On Sunday, August 10, 2014 11:29:17 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Hint: Take a photo of the PCB, print it, put it over a sheet of

styrofoam, and shove the screws through the page in their original

locations. That way, you don't forget to reinstall any screws or put

the wrong length screw in the wrong hole.



As for "an appreciable fraction of a new laptop", I'm curious as to

what percentage of the cost of a new laptop you would be willing to

pay for a repair?



Thanks, very helpful. I've been trying to think of a good way to remember where the screws go. Neat trick.

The cost is a good question. I'm still using a laptop (not this one!) I paid $1,000 for ten years ago. It has a wonky fan and I'm backing up files waiting for it to die. The local shop quoted me $200 to fix it, which is 20% of the purchase price, but a new laptop that is faster and better in every way would run me $300, or a refurb would be $179.

I think the break point is not a percentage but an amount. $80 I would pay, $100 is a maybe, $120 is definitely no.