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Notebook PC Manufacturer Who Will Sell Parts?
gp310ad asks: "Fujitsu refused to sell me a basic part for my P2120 notebook PC. The part is the small daughter board which bridges the external charger to the internal circuitry. It is approximately two square cm with two connectors mounted. There are no passive or active electronic components on the board. I was told that I would have to complete Fujitsu technical training before I would be allowed to purchase this or any other part that requires removing more than two screws. According to Fujitsu, the hard drive (three screws) is 'not a user replaceable part'. Which brings me to my question — I am in the market for a new notebook PC and would like to know which manufacturers are 'end user friendly' when it comes to out of warranty repair parts. The model and features will be determined by what is available within my budget. However, I do not want to be stuck with an out of warranty machine from a manufacturer who will not sell parts."
I'd think that was because the majority of them are integrated. Personally, I've never seen a laptop with a removable/replaceable video card.
Toshiba is pretty good about selling parts too. But there are limitations. Toshiba CPU fans and hard drives don't last very long (about a year for each, I switch to Seagate for hard drives). What really sucks about Toshiba is when you have to replace something like a hinge for the display. They have so many combinations that finding the replacement can be difficult if not impossible.
If you don't want crime to pay, let the government run it.
If you have the E1505 you might have an upgradeable video card. If you got the basic integrated Intel video you're out of luck. That one really is integrated and there's no upgrading. If you've got any of the ATI video options you can upgrade the card. I found this out the hard way when I heard the E1505 had upgradeable video so I only got the Intel. On the plus side it's quite good at 3d for a non-gaming card and the drivers are open source.
You can by parts for damned near any laptop from chopshops, via ebay or their websites.
That's not what the questioner was asking about, though. He wanted to know which manufacturers sold parts directly to the public.