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186
 
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Last Login: 19/11/2008 22:52:21
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I recently cracked the screen on my laptop rendering it unusable. However, I found out that they're not that hard to replace. I ordered a second-hand screen and replaced it myself. It cost £120 including delivery, and it took about 3/4 of an hour to fix. Well worth it.
Maybe other components can be fixed quite easily? PSU's? Hard Drives? even Motherboards? Would it be worth an investigation and an article?
Just a thought...
Bombus
FYI: Athlon 64 X2 4400+, Asrock 939 Dual-SATA2, 1.5 Gig RAM, Sapphire X1600 Pro, Win XP Pro
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386
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| its certainly possible to fix most bits of hardware (I do it on a regular basis at work). but you have to weigh up your time (including looking for elusive chips/caps n things), is it worth it for a £40 motherboard that can easily be replaced!? proberbly not... For Gods sake though do not even attempt to repair a PSU or crt monitor unless you really know your electronics as a false slip of the hand can either give you a bit of a buzz or kill you!
Regards
Dale (MBCS,MCDST,(MCP 271,272,270,290)A+,ITIL v3 F,DSE Assessor)
www.dales-diary.blogspot.com
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186
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Yes, it would take time - but don't we enjoy doing this type of thing? Also, I just hate having to throw away a motherboard when maybe only one tiny little component has actually bust! Repair, re-use, recyle and all that.
Point taken re PSU's and CRT's!
Bombus
FYI: Athlon 64 X2 4400+, Asrock 939 Dual-SATA2, 1.5 Gig RAM, Sapphire X1600 Pro, Win XP Pro
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286
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| Hard drives aren't generally fixable, unless you've got a dust free environment at home, and unless you're an electronics engineer I'd stay well away from the inside of a PSU - as you could kill yourself quite easily. As for motherboards, the skills and equipment needed to find the fault are beyond most people, and surface mounted chips are impossible to replace by hand, as they're soldiered by a robot. Replacing parts is one thing, fixing them is something else.
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Octo-core Atom @ 233GHz (ES)
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but don't we enjoy doing this type of thing? Not in the least.  I don't have the time.
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186
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Nuff said!
Bombus
FYI: Athlon 64 X2 4400+, Asrock 939 Dual-SATA2, 1.5 Gig RAM, Sapphire X1600 Pro, Win XP Pro
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386
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You can replace surface mounted ic's, but you need a steady hand and either a magnifying glass or bionic eye to check you have not accidentally joined any legs with solder. Certainly not impossible but you do need a good eye to get it done right and most of the time its not obvious to the naked eye if an ic has gone bad, so you need to know alot about electronics to figure it out.
Regards
Dale (MBCS,MCDST,(MCP 271,272,270,290)A+,ITIL v3 F,DSE Assessor)
www.dales-diary.blogspot.com
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486
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| When you look at it from a hassle/time/cost perspective it is easier just to buy the new componant these days as the prices are getting cheaper and cheaper. Col
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