of maybe ten chemical companies, laptops are made from a handful of companies, such as Arima, Clevo, Asus, Uniwill, *etc.
If these companies discontinue a certain line of laptop, or worse--never offer individual replacement parts for repairs in the first place, you can't do anything about it, and neither can the vendor no matter how much they would like to.
*Exceptions: Most IBM laptops are actually made by IBM, and Apple makes their own laptops.
Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
The type of equipment you need to plastic weld is generally an injection hot melt gun - they typically sell for about $5000 bux and are not too difficult to learn how to use
$5000? That's a typo, right?
If not, while I agree with the "just fix it!" spirit of your post, I really fail to see how advising someone to spend $5000 on equipment to fix a laptop that would probably cost way less than half that to replace is in any way sensible.
grib.
maybe
My Dell Inspiron 4150s power connector stopped working 2 weeks after warranty expired. Apparently, the only way to repair a broken power connector is to replace the motherboard for a reasonable sum of EUR780 ($900).
Fortunately, Finland has very strict Customer Protection laws, so I'll probably get mine replaced for free - eventually. Unfortunately the Customer Protection Agency is badly overworked and my appeal has been in for over 2 months and might take a few more before anything happens.
Meanwhile, I'm without a laptop.
No no, you're missing the point.
People who buy laptops have lots of money to spend on something they could get somewhat larger and faster at a quarter the price. They pay this extra cash for the ability to cart it around easily. To some, this looks like a good trade-off.
However, laptop manufacturers use this as an excuse to make their products completely proprietary, meaning that if you want to replace/upgrade part X, you have to go directly to them. And you will pay a premium to them as well.
This also applies to accessories. For instance, a laptop bag is $100. A laptop power supply (which is also needlessly proprietary... they basically just make the plug-in look different from their competitors) costs $100. A laptop network card costs $80 and a replacement dongle (which is of a spectacularly poor design and needs replacement every 2.5 weeks) costs $70.
A regular backpack (which does a much better job of disguising the fact that you are carrying something really expensive and easy to steal) costs about $30. A regular power supply that puts out 17.5 volts and 1.2 amps costs nothing when you buy an ADSL modem for $69.95. A regular network card costs $30 if you want to buy a 3com, and there aren't any retardedly-easy-to-break parts.
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
Is all that's holding my 3.5 year old Acer Travelmate together after the case disintegrated around the hinges. I've seen it on other similar models, so it's a manufacturing defect, but it's quite literally not worth pursuing. This is my 3rd line machine, so it's not even worth my time in small claims court. Once again, apathy and inertia come to the rescue of shoddy manufactuers.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Hi, I work in a hock shop/ second hand shop in Sydney Aus. Throughout the years a huge amount of cudos has been given for repairing items (mostly electronic). It sounds hugely geeky but when you have finished repairing on a restaurant table (dinner party with friends) a cute womans nokia with a toothpic and you get her number, you get a rush of blood to the.... head. Then the woman at the table next to yours says "I have a problem of *object name* that needs your attention at my home . can you come tonight?" And all for just doing my job and learning some of the most frequent ways things can stop working.
I think [I say this so the manufactures wont send out secret agents to silence me] that some (read 'all') companies make their products to fail. There is the rumour of the "salt circuit" that fails exactly on 1 year after the plastic is opened exposing internal circuits to air. If you dont think the inside of a phone gets air then look at your screen and see how much dust is inside. I'm sure there are lots of things like this to make a product break on time.This is obviously to keep the part and labour repair industry going. Dont tell me a manufacturer spends $20 mil designing a product to be sueproof and not know that it will fail on the 14600 to 14700th opening of the lid. They want 95% of the item to JUST pass the 1 year warantee and the consumer to be happy to pay the bloated price for the privilage, then tell their friends to buy it as well. Then when it breaks not complain just buy a new one. All the while yelling from the top of our lungs what a good product it is, well I'm not going to take it any more * I scream from my window*
I agree with previous contestant that HP lazerjets are great. they are the only printer we touch that is not in a box, new. Also, old CRTs are good if they are from a good mftr German or japanese. Some 20 year old Sonys still come in to my shop and they work better than any 20 year old plasm. prove me wrong. You can tell the diference the good stuff weighs more, try lifting it. In the shop we have an old wooden tv set up as a joke. It has a sign on the screen saying "broken , do not turn on" inside conected to the mains are some cracker spark squibs and a smoke machine. what do they do? They turn it on! and the look on their faces is a reason to keep living. just to let you know if your in a shop and theres a sign.....
Nicad and NiMh batteris love to be used, the more the better, and used up till there is no more juice. Then recharged till they are full, not half full, or recharged all the time. Thats what causes them to fail. All the time we get cordless phones with dead batteries . LiIon is diferent. It loves to be recharged all the time and hates to be run down. I found out why recently from an electrical engineer. There is a circiut in them that measures how much charge is left If it goes less than 60% of full capacity the circuit kills itself thus rendering the batery useless. This act of hari kiri is designed so that you cant repac the battery case and you have to buy a whole new one from the manufacturer. Ever notice why they keep changing the shape of the bat from year to year? so you cant put old ones into new machines. Self terminating laptops will be next when they figure out that chips will be soo much fast and the programs will be sooo much better that we wont want our old laptops any more, WILL WE!
On the question of Glues I've found a combination of plastic meltind and Aroldite is the best for strength and for how it looks. I use the melting glue to smuge the 2 surfaces together and blur the lines between edges, you get a sort of glug as the clear glue turns the same colour as the plastic. Then as that is semidry aply some 2 part apoxy (I use Loctite 3801 as it is fast, he said while cheesily holding up product to camera) and hold in place till cured. If you want a flat finish put flat sticky tape over the top and rub slighty. when cured peel off the tape and sand down if necesary. The ability to fix a customers (tv case usualy) thing w
"Persistance is Fertile" - Me. I can quote myself if I want to.
Duct Tape!
It was not *officially* replaceable. meaning you can destroy the critter in the process. You may be able to do something, that does not mean you should be doing it.
Apple only recently started official battery replacements after it became patently obvious that not all batteries were as perfect and lost lasting as they hopped (and that the expensive toys the iPods are not disposable).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Incidently sometimes these Taiwanese Laptop makers will release the same models that they make under commission for the big makers, but with generic branding. These can be much cheaper. Sometimes, when the big retailers designed the laptop, the contract manufacturers are barred from making excess numbers to sell under their own generic brands, but it still has be known to happen too.
As I was checking in for Jury Duty one day, I had my laptop bag open and sitting on the counter top as I scanned my summons - thereby clocking in for the day - when my bag took a humpty-dumpty right off the counter top and landed on the left corner hinge with a gut wrenching CRUNCH!
Upon examination, the left hinge was broken, the front bezel, and the screen didn't light up.
Boy was I upset. I had to sit in a jury room all day with no laptop.
Once home, I took the laptop apart and discovered that I'd broken the FL inverter board(what causes the screen backlight to illuminate). Now, this is a Toshiba Laptop, and I had taken the thing into be serviced - so I called up the service center and asked them to order in some parts for me. They did, and I replaced everything myself - becoming intimately familiar with my laptop in the process.
Once I got the FL inverter board replaced, the screen still didn't light.
I called the Toshiba Service Center (Compar in Minneapolis, great guys) and they said, "It's gotta be the fluorescent bulb..."
Huh? Fluorescent bulb?
They explained to me that the way the screen illuminates is there is a tiny fluorescent bulb that runs along the bottom of the screen. You have to remove the LCD panel, take off the tape and some screws and you'll be able to access a tiny fluorescent bulb that is the thickness of a #2 pencil lead (about 1mm dia) and it is the length(width) of the screen. Turns out the FL inverter board is nothing but a high-tech ballast. They told me that they weren't sure if they could replace the bulb without replacing the screen - but just about any bulb from any screen, provided it was the same length, would work.
Now, my friend had a DELL laptop that he'd stepped on and cracked the LCD, but the backlight still worked. It too was a 15" screen, so I took out his old bulb and put it in my screen, but his bulb was about 3mm to long! SO, I pulled out my Dremmel and cut away the metal & plastic on the LCD panel so the fluorescent bulb could extend beyond the side of the LCD Panel. It only extended about 1mm out from the edge of the panel. When I put the screen back into its mounting, it barely fit. I had to cut the wires to the bulb, and solder on the ones for my old broken bulb, but when I powered it up, I had my laptop back.
It was only then that I noticed that the piece of glass that runs behind the LCD was cracked (NOT the LCD panel itself) but the glass that distributes the light emitted from the bulb. All that means is that the upper left corner of the screen has a wavy shadow. I can live with that.
All told? The drop cost me just under $200 to repair, and the income earned from jury duty wasn't even enough to cover half of it.
Oh, and the trial I heard? Some guy that was charged with being a male prostitute (ouch!). The entire time I was in trial, I was thinking of Goatse. Damn you Slashdot.
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
"Gentlemen, we can rebuild it."... The above post was modded 'funny' and it was, but it's also true. Look at it this way: somebody made the original but it had flaws so it broke. Figure out what failed and make a new one, modified to avoid the weakness. In the case of the bezel, heck, get a nice piece of hardwood (walnut or maple look nice), a Dremel, assorted grades of sandpaper, etc. and make one out of wood. It'll be stronger than the original, look much nicer, and be a totally unique laptop!
This is the sh!t for repairing all laptop cracked cases.
Fix the break, let it sit 24 hours, get out Mr. X-Acto knife, and trim the glue down carefully.
Hope this helps!
Kenny P.
Visualize Whirled P.'s
stores as well.
I really can't stand stores that have huge
computer display areas and nobody knows a damn
thing about them.
Whatever, they're there for the clueless sheeple
to buy anyway.
Anyone who knows enough about computers to be
proficient with their use can build their
own BETTER computer themselves.
Just remember to use RETAIL parts so you don't
get the OEM shit that all the major Manufuckturers use.
How odd. They do powerbooks, but not ibooks. Also it doesn't look like all models. What's up with that?
---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?
The Thor power tools case impacted companies depreication on inventories, and may be one reason why spare parts are not inventoried, and products have become throw away.
Ross Youngblood
I've a Compaq Presario 700, bought 2 years ago. The cdrom goes loony 6 months ago (wouldn't spin right alias broken). I bring it to a HP Authorized Service Center in Bandung (Harrisma Inc.) and I waited for a whole without a sure answer about the laptop. Then I got fed up and took it back from them and still got charged (fsck them). I think my bad experience represents many laptop owners in Indonesia. Many of the laptop manufacturers don't have service centres, they instead appoint local companies as authorized service centres. Anyway, why is it called service centres? They usually replace the parts, not doing any repairs/services to the broken parts. So I conclude that it's very expensive to have a laptop in Indonesia. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I have used JB-Weld with moderate success as it can be somewhat difficult to manage in small places.
.5" diam. extruded tube of this putty. Looking at the end, you can see half the putty is dark grey and half is light gray. Bobbittize the tube (usually 1" will be enough) and begin kneeding the putty togeather with your fingers.
I found an epoxy putty at Home Depot that works GREAT! I forget the name/manuf. but it comes in a small, clear, plastic tube with red caps on each end.
What you get is about 6" of
It has a consistency similar to clay or tough play-dough. As you kneed the putty and mix the two materials, they begin to heat up. You have about 5 minutes of fashion and shaping time before the stuff starts to harden.
It sets up in about 15 minutes and is hard as a rock after 30 minutes. (I think the directions says it takes 24 hours to cure. Cure what? I don't know....:-)...)
I used it to...
Extend a plastic "finger" on our washing machine lid that would press a button to tell the washer the lid was closed. The switch inside the washer must have slid down *just* enough that the "finger" would not reach. Extending the plastic finger half an inch worked great. The white plastic was very smooth -almost like teflon. I can't believe this putty took hold!
Fix a cast iron bird bath 3 years ago. The repair is at the top of the stand -just below the bath bowl. A structurally critical point whose original design was not robust enough considering the weight of the cast iron bowl. It's still outside with hot summers, freezing winters, and bird traffic.
Fashion some slotted wall hanging backs for some antique candle holders. The sconces were designed to be flush against a wall, but there was no provision for how to mount or hang the sconces on the wall. Nothing! Since the sconces had hollow backs, I was able to place some putty in the cavity and fashion a vericle slot that could be slid onto a screw projecting out of the wall. Pulling down on the sconces will rip the screw out of the wall before this putty budges.
HTH!
Plastic Welding? $5000 glue guns? Glue that probably has to be bought by the gallon? The guy just wants to fix a small break, not fix a goddamned boat!
No one shopping for a single piece worth about $5 is going to work out any "deal" with a manufacturer who doesn't sell parts to individuals normally.
100% completely serious question: Do you or your girlfriend find the Aztec attractive? As in "Hey, that's a really great looking vehicle!" ? I'm genuinely curious if my taste in mainstream on this one.
Slashdotters seem to miss the correllation here. This girl
a) finds the Pontiac Aztec attractive
b) finds the aforementioned slashdotter attractive (though probably less so after he broke her car...)
And you think he shoudl question her tatse? :)
I have a compaq presario 2111EA I got at a bargain price...
since then I've put in a bigger HD and added more memory, so technically I've screwed the warranty..
I cracked the display, and thought it was going to cost a fortune..
not so.. I contacted a few private suppliers who were quoting silly, then tried Compaq directly, who said it would cost about 300, and they would process the shipping as if it was in warranty, to save me the costs (wayhey says I, since the repairs center it was going to is in the Netherlands and I'm in the UK)..
a nice UPS box arrives the next day, and there the saga pauses for a bit, as work and other commitments mean I NEED the laptop, and so I'm using it with an attached monitor...
3 months later, I finally get a break, put the lappie in a box and call UPS for a collection. 3 weeks later UPS drop off the lappie, all fixed and I'm very happy.. as for the 300 bill? still waiting.. looks like it was processed as a warranty repair, even tho A: I'd be inside the case and invalidadted the warranty, and B: cracked displays aren't even covered under warranty.
I'm very happy with Compaq's service, but I put this down to the inefficiencies of a large company, and not deliberate "good treatment". maybe I'm just a sceptic, after the last compaq I had (and evo 110) kept dying due to overheating.
just my 1/5 of 6p's worth.
a
When a passenger of the foot, hooves in sight, tootel the horn trumpet melodiously