Hivemind: laptop repair without extortion?
Consider, hypothetically, that one had dropped one's laptop, breaking the backlight to the LCD screen but leaving the screen itself intact. Consider also that the authorised repair company for the laptop manufacturer (name omitted to protect the thieving monopolistic b*st*rds innocent) said that the whole screen has to be replaced at a cost of nearly $500, when it seems that it is theoretically quite possible to replace just the lamp, a component that is worth in the region of $20.
Now suppose, hypothetically of course, that the owner of said laptop is too stingy environmentally responsible to throw away a perfectly good LCD screen. Where in Wellington might that theoretical owner find a reliable, reasonably-priced independent laptop repairer?
to a certain extent it depends on what brand of laptop you're working with, but i've found that the good folks at http://ifix.co.nz/ are able to handle just about anything Apple related
No, it's a PC, not an Apple (it's some other brand of monopolists). For $500 I (erm, I mean "the owner") almost thought "sod it, for that I could almost buy an eeePC", but it's not a good idea to chuck out an otherwise healthy $3500 laptop.
There is/was a laptop repair specialist out Ngauranga way who quoted me a reasonable price for a poer supply repair. They offered me a discount if I took it in already deassembled too (whihc was going to be the costly bit) I think it was Portable COmputer Services?
i think your best bet is finding some geek who loves taking things apart and putting them back together. I could name many a geek on twitter or working at catalyst who might be happy to help out in return for a dozen epic
Try http://www.open.net.nz/
Many thanks for all your suggestions.
That's pretty much what I (I mean, the hypothetical owner) had been doing for the last 6 months, using a borrowed monitor. But that's got to go back, and fixing the screen is probably cheaper than a decent monitor. Besides, I've got sick of having to sit in a corner using it as a desktop, when I really want it to be a proper laptop.
Ta anyway.
Besides, I've got sick of having to sit in a corner using it as a desktop, when I really want it to be a proper laptop.
You mean your friend, right?
Don't you have contents insurance?
At Trilogic we will replace just the backlight if required. We repair all faults on any make of laptop from power connector to motherboard component fault. We specialise in fast laptop repair.
The Laptop Company
I'm not sure that you'll find someone that would just replace the backlight, it is a pretty tricky job, as in the factory its done in a totally dust free environment as any dust would affect the screen. Good luck though :)