Concering laptops - proper maintenance!

[jazzhound]

Hi,

I'm a proud owner of a laptop (first one) and was wondering from all the bending of the LCD will it eventually slack? This concern is really hindering myself from enjoying it as I"m abit stingy and want to keep it working/looking as new as the day I first used it.


I suppose everything gets worned out, when they do there must be shops that retighten them back right ?


I apologize in advance for the ridiculous question.


Thanks !

 

[Bozz]

Good question!!

Yes the hinges eventually do slacken on many notebooks, you haven't said which one you have so I can't comment from experience

Many notebooks it is simply a case of disassembling the base unit until you can get to the hinges and most use a compression washer (dont worry if you dont know what it is) and about 5 groups of a keyed washer and a regular washer, all held together tightly and lubricated with graphite grease. Eventually the grease drys up and the hinges get loose (sounds more funny because the grease actually provides the friction in this case). It is a tedious procedure to do but it can be done with no worries.

Most problems are usually cracked plastic cabinet around the hinge on the screen part because it is subjected to the most torque where the hinge is attached to the back part of the screen cabinet. This is extremely common and often not covered under warranty even though often it is a design error on part of the laptop manufacturer. The next most common problem is the clip(s) that hold the screen to the base break, again not a warranty issue. The third most common fault with laptops is the coffee or coke spilled into it... Again not a warranty issue

To keep your laptop looking great a new paintbrush with soft bristles is the best thing you can get for it, occasionally brush the crap out of the keyboard and all the corners where dust gathers...

Cheers

 

[jazzhound]

Pardon me for saying but that's a damn fine effort there buds !!! much appriciated.

I picked up the Fujitsu C6611. Kinda lazy to list the specs so here is the link if interested.

http://www.fujitsupc.com/www/products_notebooks.shtml?products/notebooks/c_series

Thanks agian for the indept reply.

I wonder how long til I spill my first beverage tee hee.. god knows my desktop keyboard has endured hell and alot more.

I'll pick up a brush later today cuz I"ve already managed to get some chocolate crumbs in there. grr !

 

[corkyg]

These are all excellent comments. The hinge problems sometimes are model specific. Sometimes given models will have chronic problems where the hinges are too tight and they sieze up and eventually crack. That is an expensive fix.

Another common maintenance item is the battery . . . most today are Li-ion. When new, they should be fully charged before use, and then given a calibration run (usually in BIOS) that completely discharges them while at the same time, setting the "gas gauge" in the laptop.

This process should be repeated ever couple of months for the life of the battery. You will be a longer battery life that way. Otherwise you can probably expect it to crap out after a couple of years.

Also, it pays to reseat things every several months . . . what ever you can access. HDD, CPU, RAM . . . all are subject to vibration.