Laptops - repair or replace?

[Jobos]

We have 30 Samsung i5 300E5C 4GB ram laptops that have SSDs and run win7. They are 5 years old, most have a floppy screen hinge but on the whole still run ok apart from the battery which doesn't hold it's charge for long so the HT has asked me about replacing the batteries. An easy task but as the laptops are so old I have reservations that this will just put off the inevitable and next year the laptops will need replacing anyway.

 

So is it worth spending money on a 5 year old laptop or should we go for replacement laptops?

Edited December 14, 2018 by Jobos
Wrong OS!

[fiza]

Depends what the laptops are used for. You may want to consider Chromebooks as a replacement. Much cheaper.

[Jawloms]

Have you got any computer suites which don't have SSDs in? If so, could you offer pros and cons of replacing the 5 year old laptops, putting their SSDs in a suite thereby extending the life of that too vs replacing batteries on 5 year old laptops with dodgy hinges and also still having to upgrade the suite at some point?

[atcoates]

If the screen hinges can't be easily repaired then that's going to be the expensive part. A new battery will certainly help and the base spec is pretty good. 8gb would be ideal but unless you could pick those up for £10 a laptop it wouldn't be worth the investment. If the laptops were going to run for another 2-3 years then I'd say probably worth spending £30-£40 per laptop to get a new battery and resolve the hinge issues.

 

If the school wanted them to run longer than 5 years they should have invested in something more robust in the first place like a Dell Lattitude etc. I'd consider Samsung more consumer grade devices. Not much help now I appreciate but might help to sway them for your next batch of laptops.

[FN-GM]

They sound pretty worn out. By the time you spend money on new hinges, a battery and man hours to work on them it won't be worth it. I would strip out the SSD and RAM and upgrade something else and replace them with new. You will extend the life of another device and not throw good money at at old laptops that will be inevitably changed anyway.

 

As another note I would consider those hinges a health and safety risk. You don't want the screen falling onto someones fingers.

[Fazza]

The hinges on laptops are not normally repairable as it tends to not actually be the hinges that 'go' but the bits of plastic they screw in to snap of the case so if your users can put up with the hinges and the laptops still run OK then Id say get some 2Power compatible batteries for them to keep them running longer.

 

I'd also look at upgrading the OS upgrading to 8 (or preferably 10) may speed them up a bit.

[Jobos]

Thanks for the advice.

@Fazza is correct in that the hinges are ok it’s the case where the hinges screw to that’s damaged because the screen has been pushed back too far.

 

There isn’t any suite in this school anymore as it got converted into a classroom but the LA did pay for the 30 laptops when it was converted.

 

So thanks again for the advice. I would like newer laptops anyway at least something with AC WiFi as updates take an age at the moment.

[HTCPCP]

All depends on what is failing on the hinges - might be worth opening one up and seeing what the issue is.

From experience, home grade laptop hinges go soft because they just work their way loose, as they aren't designed for constant opening or closing. Normally this should be repairable by just tightening them up a bit - but it's not a permanent fix. When you are doing it though, it's also a good chance to give them a good clean - especially the fan.

 

If the hinges are seizing - get them into that junk pile, because as soon as it starts to move away from the bezel, it gets costly!

Edited December 14, 2018 by HTCPCP

[hardtailstar]

We have some 7 year old laptops we repair as they still run good.

 

Repairing them will give them another life.

[Fazza]

Have you seen this stuff:

 

https://sugru.com/

 

When you take it out of the packet it's like a weak version of blu-tack but after a few hours it sets solid and may help secure a faulty hinge to the laptop base - assuming there is room for the sugru that is. You can get it off Amazon.

[dhicks]

So is it worth spending money on a 5 year old laptop or should we go for replacement laptops?

 

We have laptops of a similar age we're using as fixed workstations in the staffroom, with power supplies plugged in and batteries removed so staff aren't tempted to wander off with them. You could add a simple laptop stand and a keyboard and mouse, if you have the space for it.

[southhamster]

If it's just the screws working loose and falling out you may find some loctite screwlock helps. Don't use nutlock or you'll never get them undone (much higher torque required). Thehe stone clevo laptops seem very prone to this so we keep spare screws from scrapped laptops.

We had a couple of the Samsung laptops and they had the same floppy hinge problem but both have died now anyway.

[haci]

If the school wanted them to run longer than 5 years they should have invested in something more robust in the first place like a Dell Lattitude etc. I'd consider Samsung more consumer grade devices. Not much help now I appreciate but might help to sway them for your next batch of laptops.

 

Have a stack of 15 or so 5 year old Dell latitudes with snapped hinges/damaged mounting sat in our stores and many more that have been stripped and thrown, the largest cause of failure by a country mile and started appearing after around 3 years, not what I would call robust or any more able to last more than 5 years than another brand/make.

 

on topic - I'd be looking to replace them rather than speed them up/replace batteries etc but that obviously depends on budget or lack of it!

Edited December 14, 2018 by haci

[ataylor]

We have 30 from VeryPC that are 3.5 years old and out of warranty most the hinges are starting to go (when they go, opening the screen puts stress on the motherboard) and we can't get replacement chassis! I've had to hold the chassis together with a proxy resin so I hope I don't have to get inside them again. i5, 4th gen with 4GB ram - Thinking i'm going to have to replace them. Edited December 14, 2018 by ataylor

[Ditto]

Depends what the laptops are used for. You may want to consider Chromebooks as a replacement. Much cheaper.

Or if you can still use them, convert them to CBs with Neverware.

[difinity]

Superglue and toilet paper holds brass captive nuts firm. I've repaired consumer grade laptops that kids use and it's still holding strong.

Hot glue also works as it gives a bit of flex, just don't be shy with it.

 

Most laptops need servicing/checking regularly, screws work loose over time with bumps and bangs.

[m25man]

For broken and weakened hinge mounting areas I regularly used the epoxy putty sticks and a dremel to rebuild them.

Sometimes it’s invisible, other times I’ll drill right through and fit nuts and bolts to secure the hinges.

I would say I’ve only ever needed to do this on the cheaper consumer grade laptops.

I personally can’t recall ever having to do serious hinge repairs on the “real” corporate laptops we’ve had! but that’s the buy cheap buy twice culture endemic in school IT.

[Fazza]

Superglue and toilet paper holds brass captive nuts firm.

 

I don't suppose you have any photos of your handy work as I'm intrigued by this method?

[Ditto]

Superglue and toilet paper holds brass captive nuts firm. I've repaired consumer grade laptops that kids use and it's still holding strong.

Hot glue also works as it gives a bit of flex, just don't be shy with it.

Most laptops need servicing/checking regularly, screws work loose over time with bumps and bangs.

I hear quilted triple-ply is best, but avoid at all cost those with aloe vera impregnation.