irreparably broken laptop

[nerdman978]

...err, not really. My laptop has a cracked case and a hard drive that doesn't work. As I just spent a lot of money on my awesome desktop, I really can't afford a new laptop. As I don't value my time, I wouldn't mind buying a new case and putting my hardware and laptop LCD into that. However, is this possible? Do vendors sell new laptop cases for moderately cheap prices? Also, I will require a new hard drive that needs to also be uber cheap, I will settle for between 40-60GB.

[mellowd]

It's going to be difficult and possibly expensive to try and find a nwe case, especially if its old. what make is it?

[nerdman978]

I wish I knew more about the hardware, but the model itself is a Dell Latitude D600.

[mellowd]

how new is it?

[nerdman978]

not sure, I got it used from a good friend about a year ago. I assume about three-four years.

[mellowd]

You could try Dell, but like I said they might be expensive. Another option is to look on ebay. look for a broken one they are selling for spares. As long as the case is good and the fault lies with the cpu or motherboard or something else you'll be good. just make sure the model matches exactly

[w7kmc]

Ebay has tons of laptop parts, you may get lucky there...

[gn2]

...err, not really. My laptop has a cracked case and a hard drive that doesn't work.

So long as there are no bits missing out the case you would be amazed what can be achieved with superglue.
If there are bits missing you can sometimes use filler, depending where it is.

I dropped my laptop and cracked the screen bezel, quick dab of superglue and it was good as new.
I have also used this method to repair various stereos, radios etc that kids have dropped.....

When dismantling a laptop, as you remove the screws tape them to a sheet of paper and write down a description of exactly where it came from and take pictures with a digital camera as you go.

When you're ready to rebuild it you've now got a fool proof guide to where all the screws go :)

Replacing a hard drive is very straightforward.

[igknighted]

When dismantling a laptop, as you remove the screws tape them to a sheet of paper and write down a description of exactly where it came from and take pictures with a digital camera as you go.

When you're ready to rebuild it you've now got a fool proof guide to where all the screws go :)

Replacing a hard drive is very straightforward.

I always use a pop-bottle top and sharpie the type and number present on to the outside, but that works too.

[Whiffle]

Check with dell as well if you take it apart, I know IBM has a guide on what goes where, what not to touch and stuff like that, maybe dell does too. Made installing my bluetooth card a snap.

I agree with the ebay comment too, laptops break all the time, and they usually end up on ebay.

[stalker145]

...err, not really. My laptop has a cracked case and a hard drive that doesn't work. As I just spent a lot of money on my awesome desktop, I really can't afford a new laptop. As I don't value my time, I wouldn't mind buying a new case and putting my hardware and laptop LCD into that. However, is this possible? Do vendors sell new laptop cases for moderately cheap prices? Also, I will require a new hard drive that needs to also be uber cheap, I will settle for between 40-60GB.

You could always try to make your own (http://www.zaverio.net/laptop/legnatile/index-en.html) if you have the time, skill, and inclination. There are a few sites out there that can give a blow-by-blow on making a laptop case from a variety of materials.

Pretty laptop to desktop conversion (http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/itx-laptop/)

Your imagination is the only thing stopping you.

Just a thought...

[Flying caveman]

laptop chassis http://www.directron.com/nbbarebone.html

this is where I got the Z71v laptop i'm using right now. there are others around too. google barebones laptop

It can be a good deal, but since you have a broken hard drive the only parts you could salvage from your old laptop would be the CPU, Memory, and wireless card. the optical drives are only somewhat standard, its best to get the one that is designed for the laptop your ordering.

its probably a better deal if you can move all your parts over and your old laptop had a low-res screen and no graphics card.

[Atomic Dog]

There will certainly be laptops (intel & amd) that will be in the range of $250 to $400 on black friday that will almost certainly work out to be as cheap as repairing what you have...and will probably be faster.

[mips]

...err, not really. My laptop has a cracked case and a hard drive that doesn't work.

Could you post clear photos of the cracked case please. I could give you more advice if I can see the actual damage.

A cracked case can be fixed for really cheap. The repair is done to the inside of the case so it is not unsightly. All that is required is sandpaper, resin&hardener, woven fibre cloth.

Is the hard drive dead or just corrupted ? If corrupted it can be recovered. If dead you can pick a new drive for about US$30 if you shop around.

[anaconda]

Could you post clear photos of the cracked case please. I could give you more advice if I can see the actual damage.

A cracked case can be fixed for really cheap. The repair is done to the inside of the case so it is not unsightly. All that is required is sandpaper, resin&hardener, woven fibre cloth.

I have seen a laptop case that was repaired simply by gluing a piece of metal sheet on the cracked part. (It was cracked from behind the LCD)

It looked good.

[K.Mandla]

If you want it, you should buy the parts to repair it. If not, you should strip it and sell it, to help fund your new one. ;)

[timpino]

Buy a broken D600 on ebay gut it and put your stuff in it. It will be tricky but not impossible and you could probably get it for under $100

[xpod]

So long as there are no bits missing out the case you would be amazed what can be achieved with superglue.

I was recently given an Elitegroupe A530 off someone who`d just bought himself a shiney new one,simply because he was told he needed a whole new motherboard and a new laptop would be the more sensible decision.
So thats what he`d done.

Turned out the DC Jack within had snapped off the board completely and upon querying the cost of repair myself online the cheapest quote i got was £100(£5 for the part)
I opened it up myself and managed to superglue the jack back onto the board, with a tiny touch of solder for the relevant points.
I had ordered a new Jack at the time but that old one worked a treat.

I offered the guy(friend of a neighbour) the laptop back but he just wanted his data of the thing,that he`d been quoted £40-£60 to have done in the first place.
Upon seeing that "data" for myself i`m not surprised he did`nt want to pay £60 :) tch tch

Of course it now runs better with the minimal Ubuntu/XP it has than what his shiney new Vista one does,with only twice the RAM of his old one(256Mb to 512Mb) and a 1.6Ghz cpu rather than his old 1GHz one.What a waste, imo.
I told him just to take it back to the shop and have his old one back but he was happy with the shiney new one........for now.
He`s buying/bought(?) more RAM for the thing as i advised i think.

I also have one of those old Dell C600`s(pp01l).
I got that for setting up another neighbours two new pc`s and router they`d bought, after the Dell`s had XP died on them.
Theres usually loads of them going cheap on Fleabay for spare/repair though.
All i had to buy was a replacement battery and i got that for about £7 i think.

[mips]

I have seen a laptop case that was repaired simply by gluing a piece of metal sheet on the cracked part. (It was cracked from behind the LCD)

It looked good.

Just one problem with metal, it allows for no flex of the case. Some plastics flex less than others and if they are rigid metal would be fine.If it flexes a lot like the lid on my hp nx6110 I would go with my previous suggestion.

At the end of the day there are many ways to skin a cat ;)