Tim Downie wrote:

Of course I could just send it off for repair but it's going to be a new
motherboard job and it probably needs a new battery too and and the end of
the day, it'll still be a fecking Packard Bell Easynote laptop. spit

How old is it?

Remember the sale of goods act gives you more than just the
manufacturers warranty so you may be able to get a *free* repair for a
number of years. If, however, it was so cheap you couldn't reasonably
expect it to last very long then you may be on a hiding to nothing.

MBQ