Busted Laptop Casing

[spaceviking]

I recently dropped and damaged my laptop. It was open when it fell and part of the hinge is now cracked and as a result becomes dislodged when I close and open it. I used some 'Gorilla Tape' to band-aid it for now, this basically works but not ideal. My local computer repair shop recommended buying a new lap top, which seems a shame since other than the hinge it still works fine. What recommendations do you guys have? Keeping in mind I am no kit bashing aficionado; Though as long as it is still portable I don't care if it is ugly.

[Stormin]

If you don't have accidental warrenty, price out the components from the manufacturers website. Then look up a dis-assembly guide on the internet for your particular model. Decide whether the parts cost and time are worth it when you throw in the chance of hidden damage that may show up later.

When I worked as computer repair for Staples that's exactly how I did it except I charged over 100 an hour and the components were massively marked up because they were ordered by HQ and then shipped to the store (so it took longer to arrive too). Add in another 300 to wipe the hard drive and re-install windows + drivers and you can see why for someone who can't do the work themselves a new laptop is a good idea.

[Korto]

Not being able to see the damage, I don't know if this is applicable, but it's what I did when I noticed the hinge on an old laptop of mine was cracking.
Get a piece of thin sheet steel, size and shape to cover the hinge and extending onto the lid, and bend to fit. You're looking for it to fit snugly over the hinge, covering the crack and with a decent amount of "meat" on either side, but so the lid will still open and close normally. The steel should be thin enough to fit, but thick enough to be reasonably stiff.
Use acetone to clean the inside of the steel, and the outside of the case where the steel is going.
Smear inside of steel with araldite, or your epoxy resin of choice, and stick over wonky hinge.

[Ariphaos]

I recently dropped and damaged my laptop. It was open when it fell and part of the hinge is now cracked and as a result becomes dislodged when I close and open it. I used some 'Gorilla Tape' to band-aid it for now, this basically works but not ideal. My local computer repair shop recommended buying a new lap top, which seems a shame since other than the hinge it still works fine. What recommendations do you guys have? Keeping in mind I am no kit bashing aficionado; Though as long as it is still portable I don't care if it is ugly.

I epoxied the hinge back together when this happened to my previous laptop. It was only a temporary solution, as it eventually cracked again, so you might want to get some additional reinforcement on top of that.

Eventually though I just got a new laptop a few years later.