Broken laptop

[12noon]

My laptop started to get a small crack at one of the joints where i open it up. Anyway the crack got bigger and now the screen has stopped working. Can this be mended ?

The laptop is about one and a half years old and isn't a bad laptop at all. It's just that the screen doesn't work any more. I am planning to buy a new laptop, but if i can fix the old one as well, then that would be great.

BTW it's a Microstar Md2020 laptop.

[Andy]

The screen is probably connected to the main board via a flexy-ribbon connection. This is like a very thin plastic sheet with copper tracks embedded in it. Sometimes these tracks crack and are difficult to repair since they are so delicate. But what may have happened is that the connector strip simply got pulled out of the mating connector or miss-aligned The ribbon needs to be pushed fully home into the connector without bending and a clamp bar is then pushed into place to clamp it. This bar only moves in-out by around 1mm though. It has to be out before you insert the ribbon cable. To repair the plastic crack I would try JB Weld which is a 2-part adhesive available from Halfords (automotive spares) in the UK.

Here endeth the lesson from a seasoned PC bodger 

[12noon]

I'll see if i can post a picture to show you what i'm talking about. I don't have time just yet, but will do it later. It does sound like what you've said could be the problem though. Either that or the display its self has broken.

BTW I looked on the back of the laptop and it's made by Medion so i've emailed them to ask the same question. My wife said we got the laptop from Dixons in May 2004.

[SensoVision]

I bet that Andy is right about the problem, I've seen same problems before with mobile phones and once with the notebook.

[12noon]

I've got to send the laptop to my insurance company tonight and i should get either a replacement or the money to buy another one.
 
It's taken ages for the insurance people to get back to me.

[rosie]

That sucks for a 1 1/2 year old laptop to fall apart already! I think my 1 year HP printer mabe be broken already! It says cartriages cannot move and to check for paper stuck but their is no obstruction...I've tried uninstalling the printer and software and reinstalling, manually cleaning the carriage bar etc...nothing helping so far.

[12noon]

Some laptops are made better than others and this one just wasn't good enough. Opening and closing it, made the joints start to crack.
 
For the insurance, i said that it fell off the bed and broke. I couldn't say that it was just opening it that broke it. Anyway if they send me the money for it, i should be able to get a much better one for the price. Lets see how much they will pay first though.

BTW it's a Medion Microstar Md2020 laptop.

[SensoVision]

That sucks for a 1 1/2 year old laptop to fall apart already! I think my 1 year HP printer mabe be broken already! It says cartriages cannot move and to check for paper stuck but their is no obstruction...I've tried uninstalling the printer and software and reinstalling, manually cleaning the carriage bar etc...nothing helping so far.

What printer do you have Rosie, my girl has HP 5550 which is about 2 years and suddenly their cartridges stuck in one position and there is no way to move it... warranty is run off of course On other side I had Epson Stylus Color 640 which is about 7 or more years old(don't remember exactly) which still works.

Some laptops are made better than others and this one just wasn't good enough. Opening and closing it, made the joints start to crack.
 
For the insurance, i said that it fell off the bed and broke. I couldn't say that it was just opening it that broke it. Anyway if they send me the money for it, i should be able to get a much better one for the price. Lets see how much they will pay first though.

BTW it's a Medion Microstar Md2020 laptop.

wish you luck in getting money from your company. BTW my father had two laptops both Compaq(first was originally made by Compaq and second by HP), both seems to have good assembling quality although second is much more power hungry, I guess it's because of Intel processor inside which consume more power comparing to previous AMD and possibly more powerful video card. BTW current laptop is Compaq HP EVO N1020v. You can work from battaries for about two hours or so.

[Andy]

My Laptop is a Fujitsu Siemens model and I am very happy with it. It seems well constructed and was at a budget price from Dabs.com so I would recommend anyone looking to buy a cheap Laptop to go for one of these. The combination of Japanese and German collaboration must be a good thing for reliability I think. However it is quite new so I can't really claim anything for long-term reliability.

[rosie]

What printer do you have Rosie, my girl has HP 5550 which is about 2 years and suddenly their cartridges stuck in one position and there is no way to move it... warranty is run off of course  On other side I had Epson Stylus Color 640 which is about 7 or more years old(don't remember exactly) which still works.

Hi Denis, I have an Hp Deskset 3820 and sounds like same problem. I have an HP digial camera that I have worked very hard since 2001 and it's wonderful so I wanted to buy HP, but this printer has changed my mind about that for future purchases.

[SensoVision]

yeah, for some reason I put more trust in EPSON lately. Rosie, have you tried to give it to service center? Just wonder if they explained what's wrong with the printer.

As for Fujitsu-Siemens they seems to make good devices(from what I've heard, I also have used Fujitsu and Siemens equipment separately), although this brand isn't imported here a lot.

[rosie]

Denis my husband wants to take it to a service center, but I think the cost of a repair would not be worth it as they are selling for what a repair would most likely cost.

[SensoVision]

Denis my husband wants to take it to a service center, but I think the cost of a repair would not be worth it as they are selling for what a repair would most likely cost.

that's why I'm reluctant to bring our printer to service... The only reason why I may try to repair it is that we had two new color cartridges.
Rosie, if you got any info from service department, please let me know, I'd be interested to know what was the problem with your printer and is it's plague of all HPs or not...

[rosie]

I am actually going to try and fool with it myself some more when I get time. I did get the lights to stop flashing and it looks like it is already to go , but it isn't! I am going to try reinstalling etc...but I do not think it will be helped by me! >:(I will let you know how it goes. I undertand about the cartriages! Those things are spendy!/b] I pay around $50.00 USD for a color...

[12noon]

Rosie,

If you do end up having to buy a new printer, make sure it's one you can get cheap ink for. EPSON is usualy good for cheap ink. Don't end up like me with the last printer i had. The ink was going to cost almost as much as the printer cost. I had a house phone / fax / scanner / printer all in one and ended up putting it in the bin because the price of the ink was well over the top.
 
Hope you manage to get your printer fixed instead of having to buy a new one anyway.