Why (and how) do people let things go *this* far before seeking repair (and its beyond repair)?

[britechguy]

Client owns this machine: Dell - G3 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Intel Core i7 9750H - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti - 512GB SSD. Windows 10
which is still sold and costs just under $1100. Not a cheap box by any means.

I get an e-mail, that includes the photos below, looking for a repair estimate that says, in part: "The hinge is breaking apart after a few years of use, and It's starting to pull apart the plastic around the screen. The screen and the keyboard no longer line up when it's closed. Also the keyboard no longer lights up, but that's not a major concern." Here are the photos:






It takes a lot of abuse to get anything to the state this is in, and there are plenty of hints (more than hints) that case cracking/disintegration and hinge issues are in the offing. These can be repaired if they're not too terribly severe even without getting new a new base cover, etc., if addressed relatively early.

This machine dates from 2019, a mere baby compared to many I deal with, and it's clearly been through at least one, if not several, proverbial wars.

I told the potential client, nicely, that a machine that has become this compromised is not economical to repair, and that things like "the keyboard not lighting up" could be anything from a cable to something beginning to go wonky on the motherboard.

Asking someone to try to fix a laptop in this shape is like taking a car that's been in an accordion-pleating style accident to your mechanic (not even body shop) and expecting that it can be fixed.

It's sad, as this could have been saved had action been taken quite a while back.

 

[Sky-Knight]

That laptop was dropped while open on to its back... probably 3ft at least to the floor to do that.

And yeah, repairing it would require upper and lower full chassis replacement, a new LCD assembly, and at least three hours of work. By the time you did all that, you're well into the range of a refurbished business grade Dell Latitude. So yeah, I wouldn't fix that, I'd replace it.

 

[britechguy]

@Sky-Knight

From my e-mail reply to potential client: "My advice to you would be to look for a refurbished business class laptop, and there are now a number of those coming to market off lease from all the makers. They are far more sturdily built than the ultra lightweight gaming laptops. I can help in data transfer and setup if you need it."

There's just no telling how much is broken in that thing, and the amount of time it would take to tear it down and put it back together again, with only new plastic parts (presuming that's all that's wrong) would still be more money than I'd be willing to take from a client for something that has the potential to just up and die from some as yet unseen result of that abuse.

It's funny, but I also just got a potential client (who happens to be a tech, but with no time) wanting me to look at his wife's Windows 7 (can't be upgraded to Windows 10, not that this would matter much now, anyway) laptop that's started to go wonky. I declined. I am now officially done with touching Windows 7 era hardware pretty much at all, and particularly any that can't upgrade to Windows 10. I own a now ancient ASUS laptop that would not upgrade from 7 to 10. All I remember is that there was a direct message when I tried it saying that it could not be updated. It wasn't a rollback situation, it wouldn't even allow the process to start and it seemed to be, based on memory, one of those "incompatible hardware" things.

 

[Blues]

I don't think I have run into any WIn7 hardware that won't upgrade to Win10 now it might not have security features present but nothing that prevents Windows 10 from installing. I have upgraded some fairly ancient Win7 systems to 10 for people over time I will add that I am including fresh installs of Win10 as an upgrade as I have had issues with some in place upgrades from Win7.

 

[DRPCNZ]

I don't think I have run into any WIn7 hardware that won't upgrade to Win10 now it might not have security features present but nothing that prevents Windows 10 from installing. I have upgraded some fairly ancient Win7 systems to 10 for people over time I will add that I am including fresh installs of Win10 as an upgrade as I have had issues with some in place upgrades from Win7.

I'm the same. Any that would not upgrade to Win 10 doing in place upgrade I was able to upgrade using fresh install including HP AIO EliteOne series

 

[14049752]

Maybe I've been doing laptop repairs too long...but that doesn't look bad to me at all. Just a broken hinge pulling away from the LCD top cover, maybe a hinge that needs replaced if it's not moving fluidly and causing undue stress on the plastic hinge mounts. The LCD panel doesn't even look damaged. I think you guys are grossly overestimating what's broken. It's not lining up because the right hinge isn't closing all the way, causing the lid to be skewed when closed. Seriously, it's just the top cover and possibly right hinge.....MAYBE front bezel.
Also, their wording says "years of use" NOT "years of being broken like this". Also, doesn't in any way look like a drop caused it to me.

The keyboard backlight could potentially be fixed if there is an als cable running through that hinge and it's pinched or damaged, or...maybe even just a bios update will restore that functionality.

I would have taken that repair any day of the week when I was running my shop.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@britechguy That ASUS laptop? Disable or remove the WIFI card in it, the upgrade will complete, and then you can turn it back on. A TON of ASUS gear did this going from Win10 1803 to 1809. So if you tried to upgrade to 1803 it'd just work.

You know, if you want to "fix it". But it's probably not worth it.

 

[britechguy]

@Sky-Knight: At some point I'll have to try to in-place upgrade that Asus laptop again and see what the message is that comes up.

I tried the upgrade *long* before 2018, so I am certain it wasn't tied to any of the 2018 feature updates. I was due for a new machine anyway, so I've just kept the thing as a Windows 7 reference machine, and these days that's really not necessary at all anymore.

@14049752: That's the beauty of this business, we each get to decide what we will, and will not, take on. I've taken on this precise sort of thing before, several times, and the amount of grief involved just isn't worth it for me. That's not to say that it mightn't be worth it for someone else. I've gotten a lot more picky about what I will do, and a lot more "stern" about what I will put up with as far as what I consider "unnecessary and unfortunate" repeat business. Clients who will not learn to take care of things that are simple to take care of, nor take advice and act on it, are not clients I want to keep doing the same stuff for again and again and generally having them be PO-ed because it has to be done again and again when they could change certain behaviors and stop it. I'm now (at age 60) too old to be tolerating that.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Reminds me this one that came to me couple years back.

https://www.technibble.com/forums/threads/some-people-should-not-have-nice-things.87249/

 

[britechguy]

in place upgrades from Win7

Just to be clear, this is always what I refer to when I say "upgrade." A completely clean install/reinstall AKA "nuke and pave" while resulting in a Windows 10 system, is not "an upgrade."

Since the time I last played with that Asus box I believe I clean installed Windows 7, too, but I'd have to fire it up again to see.

 

[fincoder]

Not a cheap box by any means.

Almost all gaming laptops are made cheaply. The expense is in the high-performance parts like CPU, GPU, screen, and beefier cooling system. Manufacturers cut as many corners as possible in all other areas to achieve a consumer-friendly price point.

Compare the cost of a gaming laptop to a business-grade mobile workstation (e.g. Dell Precision or HP ZBook) which have similar high-performance parts but also high build quality.

Some gaming laptops are a little better than others though. Dell's premium gaming range are the Alienware laptops. Had one in last week (Intel 6th gen) that was failing POST, no screen output, 7 beeps which means incompatible RAM but it had original parts only. I warned the customer that a gaming laptop of that age with those symptoms is likely to be expired but I looked at it anyway to recover data at least. Trying individual RAM modules in different slots, and a different RAM module, didn't help. Luckily I researched in Google for 5 minutes because there was a solution recommended by Dell to reset the BIOS by shorting pins under the RAM slots, then upgrade to more recent BIOS version to prevent the problem recurring. The Alienware was resurrected!

 

[14049752]

Clients who will not learn to take care of things that are simple to take care of, nor take advice and act on it, are not clients I want to keep doing the same stuff for again and again and generally having them be PO-ed because it has to be done again and again when they could change certain behaviors and stop it. I'm now (at age 60) too old to be tolerating that.

Yeah, but that's sort of my point. I'm not arguing you should have taken this or not....nor do I know if there's any prior relationship with this customer... But on the surface, it just looks like you're over estimating damage, assuming negligence and playing the "stupid customer can't take care of their stuff" card a little too hard. Honestly, all I see is a laptop that had plastic fatigue, hinges broke, and a customer that was asking for a very very very typical repair. There is no sign of and bent or dogeared plastic on that corner indicating a drop, and if you look at the lcd lid, you can see that the hinges only mount to the bottom of the lid, indicating a bad design by dell more than anything. For a laptop that expensive, it could be repaired for a fraction of the cost of a replacement, easily.

 

[frase]

@britechguy, I had one of these exact systems. There is a design fault with this particular model. The hinges used are not satisfactory with not enough mount and secure points on the base. This after time , the load simply breaks the standoffs. So I would not put the blame totally on the client in regards to the damage. It may be that they cannot afford to repair, or was one of those that they held off on for too long.

I had to order a new Bezel, back rear cover, and new improved hinges and screws. It was easy to repair though lengthy, and was much more sturdy than before. It has I think four extra mounting points.

This was what I ordered for the client.

 

[River Valley Computer]

FYI and probably most of you know it but most hinges are adjustable for tension. All you need is a 10mm wrench and loosen or tighten the nut
on the hinge in very small increments.

 

[frase]

FYI and probably most of you know it but most hinges are adjustable for tension. All you need is a 10mm wrench and loosen or tighten the nut
on the hinge in very small increments.

@River Valley Computer Yes this would apply to a normal functioning laptop, as I stated though this is a design fault even Dell admitted to. As in weight vs the hinge tension and stress areas with no available mounting points on the back cover. The latter release included applied these new design features and at the time issued a repair for those with this model.

Dell G3 Design Flaw

 

[vicmc]

ok back lol i had refreshed the page and it said i needed 5 post to read this but i read it n am back lol anyway a quick check on ebay shows me these parts are going for about 50 it should cover the whole repair except the lighted kb
Dell G3 15 3500 LCD Back Cover G3 15 3590 Rear Lid & Bezel & Hinges set & Screws
i would do that repair aswell but that is my job am currently working as a laptop tech in NC

 

[Ken's PC Repair]

We see a lot of these. Honestly, the hinge design is just poor. If your in the states this is where I order the cover and hings set: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1253245162.../DYZG5OcD8IHRNi0LbBNnjUQ==|tkp:Bk9SR9zV0PzqYQ