Do you have a broken laptop? Not sure what to do now? Hopefully we can help you out. This article will take a look at any options you can take with your broken laptop; especially whether to fix it or move on. We’ll give you some information on looking for parts, checking a warranty, buying a replacement, or getting a new one altogether.
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If your computer is still on warranty (usually 1 year with most products) then you have nothing to worry about! Give your laptop’s manufacturer a call and tell them the issues you are experiencing. Note that a warranty won’t cover some things like spills, and other simple acts of carelessness.
If your laptop isn’t on warranty anymore you’ll have to think about your situation and figure out how far you are willing to go to fix your laptop. How much are you willing to spend to get it fixed? Do you know anyone who is tech savvy and can give you their opinion in person? Can you afford a new laptop, and if so, how much? Would you be satisfied with a similar used laptop?
Take a few moments and throughly assess your laptop. What exactly is broken with it? Deciding whether you have software (your data and operating system) damage or hardware (physical) damage is a good starting point.
If you have a software problem, and if your data is valuable then fixing your software will probably be important. Software repairs are the most costly.
If your broken laptop has a hardware problem (i.e. physical damage) and your hardware/hard drive was working OK, then your data is most likely still safe and you can move it over to a new computer or to a replacement one. However, this is not always a guarantee.
Next, try to figure out if your computer is worth salvaging. How old is it? How much did you pay for it? Have you gotten good use out of it, as much as you expected to? If you still feel like you need to get more life out of it, or if it’s too new, then maybe fixing it is the best way to go.
Broken laptop parts can range from being really cheap and easy to find, to very expensive and extremely difficult to find – it all depends on the age of your laptop and the part that you are trying to look for. Ebay is a great starting place to figure out what’s available and for what price. After you get a general idea, it’s always good to look around for price comparisons. Call a local computer store and see how much the part is. Look on other websites online. Once you have found your best price, go ahead and order up.
If you simply need a battery or charger, these can easily be found online. A simple search for “Dell 1200 battery” or “buy Dell 1200 charger” (put your computer brand and model number in there) can turn up search results for places where you can buy a new battery or charger.
If you feel like you can fix the laptop yourself then you could save some money. Hiring a geek to fix your broken laptop can cost anywhere from $30 into the hundreds of dollars. For example, Geek Squad charges $30 to start to fix hardware issues, and $299 to start for software issues. If you have any technical knowledge and/or can find someone to help you out then you’ll save that money.
If you don’t want to get your laptop fixed, or if getting it fixed would cost too much, you can look into a replacement laptop or a new laptop. Again, ebay.com has some great used laptops for good prices. Be careful because you probably won’t be getting a laptop with a warranty or guarantee. In other words, a used laptop could break two weeks after you get it, leaving you in the same situation.
Having a broken laptop can also be a good excuse for buying a new laptop. New laptops are available as low as $300 to $400 for an entry level laptop. It is generally thought that with most things you get what you pay for, so it could be better to look for a laptop in the $700 range or more.
When searching for a new or used laptop, think about what you used your previous laptop the most for. Was it sufficient for what you needed to do? Where could it have improved the most? Paying extra for the features and capabilities that you wished you had in your old laptop could really make things enjoyable in the future.
Why did your laptop get broken in the first place? Was it anything you did on your part – for example dropping it or spilling something? If so, it could be a good idea to invest in an extended warranty. With an extended warranty your laptop could be covered for as long as 3 years, so if anything happens you can easily get a replacement.
Good luck on fixing your laptop – I hope this helped you try to figure out your options moving forward.
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