Don't Jump on Laptops!

In this picture Dakota is looking over a customer work order with Derek Ropp. Derek runs a computer repair and services shop in Piqua, OH. Dakota was job shadowing with Mr. Ropp and learning about typical computer repairs. A customer brought a laptop into Derek's shop that had a broken lid. Apparently, the laptop was placed on a floor and a three-year old jumped on it. Floors are not good places to lay down laptops. Unless maybe you bought your laptop at Best Buy and purchased their $219.95 advanced warranty, then you can drop it or step on it and get it fixed free.

Another common problem that occurs with laptops is people deciding to get up and take a walk while holding their laptop while it is plugged in. This is a good way to crack the dc jack mounted on the motherboard that the power supply is plugged into. A typical Dell dc jack part can be purchased for about $1.39 on eBay but they are very difficult to install. The laptop must be disassembled, the broken jack removed and the new jack soldered back in place. Then the laptop must be reassembled.

Not too many local computer repair shops will attempt this, but there are shops that you can find on the Internet that will perform repairs to broken jacks for between $99 and $140, plus shipping. Think about this the next time you lay your laptop on the floor, carry it loosely while juggling a sandwich and beverage, or decide to take a walk while it is plugged in to your wall outlet.