My Laptop is falling apart - help

hakoreh

Honorable
May 2, 2012
4
0
10,510
I really can't afford a new laptop right now and other than the outside, the inside meaning the CPU and hard drive etc are working fine plus my screen is nice and bright.

The problem is the keyboard doesn't work 100% because many of the keys were pulled off and then I don't know if they are on right, I followed guides and nothing helped. Also the left pane of the laptop is coming off, like I would need to super glue it down. The third and most irritating is the mousepad and clicker. It has rescinded into the case more and now the laptop has to be on a certain angle for the mouse to work and the click hardly clicks. I have an XPS M1530.

what can I do? I thought about ebay but its a lot of things wrong and what if i missed osmething?

any help is appreciated
 
Solution
The keyboard is a little more tricky and you might want to spend $20 on a replacement. I don't understand why the keys were pulled off, but if not snapped back on properly, they will not work properly. You'll need to find a Service Manual for your laptop to find out how to open and service it.

http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-keyboard-Inspiron-P446J-replacement/dp/B006J0ZBP4

The mouse pad issue is fairly simple... buy a wired mouse. It costs $15 - $25 for an inexpensive mouse and (at least to me) more convenient than using a mouse pad. But if you are going to open up the laptop to replace the keyboard, you might as well try tweaking the position of the mouse pad before buying a mouse.

If the left pane is coming off then I suppose...

the mouse clicker and keyboard can be replaced by a user and they sell those parts in the 20-50 range on ebay..
if it the top of the lcd hindge cover that broken off you can pick those up on ebay or a laptop parts store. if the top cover is one part it might cost a few bucks more but any user with a little time should be able to pop the old broken part off. if you dont want to try it your self look online and in the phone book for local laptop repair. (no micro center/not best buy. you may have to contact dell or look at dell web page for local service center. most of them by looking and you telling them what needs to be replaced can give you a quote.
 
The keyboard is a little more tricky and you might want to spend $20 on a replacement. I don't understand why the keys were pulled off, but if not snapped back on properly, they will not work properly. You'll need to find a Service Manual for your laptop to find out how to open and service it.

http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-keyboard-Inspiron-P446J-replacement/dp/B006J0ZBP4

The mouse pad issue is fairly simple... buy a wired mouse. It costs $15 - $25 for an inexpensive mouse and (at least to me) more convenient than using a mouse pad. But if you are going to open up the laptop to replace the keyboard, you might as well try tweaking the position of the mouse pad before buying a mouse.

If the left pane is coming off then I suppose superglue should work... or duct tape.
 
Solution


I pulled one of these apart last week and it's a nightmare - just trying to extract the optical drive because it jammed and kept a valued CD. My customer might let me have it for spares so keep in touch. The glossy metal pane around the keyboard is only glued to the base below it so a small dab wil put that back but it's no use doing it until you've replaced the touchpad.

Dell's are difficult to work in - I had to dismantle almost everything on another model a month or so back to get the hard disk out! The service manual is online though - here's yours:- http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1530/en/SM/index.htm


 

hakoreh

Honorable
May 2, 2012
4
0
10,510
OMG I finally took this apart and it was a nightmare not to mention to remove the keyboard there was a stripped screw and I had to pull the keyboard through the screw to get it off and I did not strip it, I had to have gotten it fro Dell that way. So finally I get to the touchpad and I find that it's just the touchpad assembly and not the actually physical mouse which got me pissed but I guess its really my fault. So I paid for the part I need and while I await it via first class mail (most likely a whole week) I have my laptop in literally pieces. I'm tempted to just sell it for parts and remove the hard drive but then I remind myself I have no credit and no money for a new one. I just want something to use for work and news reading online but not a net book.