Laptop Repair
From Fusselman.org
As with anything anymore, I should probably say here that hardware can be hazardous to your health. If you don't know what you're doing, you probably shouldn't be doing it. If you do, that's your choice, just don't blame me if you fry yourself or your equipment. Feel free to ask me with any questions. Dropped Laptops
Droppage is probably the most common cause of death for portable computers. Death by gravity check isn't always as fatal as it might seem at first. Generally speaking, a laptop with a cracked case is still serviceable. Displays are a bit more fragile, but you might be able to commandeer one out of something else. Be aware that most laptop display connectors are pretty specialized, so it's probably best to stick with something of the same make and vintage, if you can. Laptops with no LCD make great servers, though. Other things to check for include:
- Mis-seated CPU
- Broken RAM hold-down clips
- Damaged Hard drive connector
- Disconnected daughter boards (video, mini-PCI, etc)
Broken RAM clips
SODIMM sockets come in to varieties: Good and Bad. No, seriously. Plastic vs metal clips. The plastic clips break and the metal ones don't. Replacing the sockets themselves isn't really a viable alternative, so you've got 2 choices. The "right way" is to get a bigger, single SODIMM and put it in the working slot (you /do/ have 2 slots, right?!). Second, you can sometimes use the memory cover to hold down the DIMM. Stack foam or folded paper or something on top of the memory, so it presses down on the non-socketed end of the module. Then screw the cover on good. This usually works, though the laptop can hang from overheated memory (foam and paper are insulators, after all) or if things shift a bit and the pins loose contact for a split-second.
Broken Keyboards
Laptop keyboards are a pain. They generally don't type very well, and if they break, you're generally screwed. Laptop keyboard modules are generally like any other type of (modern) keyboard, in that some times they just need cleaned. I've been known to use Pine-sol on a fully assembled keyboard, but I cant say as I recommend it (read: Rinse Well). Laptop keyboards are generally exposed enough that you can get the plastic layers apart and wash them with Windex or somesuch. Just dont use anything that would hurt the metallic pads or eat the plastic sheets.
The obvious answer to the "really" broken keyboard problem is to just replace it with one just like it. This option is usually expensive, or difficult to find. What I've done in the past, is, if you've just got a broken key, you can use an external keyboard to do BIOS and stuff and a windows key-remapping to re-assign the caps lock or spare something to the "alt" or whatever you need. This Link explains how.
