Laptop repair

[Deftscythe]

My friend broke the screen on his laptop and is planning on dropping 2.4k on a new one without, to my knowledge, having even looked into repairing the old one. Assuming the screen cannot be repaired and must be replaced (I believe he described it as having cracked, I have not seen the damage myself), can anyone estimate the cost? I want to try to convince him to save some money if he can, as he tends to spend frivolously.

I know this isn't a ton to go on, but for what it's worth I believe the laptop is a Dell, past it's warranty but less than 5 years old.

[Blabj]

It'll have to be through dell. Since it's out of warranty they'll charge for the cost of repairs (materials) + labour so it will probably be quite expensive.

It sounds like quite an old laptop too. If I were you, I'd let your friend spend the money on a nice new Intel i5/i7 machine if he has the cash to splash.

[orinthia]

Depends. You could get real lucky finding a similar but broken laptop on craigslist and just put the non-broken parts together. Or ebay the screen and do the repair yourself. To give you an idea of price, my craptop's screen on ebay in used condition is around $30-$60, and it's like 5-7 years old or so (though it's probably a common business laptop, dell d600). Just be sure to find a disassembly manual for your laptop and a good set of small screwdrivers and you can fix it pretty cheaply.

[Zansho]

there's a place here in Austin, TX that actually does that sort of work, for a nominal charge. They replace laptop screens on any dell for $99.00.

It's called Mr. Notebook, and second place you could do is called Discount Electronics.

Worth a shot to call them and ask how much they'd do it for you if it's out of town.

[Guppy]

My friend broke the screen on his laptop and is planning on dropping 2.4k on a new one without, to my knowledge, having even looked into repairing the old one.

If it's only the screen, it can be replaced yourself if you're handy with a screwdriver. There are places selling new LCD screens/backlights for most models, maybe $100-$200 depending on your screen type, just google "[model number] lcd screen" and you'll get a bunch of ads for places.

Better than getting a secondhand parts unit from ebay, since there's no way of knowing how much life is left on the backlight (if cold-cathode fluorescent type), or if it has any damage/defects to the screen itself.