[ale] [OT] laptop hinge broke! day going downhill!

[Ron Frazier]

Greg,

Thanks for the note. I googled around for a while and couldn't find 
anything that looks like it's relevant to my machine. I called Dell and 
they said they'd be glad to fix the problem for $159. It's way out of 
warranty, so I'm not too surprised. According to them, the computer was 
manufactured around April 2008, so it survived 3 years. I personally 
think that is under designed.

I downloaded the service manual for the machine and looked over it. I 
also took off the bezel of the screen and looked around. Everything that 
the hinge was attached to inside the lid is either broken or gone. I 
have the overwhelming feeling that, if I try to do anything other than 
replace the whole lid, I'll break the display and the laptop becomes a 
desktop. I'm going to make do with duct tape for now. I'm also going to 
keep my eye out for deals on used computers or lids.

Sincerely,

Ron

On 03/02/2011 03:18 PM, Greg Freemyer wrote:
> Fyi:
>
> There has been at least one class action lawsuit related pre-mature
> hinge failure.
>
> I don't recall the details.
>
> Greg
>
> On 3/2/11, Ron Frazier<atllinuxenthinfo at c3energy.com>  wrote:
>    
>> Hi Richard,
>>
>> Thanks for the tip.  That's an interesting thought.  I'll keep it in
>> mind.  I'm skeptical that it will work since the little plastic and
>> metal parts that the hinge was attached to are broken inside the
>> computer's lid. I may have to take the bezel off and look around.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Ron
>>
>> On 03/01/2011 11:32 PM, Richard Bronosky wrote:
>>      
>>> Google JB Weld. Use JB Weld.
>>>
>>>        
>>>> On Feb 25, 2011 9:53 AM, "Ron Frazier"<atllinuxenthinfo at c3energy.com
>>>> <mailto:atllinuxenthinfo at c3energy.com>>  wrote:
>>>>
>>>> After my unhappy experience with the LXDE install, before I went to bed
>>>> last night, one of the hinges on my laptop lid broke!  This day is
>>>> rapidly going downhill.  I am now literally holding the thing together
>>>> with tape.  At the moment, the display still works, but I know it's days
>>>> are numbered.
>>>>
>>>> I need to know if anyone has a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop that is
>>>> functional.  I don't care about the hard drive, DVD drive, and battery,
>>>> since I intend to swap those out if needed.  If all those things work,
>>>> that's great, but not required.  It does need to be the same model
>>>> number though, and the lid / hinge / display system needs to work.  I
>>>> may have to delegate this system to permanent desktop duty.
>>>>
>>>> <RANT ON>
>>>>
>>>> I have owned 3 laptops, and I don't abuse them.  Every one has broken in
>>>> some way.
>>>>
>>>> IBM Thinkpad, Windows 98 originally, power connector broke.  Took 3
>>>> hours to disassemble the PC, re-solder it, and reassemble.  Works now,
>>>> but is very slow.  (CPU is Pentium I, 300 MHz)
>>>>
>>>> Toshiba Satellite, Windows XP originally, laptop hinge broke, display
>>>> always dark but text is there, computer works fine, now a permanent
>>>> desktop machine.
>>>>
>>>> Dell Inspiron 1525, Vista originally, see above.  The hinge was attached
>>>> to the flange of the display screen, a very flimsy piece of metal only a
>>>> couple of thousandths of an inch thick.  Counting leverage, there were
>>>> probably 30 lbs of force on that little flange.  In my opinion, very bad
>>>> design.
>>>>
>>>> This is VERY frustrating!  I keep having to buy new equipment to replace
>>>> stuff that works due to cheap crummy mechanical parts.
>>>>
>>>> <RANT OFF>
>>>>
>>>> OK, I feel somewhat better now.
>>>>
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>
>>>> Ron
>>>>
>>>>          

-- 

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier

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linuxdude AT c3energy.com