How to repair a laptop—some simple tips

Last updated: January 15, 2010.

We've come a long way since the ENIAC—that infamous, 30-ton beast of a calculator, developed in the 1940s, that paved the way for the modern computer age. One really notable thing about machines like the ENIAC was that they broke down regularly. Thankfully, modern computers built from integrated circuits are much more reliable, but they're not always so easy to fix. Laptops are a particular nuisance because they're miniaturized: all the parts are compact and jammed into a really tight space. Worse than that, some parts are made to fit only one specific machine. While the external keyboard for a desktop computer is an off-the-shelf component you can replace for a few dollars, the one on a laptop is generally made to fit only one machine (or one make of computer) and a replacement, carried out by a dealer, could cost you a quarter the price of a new machine!

But don't worry, because some of the most common things that go wrong with laptops are surprisingly easy to fix all by yourself. If you're reasonably competent (and confident), and your broken machine looks like it's heading for the scrap heap anyway, why not investigate whether you can fix it yourself before you buy a new computer? Here are some simple tips based on my own experiences owning and repairing laptops over the last decade or so.

Photo: Don't junk your laptop just because it develops a fault. Investigate and see how easy it is to repair. It'll save you lots of money! This old laptop of mine has been repaired about half-a-dozen times now and still works fine.

1. Take a backup

If your machine is still working, be sure to backup the entire hard-drive (or at least your most important documents) before you start. Copy the whole of your "My documents" (or "Documents" on a Linux machine) onto a USB flash drive or burn it onto a CD-ROM. If your computer won't boot to let you back it up, you may be able to boot it from a CD-ROM or startup floppy (remember those?) and then copy files that way. If you're pretty sure the hard drive is intact, you may want to remove that and put it somewhere safe before you try other repairs. You'll generally be able to read the hard drive from one machine in another, though you probably won't be able to boot up from it in a different machine.

One thing to note in passing is that making backups only when your computer has just crashed is a bit silly. Get into the habit of making backups regularly. Corporate IT departments usually back up their systems every night. Since I work from home, I make sure I back up the documents folder on my hard drive once a week without fail: it takes about a minute to copy the whole thing onto a USB memory stick, overwriting one of the backups from previous weeks. Try to organize your computer so the regularly changed items are in one place and quicker to copy. Backup less frequently changed things (maybe your photo or music collection) less often. Remember you can use things like MP3 players to store computer files as well as music, so you can use those as handy portable backups if you need to. Another good tip is to keep an offsite backup somewhere. Keep a copy of your home computer's documents folder on a USB drive in your desk at work, for example. Then you're better protected against things like fire and theft.

2. Work around with a plugin

Virtually every modern laptop has several USB sockets and it's easy to plug in an external keyboard, mouse, screen, webcam, hard drive, and so on. Most laptops also have a PCMCIA card socket (a thin slot on one side) where you can plug in an external modem, Wi-Fi card, or USB hub. If something obvious breaks on your laptop, the simplest, cheapest, and easiest "repair" you can make is often to switch to an external device. So, for example, if your keyboard breaks, you can use a plugin USB keyboard. If your sound card packs up, get yourself something like a Griffin iMic (a little sound card that plugs into your USB port). If the modem stops working, use a plugin modem card in the PCMCIA port. If one of your USB sockets stops working, get a plugin USB hub and use that in one of the other USB sockets instead; if all your USB sockets fail, get a PCMCIA USB hub. You can usually buy these sorts of addon "peripherals" for a few dollars on eBay and you can fit them in seconds, yourself, without tinkering inside your computer or worrying about making things worse. Job done!

3. Know your "service flaps"

Understandably enough, most laptop users spend all their time looking at the keyboard and the screen. But if you spend a moment looking at the underside of your machine, you'll find there are maybe half-a-dozen little plastic flaps, secured with one or two screw or slide clips, giving access to the components most likely to go wrong and need replacing. Generally, you can remove the battery, the hard drive, and add extra memory, and you may also be able to replace the CPU fan—all without going into the innards of the machine.

A few years ago, when I crashed the hard-drive on my nearly new laptop, I took it into a dealer for a very expensive repair, which would have involved unplugging the broken drive and swapping it for a completely new one and probably took about a minute. Shortly afterward, I discovered I could have done the same job myself by removing a couple of screws on the base of my machine. It would have been easy to look up the part number on Google or eBay and order myself a new drive at a fraction the price I was charged.

Take a few moments to look through the manual that came with your machine. Find out what flaps it has underneath and what you can easily gain access to and repair.

Photo: This laptop has five small flaps underneath giving easy access to the main components by lifting only a couple of screws. It varies from machine to machine, but on this one: 1 is the battery; 2 is for memory expansion; 3 is the hard drive; 4 is the LAN card; 5 is the CPU fan and CPU.

4. Google your symptoms

If your computer's problem isn't obvious, try Googling the symptoms. That's how I discovered the LCD screen inverter needed replacing on one of my old laptops: the screen was flickering and occasionally going dark, but I could still see what was written on it very clearly. Having learned about the risks of replacing an inverter (it's a high-voltage component), I took appropriate precautions, then removed a couple of screws on the bottom of my laptop's screen and ventured inside. It was easy and cheap to order a new part from eBay and I fitted a replacement in about thirty seconds. I was amazed and delighted that I'd turned a useless, trashworthy machine into something as good as new with virtually zero effort.

5. Find your spare part

Once you know what's wrong with your computer, you'll generally need to replace one or more parts. Locating the right part is half the battle when you're making repairs. Assuming you can get at them, fitting spares is often much easier than it sounds. The parts most likely to go wrong are the ones under the little flaps on the base of your machine. Simply read off the part number and type it into Google and eBay and see what you find. Often, you'll find an official replacement from the manufacturer and maybe cheaper equivalents made by other companies. You'll find secondhand bits recovered from broken laptops on eBay. There are also lots of broken laptops for sale on eBay and it may be cheaper to buy a "spares and repair" version of your exact machine and salvage appropriate parts than to worry about finding one specific part. Then you'll have other spare bits ready for future failures as well!

6. Take care when fitting spares

The main parts of a laptop are usually modular and designed to be replaced. Things like a laptop keyboard, for example, simply plug into the circuit board with a little clip you can remove yourself; they're not soldered in place. That doesn't mean computer parts are robust: often they're easily damaged and can't withstand hamfisted repairs. Even if you handle them carefully, some parts (memory chips, for example) are susceptible to damage from static electricity. Google around before you fit a new part and read up on any special precautions you need to take. Don't be in a rush; your computer's not going anywhere.

7. How will it fail?

Although manufacturers probably don't design their machines to wear out (computers make themselves obsolete after a few years whether you use them or not), laptops certainly don't seem as well built as they were about a decade ago. Failures are more likely now computers are being used by a wider, less experienced group of people. It's worth anticipating when and how your new machine is likely to go wrong—and taking a bit more care to stop that happening.

For example, I am a writer and I pound my laptop for many hours each day. It came as no big surprise when I wore out the keyboard on my first laptop after only a couple of years, even though I'd owned typewriters that were decades old. I had my laptop professionally repaired, at great expense, and then did exactly the same thing again a couple of years later. This time I got the message: laptop keyboards are very flimsy compared to desktop ones and they're not designed for industrial-strength work. So, the next time I bought a laptop, I bought a cheap, external keyboard (which is far nicer to type on) and now I sit my laptop on a stand and pound the external keyboard instead, while my laptop's own keyboard sits there mostly unused. If I wear out the keyboard now, it's about five dollars for a replacement. (You can use an external mouse and screen in much the same way. Once your laptop is sitting on a desk all day plugged into peripherals, you might ask yourself why you didn't buy a desktop machine to begin with; they're generally far easier to upgrade and repair.)

If you look through the broken machines for sale on eBay, you'll find a few other common causes of laptop mortality. Liquid damage is high up the list. Spill a cup of coffee on a laptop and you can be reasonably confident it won't work again, so get into the habit of drinking away from the machine. Broken USB sockets are also reasonably common, usually caused by people trying to force plugs in the wrong way around. USB connectors are inherently robust—they're meant to be "plug and play"—but that doesn't mean they're indestructible. Bear in mind that the sockets you plug your peripherals into are soldered (sometimes not that well) directly onto a circuit board in your machine and if you press them too hard, too often, you can break the connections. So treat your laptop with a bit of care and respect and it'll repay you with years of faithful service. I have a Toshiba dating from 1996 that stills works fine; I'd still be using the ENIAC if it would only run Firefox.