Growing up I have one distinct memory of taking things apart. Our hair dryer would not switch between the different speeds - it would only run on "high." My dad got a screwdriver, I helped open it up, and he decided it was beyond what he wanted to deal with. He put the screws back in; the hair dryer never worked again - at all! The moral of the story was clear - don't disassemble what you want to work again.
Well, one of the hinges on my laptop broke recently, which made the monitor flop around unless perfectly vertical.
Its getting old - beginning its sixth year this summer. But upgrading will be troublesome (Windows 7 vs XP, getting new software, other computers in the house will still be XP). So I purchased a new hinge for $10 on ebay. But this means I have to take apart the computer (see story above).
This would be the third time I have opened up the laptop. The first time was to replace the fan assembly. The second was to fix the keyboard that stopped working after I put it together the first time. But this would be more involved: removing the modem/daughter card, removing and rewiring the PCI adapter, removing and rewiring the wireless antennae. Sounds serious.
Here are pictures of the the monitor detached and dissasembled, the "screw map" (to keep track of all the screws coming out of the monitor and base), and all the spare parts that were piling up as the project progressed.
Foolishly I started at 11:30pm. "This will take just a second." But this is like surgery, you can't just walk away after an hour and come back... Four hours later, I get the last screws in... BUT... It still works...so far... Here's to progress...
4 comments:
Congratulations - finishing always feels good. The screw map was a good idea. I've always depended on my memory. I get to the second type of screw and think I can remember which type goes where. Then on reassembly always spend way to much time figuring out how everything went.
Congratulations! Genetics isn't everything. :) I'm impressed with your map. Even more impressed that the computer works. I won't mention what I think about the hour at which you began the project... but then 11:00 A.M. would surely have found you with two short assistants and more "help" than you needed.
Nice job! Very impressive! The screw map was a good idea!
This is totally how I feel about the house. I just hope I have the same degree of success.
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