Right. But that was when motherboards cost many $100s, or more and it was actually economically feasible to expend several manhours troubleshooting and repairing. But today, with labor costs of $60 - $75 per hour, or more, and the cost of most motherboards $100 or less, it is typically cheaper to just buy new.
Another problem is that most people don't understand that, in most cases, replacing the faulty part is actually the easy and fast part. It is the troubleshooting process needed to find the actual fault (diagnosing the problem) that takes the technician's expertise, time, training and expensive test equipment.
When I first started repairing computers, to update the BIOS you replaced the BIOS chip! Then they got hi-tech and you used a high-intensity UV light to erase the old BIOS so you could "burn" in the new programming. I even went to a 40 hour class for "micro-miniature soldering techniques" to learn how to work on multi-layered circuit boards without destroying the boards or burning up the components while mounting. Now I cannot even remember the last time I plugged in my iron.
and perhaps speak to them about what I've tested and tried to perhaps save them some diagnostic time.
Yes, some are more than willing to "talk shop" with you, others are not. Perhaps if you go in to buy some RAM, a flash drive or maybe a case fan from them, that may loosen some lips.
It seems some manufacturers are starting to make their devices a bit more repair friendly, although some definitely aren't!
It seems to me the thinner and lighter the notebook, the harder it is to perform maintenance on. And with the move to handhelds, self-repairs will become even harder.
Long live the PC! :grin1:
there's very little you can do over the internet anyway when it comes to hardware :)
I wish everyone understood that repairing electronics is really a "hands on" process and in most cases, troubleshooting electronics involves eliminating all the other possibilities first, until all that is left is the problem child.
The good news is, you can still use the computer with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. But of course, showing airport security they work is a real pain.
