Your laptop is playing up and you are wondering if you should get it repaired
Laptops usually don’t last as long as desktop PCs because they are a bit more compact which can contribute to them getting hotter than usual, getting damaged by liquids, knocks or bumps, stepping on it, tripping over the power cable and damaging the power port and many other ways.
Because it is a mobile device it gets carried around a lot compared to a normal computer (which is pretty much stationary and much harder to cause any damage to the main components).
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Laptops are getting more resilient as times move forward for example they are now being fitted with SSD drives which can handle bangs, drops and bumps where the old mechanical hard drives were not really good with those things, they are lighter and a bit more secure and more sturdy in the design.
What you may need to consider when getting your laptop repaired
So something has happened to your laptop and you are wondering if its even worth repairing. First you would need to get it diagnosed if you don’t know what the problem is, depending on how technical the problem you could be charged an assessment fee if you use a technician.
If its a screen replacement you need to find out the price of it in relation to what you originally paid for your laptop and is it worth it to just buy a new laptop, MacBook’s can be more expensive to repair than a normal laptop.
You should decide whether or not its worth fixing your laptop screen.
Hard drive replacements if its a faulty drive may cost you close to a 1/4 or 1/2 of what you paid for the laptop depending on the hard drive installed and the size of it, as well if you need to have data recovery done on the failed hard drive to retrieve your files then this could be an extra cost which you would probably need to pay for anyway if its important.
(Hard drive replacements will generally include re-installation of Windows or cloning the faulty drive to the new hard drive or SSD)
Keyboard replacements are generally cheap depending on the model of laptop, some laptops can be a bit expensive because of the difficulty of installing the new keyboard which require removing all components and replacing them after keyboard has been installed.
Broken hinges or cracked covers can usually be fixed by either gluing with epoxy or replacing the whole cover section and prices can vary depending on laptop models as well. (Using epoxy may make it difficult to get inside the computer after gluing for at some point a part may need to be replaced or some repair may need to be undertaken)
Some hinges may also be rivetted to the casing if its a strong material like metal.
If your motherboard is damaged to a large extent you may need to replace your motherboard, it is possible to source a replacement motherboard but they are usually second hand, can be expensive and might not last long.
Liquid spills may be small enough that not much damage was done to the motherboard and the problem may be fixed.
Some damaged components on the motherboard can be replaced by most technicians for example: power jack, broken USB ports, fans, cables, etc.. More technical problems are possible to get repaired by technicians that specialise in micro soldering.
Experiencing slowing issues with your laptop if software related would be relatively cheap as you wouldn’t need to replace hardware and can generally be diagnosed as operating system corruption, malware, viruses, faulty applications or drivers, programs using too much resources, etc.
Slowing issues with hardware could possibly be overheating issues which are possible to be addressed but actual hardware damage to motherboard chips or CPU from overheating or some other issue can become costly to replace or fix.
The laptop would need to be tested for hardware or software issues in different ways to work out the best course of action and cost of repair to fix so you can decide what you would like to do, This can be done by trying to assess it yourself or asking a computer repair professional to diagnose it for you.
Example of damage caused by liquid spill
How often should laptops be replaced?
This depends entirely on the state of the laptop and how well the parts inside are running. Sometimes laptops can keep working great for over 7+ years and the only hiccup is maybe some faulty ram or failing hard drive which can be replaced fairly easily.
Other times laptops will only last a few years and may have some major fault and if you are not on some type of warranty it could probably cost too much to fix and worth just buying a new laptop.
It is best to try and purchase a laptop that has good parts and is sturdy from the beginning which will probably give you a bit more use out of the laptop. Also make sure the laptop has good ventilation, free of dust and isn’t being knocked around too much.
Try to avoid stepping on the laptop or catching and ripping out the power cable which can cause damage to the port and motherboard. Also avoid spilling any liquids.
Having someone giving it a clean out from time to time physically and checking temperatures may help to prolong the life of the laptop.
