# 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.