Physical Laptop Repairer

[Yamer]

I have an HP laptop that needs a physical repair. The problem is that most places I call in and around Red Deer say that they don't do physical repairs to computer systems and that I would have to send it back to the manufacturer.

I can't be without my laptop for weeks on end, and would prefer to schedule something somewhere and have it repaired over the course of a day or two. I am outside of the warranty as well, so I'll have to pay either way.

The specific problem is that the black base/panel has become separated from the top portion in a single area near one of the hinges. I suspect the weight of the screen has pushed downward and separated the pieces. I can hear the screw rattling around as well.

The big problem is that this is on the side with the fan, and the problem is slowly getting worse as I open and close the laptop.

Does anyone know a place that would do this kind of work? I would prefer something closer to Red Deer, but I don't mind making a trip or two to Calgary or Edmonton if it's needed.

Thanks in advance.

[DoubleF]

Memex is $50 an hour. Because the issue isn't well known this could be a $50 bill or $250 bill. Closest would be Edmonton for you I believe.

Another option is searching random forums/youtube about the issue and then trying to fix it yourself.

Last option is buying a new laptop that is 80-90% similar in specs, then taking your old HDD and placing it inside the new laptop (AFAIK, this doesn't void warranties in most laptops and I'm assuming a new install is useless to you). Swapping an HDD is easy. Even a person who has never once done this before can probably do this in about 60 minutes or less without damaging anything (You would end up opening two laptops, so the original one as practice and the newer one opening will go much easier).

[FireGilbert]

Yeah I agree with point above. See if you can try and fix it yourself or enlist the help of someone with small nimble hands.

A while back I broke the screen on my HP laptop. I had the same issue of no computer shops willing to work on it and the only option was to drop it off a HP authorized repair shop which wanted $80 just to look at it (the freaking screen was broken, you don't need to spend any time diagnosing the problem!). I ended up finding a replacement screen online for about $120 and just did it myself. It was a little tricky unscrewing and rescrewing the tiny screws but other than that no issues and the new screen worked fine.

[Yamer]

Thanks for the input. I attempted to do the job myself after watching a video on the 'hows' for this model. Trouble is, to get the panel off I have to pop out the rubber bumpers/feet, and almost massacred one trying to do it.

I could try it again as it really is a very simple thing to try and fix.

I'll definitely have to buy a replacement bottom panel. Any good suggestions on where to get those kind of parts?

That said, a $250~ tab to fix this computer would save me the $1250 I would need to fully replace it. I love the computer (apart from the useless touch screen), and it's only a little over a year old. As long as they have the part, it should really only take them 2 hours to fix it.

[Hack&Lube]

What model is it? The bumper/feet should be easy to remove but you might need to replace the adhesive backing. It sounds more like a physical problem that needs to be fixed by clicking some parts back together or gluing something that has cracked. It's not a technical problem that a computer repair place would be fixing.

Best to do it yourself.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

What model is it? The bumper/feet should be easy to remove but you might need to replace the adhesive backing. It sounds more like a physical problem that needs to be fixed by clicking some parts back together or gluing something that has cracked. It's not a technical problem that a computer repair place would be fixing.

Best to do it yourself.

HP Envy 17 Touchsmart. From brief research, although there are a few different model #s, the parts for this series are fairly interchangeable.

Definitely just a physical problem. Unless the screw stripped the plastic when it popped out, I may be able to simply screw it all back into place.

The rubber feet are stuck on there real, real good. I would have to re-glue them once it is all said and done (would have to anyway, I know), but on my first go I was really prying and wrenching to get them off and I was worried I was going to do more damage than good.

[DoubleF]

Rubber feet usually come off easily with a nice flat item like a butter knife or something like that inserted at a slight angle, then slid around the edges of the foot. You can consider this method next time. You might not have to reglue them. There might be easily enough glue to stick the foot back on afterwards.

I'm not entirely sure which part you need, but Ebay for refurb or used parts might be an option.

I have an HP envy 17" as well. No touch screen. Top left has been making clicking noises by the hinge/security cable location. I haven't heard any rattling so I've been lazy and putting off taking it apart and dealing with the minor clicking noise due to slight separation of the plastic pieces from the aluminium.

[Fuzz]

A little bit of heat can often help persuade the glue to let go.

[Yamer]

Thanks again, everyone.

So I fully took apart the laptop today to see the extent of the damage. Unfortunately, the upper base with the keyboard AND the lower plastic case are damaged at the split point. As I suspected, the hinge, made of a heavy metal to support the touch screen, had broken away from the upper base. All 3 screws with their brass fixings and most of the plastic.

I cleaned out the broken plastic, removed the broken and loose brass fixing for one of the screws, and decided to glue the hinge back into the upper base using Gorilla glue epoxy. I'm going to let it cure for about 48 hours and hope it does the trick. I'm also going to use some gorilla tape near the split.

If this doesn't work I'll just bite the bullet and send it in. Unless anyone has other suggestions?

[DoubleF]

Are you concerned about the clicking or the laptop fan? Laptop fans I saw were like 30-40 bucks on ebay. Consider replacing that? Is there also a way to insert maybe a screw or something vertical to better manage the weight between the laptop and the plastic section so that the weight isn't always on the hinge?

Also, how portable do you need your laptop to be? Can you just leave it open most of the time and use it in that manner? Or hook it up to external screens while it's in a closed position and use it that way?

I dunno if it's worth sending in TBH. Personally, I'd consider a Lenovo with similar specs to swap the HDD to and use the old HP with the Lenovo's HDD as an HTPC.

But fingers crossed your DIY fix works.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Are you concerned about the clicking or the laptop fan? Laptop fans I saw were like 30-40 bucks on ebay. Consider replacing that? Is there also a way to insert maybe a screw or something vertical to better manage the weight between the laptop and the plastic section so that the weight isn't always on the hinge?

Also, how portable do you need your laptop to be? Can you just leave it open most of the time and use it in that manner? Or hook it up to external screens while it's in a closed position and use it that way?

I dunno if it's worth sending in TBH. Personally, I'd consider a Lenovo with similar specs to swap the HDD to and use the old HP with the Lenovo's HDD as an HTPC.

But fingers crossed your DIY fix works.

It's my go-to laptop for everything (office, gaming, browsing, etc.) so it needs to be able to move around when I need it to. Ideally, I would have used it to replace my media computer and bought a new one, but I'm not in a strong financial position.

Fan hasn't been a problem. My only worry has been that the separated plastic would obstruct the fan and the computer might overheat and cause damage.

The hinge piece pulled and broke away the plastic and brass fixing from the upper plastic case. Without fully replacing both panels, there is no way a screw was going to work. So I'm hedging my bets on gluing the hinge to the panel.

As I say, I'm going to give it a few days to let the epoxy cure and harden, and hopefully by taping the side where the split is it adds enough support to keep everything in place.

[DoubleF]

Sorry, by screw I meant some type of metal reinforcement. Maybe a small bracket or something. I don't know what the inside looks like even though I've been suggesting fixes. :P

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Sorry, by screw I meant some type of metal reinforcement. Maybe a small bracket or something. I don't know what the inside looks like even though I've been suggesting fixes. :P

I see. To be honest, I'm not going to get too creative over this. When I opened it up and realized what was going on (hinge simply pushing against the bottom panel and opening up the side) it's not a huge concern...as long as the fan doesn't become damaged.

But as you say, replacing that is rather simple as well.

[Hack&Lube]

epoxy should be plenty strong enough for a thin notebook that isn't mean to be rugged or tossed around. The only problem would be if you need to ever open those parts again.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

epoxy should be plenty strong enough for a thin notebook that isn't mean to be rugged or tossed around. The only problem would be if you need to ever open those parts again.

Luckily, if it ever comes to that point, I will be replacing the parts outright. With the way it is I can still get to every major component of the computer without issue.

My primary worry about the epoxy is that the screen/hinge combo is pretty heavy and stiff. Of course, that stuff hardens like plastic when all is said and done, so hopefully I slathered enough on to do the job.

[Fuzz]

If the hinge is to stiff, is there a screw you can loosen the tension with?

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If the hinge is to stiff, is there a screw you can loosen the tension with?

No, but I imagine it is that way to support the girth of the touch screen.