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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."

5 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. IBM/Lenovo thinkpads... by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They sell their parts with or without the training. I picked up a few parts myself for a T40 Thinkpad which had a bad network board (wired and wifi), and a broken PCMCIA slot cover. They have full video's and instructions on how to disasemble thier Thinkpad series, from removing the keyboard, to replacing the steel cage that houses the removable media bay.

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    We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
  2. Apple by Foofoobar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Believe it or not, alot of the parts in a mac laptop can be bought from dealers and people who fix them. Most want to install them but alot of repair sites will sell the parts to you direct.

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    This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
  3. Re:Dell by Gentlewhisper · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The 24-inch I-mac uses one.


    From the innovative company that uses laptop parts in their desktops and non upgradeable parts in their laptops.
  4. Illegal? by pnevin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm not sure about the US, but here in Australia a manufacturer refusing to sell parts of their machines to the general public would run a pretty good risk of breaching the Trade Practices Act.

    They'd just sell the parts at a ridiculous price, of course.

  5. Re:Dell by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2, Interesting
    laptop parts in their desktops

    What's wrong with that? You end up with a very quiet desktop with low energy consumption. Since the box is bigger, you actually have a lot of leeway as far as heat sink designs, so the desktop can be made to run cool as well.

    -b.