Is my laptop worth repairing?

Often, yes. Before you buy a new one, it's worth working out what's actually wrong.

Usually worth fixing

• Slow, with an old spinning hard drive: an SSD is often the biggest speed boost you can buy.
• Battery that dies quickly: a replacement is usually far cheaper than a new laptop.
• Worn keyboard or noisy fan: these are often simple parts.
• Software problems: a clean reinstall can fix a lot and costs no parts.

Think twice

• Liquid damage: it can keep causing faults after the first repair.
• A failed motherboard: this is often the most expensive part.
• No more security updates: if the system can't get updates, a repair won't fix that risk.
• Too little power for what you do: a repair won't make it fast enough if the processor is the limit.

A simple rule

Compare the repair cost to what a suitable replacement would cost, and consider how many more years the repaired laptop will realistically last. If the repair costs more than about half the price of a replacement and the machine is already old, replacing it often makes more sense. That's a rule of thumb, not a law.

Either way, back up your files before anyone works on it.

Got a problem like this? Send me a ticket and I'll reply by email.