So.. my laptop is becoming a beater...
Mar. 27th, 2016 12:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitch25Three keyboards... a motherboard... an optical drive... several top covers....
Most of that was under warranty.. But lately, the keyboard has been sticking again and my upper left quadrant has been giving me grief enough to cause problems entering passwords!
It's realistically time to replace things, but the internals of this laptop have always been great. I can game the way I want to, and I have no other major problems.
I priced out replacement laptops with modest upgrades, and figured out what I'd need to save up for. And I realized given my other savings goals, if I could fix what I needed to fix with parts and time, I could save a lot of money and keep this old thing running a good while longer.
So I ordered a keyboard replacement and a spare. and I finally got time to install it. I've been inside this laptop several times before, so I knew what I was facing, but even with that, I ran into challenges.
In the process of getting the cover off, I noticed one of the screw posts on the frame snapped off. Several of the plastic snaps also sheared likely from the repeated disassembly and reassembly. And one of the connectors for my wireless card antennas popped off the board. Thankfully, they almost always have two antennas, and the auxiliary one is working fine for now, but it occurred to me that I could take the opportunity to pick up a replacement card that is faster and compatible with my newer access point. The laptop is older, so the parts are pretty cheap.
I got the post glued back in with super glue, and it's holding fine. The keyboard went in with no fuss and is also working great now. It also gave me an opportunity to get new conductive thermal paste on the proc and video card heatsinks.
Once I get my replacement wireless card, she should be as good as new!
All in all, about 50 bux in parts vs over 10 times that for a new laptop.
She's not perfect, but she's very serviceable. I'm hoping it will last me another couple years.
Most of that was under warranty.. But lately, the keyboard has been sticking again and my upper left quadrant has been giving me grief enough to cause problems entering passwords!
It's realistically time to replace things, but the internals of this laptop have always been great. I can game the way I want to, and I have no other major problems.
I priced out replacement laptops with modest upgrades, and figured out what I'd need to save up for. And I realized given my other savings goals, if I could fix what I needed to fix with parts and time, I could save a lot of money and keep this old thing running a good while longer.
So I ordered a keyboard replacement and a spare. and I finally got time to install it. I've been inside this laptop several times before, so I knew what I was facing, but even with that, I ran into challenges.
In the process of getting the cover off, I noticed one of the screw posts on the frame snapped off. Several of the plastic snaps also sheared likely from the repeated disassembly and reassembly. And one of the connectors for my wireless card antennas popped off the board. Thankfully, they almost always have two antennas, and the auxiliary one is working fine for now, but it occurred to me that I could take the opportunity to pick up a replacement card that is faster and compatible with my newer access point. The laptop is older, so the parts are pretty cheap.
I got the post glued back in with super glue, and it's holding fine. The keyboard went in with no fuss and is also working great now. It also gave me an opportunity to get new conductive thermal paste on the proc and video card heatsinks.
Once I get my replacement wireless card, she should be as good as new!
All in all, about 50 bux in parts vs over 10 times that for a new laptop.
She's not perfect, but she's very serviceable. I'm hoping it will last me another couple years.