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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world

I've just finished getting my laptop set up the way I like it, including maximising the RAM and upgrading the screen. I opened it up to use it, and the screws on the hinge tore through the plastic.

To top it off, the plastic on the bottom of the laptop, the side that's been removed here, has also broken.

My wife definitely didn't drop the laptop while she was tidying up though...

EDIT: Apologies all, I'm having trouble with Lemmy today, and it's not letting me reply.

I'll try to reply tomorrow, but in the meantime;

It's a Stonebook branded Clevo n751BU, a 7th gen i5. It's held up respectably well until it appears to have been knocked in the corner where the hinge is. The plastics on both sides of the hinge have given out.

I've ordered a replacement base, but the palm rest which is pictured is not available anywhere that I can find. I'm going to dismantle the hinge to clean and oil it, then reassemble it slightly less tightly, and epoxy the screws into place. The reason for taking it apart in the first place was to add a third hard drive. It has an nvme drive, and I had two HDDs going spare that can hold my documents and music. They're being synced now as I was having problems doing it remotely, but once they're in they can be managed with Syncthing. The laptop shouldn't need to come apart agin afterwards :)

I've been building and repairing computers and laptops for about 30 years, so I'm comfortable with completely stripping it, and can use it as an excuse to give everything a clean again. Short of replacing these HDDs with SSDs, there's nothing else that can physically be upgraded, so I'm half tempted to glue it shut so that I don't get tempted again :D

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[-] BzzBiotch@lemmy.world 89 points 5 months ago

Laptop repair guy here! This problem is common in consumer grade laptops. As far as I am concerned, it’s purposefully weakly designed, because these break a LOT.

Not the hinge is broken, but the mounting points for the screws that keep the hinge in place. Sometimes it breaks on the bottom case, sometimes it breaks on the screen side.

We fix these issues regularly with epoxy (and massive skillz, lol). With most hinges, you can adjust the force a little lighter to relieve the pressure on the mounting points. That way it doesn’t fail again, after repair.

[-] steal_your_face@lemmy.ml 19 points 5 months ago

This is why I love the idea of framework laptops

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[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

Machinist guy here!

Threads fail. Threads are generally the most likely thing to fail in any given mechanism. Generally, when the threads are expected to do more work than just sit there and not move, as in fastening a hinge for example, we try to make sure the threads are all the same kind of material.

I would never expect plastic threads to hold up to repeated use with an iron bolt inside. Something is going to give up, and it's going to be the soft plastic threads, every single time.

Think about cheap as fuck IKEA furniture, any time they have a bolt to screw in, you install an insert first. We do the same thing in plastic, aluminum, shit even steel sometimes if we want the bolt to fail first.

[-] NosferatuZodd@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

I believe you misunderstood the problem, the threads are not usually the problem, the problem is the brass heat insert the hinge threads into, the insert just breaks off the plastic with the screw still threaded in, usually because the hinge is a bit too tight/rigid and puts a lot of force into the insert pulling it out

this seems to be the case in this picture as well

[-] JoShmoe@ani.social 10 points 5 months ago

How can I adjust the force?

[-] scrion@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

by loosening the screws of the hinge.

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[-] TotalFat@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

Let the hate flow through you!

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[-] scrion@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

This is correct and good advice. I'd like to add that it's also an option to glue in a threaded metal insert in case a self - tapping plastic screw was used and the original thread is stripped.

[-] improbablypoopingrn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I just used the threaded metal inserts and seat them with the soldering iron to use orignal screws and have had great luck

Edit/ I should clarify that it's been a few years since I've done one of these repairs and may not be the best option on a newer/slimmer model

[-] scrion@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Absolutely, if there is enough plastic left, melting is one of the best options. That also enables mending plastic by melting in metal pins or strips via a cheap plastic welder for 10 bucks (success can be great, but it's highly dependent on the geometry and how things broke).

Edit: no, as I said, that's absolutely fine if there is a chunk of sturdy plastic to accept the insert. I just wanted to present another plastic repair technique for the sake of completeness, if somebody stumbles into this comment section.

Yup, I do a lot of 3d printed projects and use these all the time. They're great

[-] grue@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

As far as I am concerned, it’s purposefully weakly designed, because these break a LOT.

Could be sacrificial because the plastic case is cheaper/easier to replace than whatever else would break instead of it were stronger.

[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

Probably more so cheaper to mold the plastic case with weak threads than any other function.

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[-] charade_you_are@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 months ago

I very much hated working on hinge damage.

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[-] henfredemars@infosec.pub 48 points 5 months ago

Oh I hate these shitty joints that are designed to fail eventually. It's just not made to last.

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[-] socphoenix@midwest.social 29 points 5 months ago

JB weld epoxy might be a good choice if you either don’t plan on replacing the screen again, or to recreate the holes and patch the cracks if you pull it all the way apart again. I did it to the back of a tv when the vesa screw mounts ripped and it held for another 5 years.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 5 months ago

I've been looking at replacing the mounts with brass ones, but as it's an old laptop, I should be able to get a replacement case for around £40. I don't really want to spend any more, but if I can get the case I'm going to go down that route :)

[-] socphoenix@midwest.social 2 points 5 months ago

For sure take the case if it’s affordable! It’ll look much nicer afterwards too

[-] Concave1142@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

This happened on a decent spec'd HP laptop I bought my mom a couple years back. No easy way to repair without ordering new hinges that were impossible to find and the PC repair shop quoted over $500 repair on a $700 laptop when it was new.

Now she just leaves the laptop open in the 180 degree position with the laptop being held into a stand & bungie cord strapped to it to prevent it from falling foward. It is now a desktop PC and no longer a laptop.

[-] herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 months ago

I assume she's using a separate keyboard/mouse, right? Though I'm enjoying the mental picture of someone trying to touch type on a vertical keyboard.

[-] Concave1142@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

I did not want to deal with the remote IT support of it all, so I plugged in a mouse/keyboard and a second monitor to make it more like a desktop PC setup, lol.

[-] herrcaptain@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago

That's the way to do it. I used a broken laptop like that as my daily driver for a few years after losing my desktop and being unable to replace it.

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[-] KrapKake@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

HP by chance? Had this happen to a 360 HP laptop (and I almost never used that functionality!), repaired by replacing the backside of screen where it screws in. This of course required disassembling the whole damn laptop. I was horrified by how cheap it was and now have a ThinkPad T480.

[-] hellfire103@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago

My HP's hinge broke, too. I had to pack the entire back of the case with putty in order to fix it, and it's still not quite right.

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[-] Serious_Me@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

I used to work in a computer repair shop. Unfortunately this is a lot more common than you might think, and it's almost always due to poor quality plastic and nothing to do with the end user. Sadly I've yet to see a case where this is covered under the warranty either, but it's worth a shot if you want to go through the headache of their customer support.

You can try epoxy like someone else mention, but it comes with a few problems you might encounter. First you can't put too much epoxy or it'll spill over onto the computer components (which could damage them) and as a result it may not hold. Second, even if it does hold you're putting it over screws, which means you most likely won't be able to remove those screws down the road if you ever have to repair or upgrade it.

You could also just leave the laptop permanently open and never touch the hinge. Some people already this anyways with their devices so for them it's not worth the hassle. As long as nothing else is damaged and you're careful with it, this can work too.

Ultimately, the best solution is to just replace the plastic casing part where it ripped out of, which is usually either the housing around the keyboard and track-pad, or the one behind the LCD. Sadly because all the parts are likely made with poor quality plastic this is likely to happen again down the road. In your case it looks like the former, the housing around the keyboard. For some devices the keyboard isn't easily removable from this housing, so it's probably going to require you replace the keyboard as well, unless you like dealing with tiny rivets.

Oh, and you probably don't need to replace the hinge itself. like I said it's usually the brittle plastic in the housing that's at fault, not the hinge seizing and refusing to move.

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[-] Iloveyurianime@ani.social 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This is why if you need a budget laptop get something from a used business line like lenovo thinkpad dell latitude and hp elitebooks these will have far better quality and be (in some cases) more easy to repair

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[-] JohnnyCache@lemmy.one 6 points 5 months ago

You've gotta get those screws to the right torque after taking it apart. Too loose OR too tight and you've sealed your fate.

[-] stom@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 months ago
[-] NosferatuZodd@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

seems like everyone is immediately suspecting HP, rightfully so... my HP also did this exact same thing and I had to epoxy it to the frame to get it back together

[-] maccentric@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 months ago

I’ve seen this issue on an MSI laptop. Looking into it I found the problem quite widespread. The hinge is way too tight and the mount point it weak

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[-] steersman2484@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 months ago

Did you open it without the backplate on?

Anyways this is crappy anti consumer design by the manufacturer.

[-] Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I don’t understand why you were downvoted for asking this question. I’ve literally watched techs cause this damage by trying to open the lid with the back cover screws removed.

Most laptops have at least one screw on each side that goes through both the back cover and the hinge. If the hinge is normally affixed with 3 screws and you open the lid with one missing, each mount is taking on that extra stress.

Best practice is to reinstall those screws before opening the lid with the back cover removed.

[-] steersman2484@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 months ago

I broke a hinge myself that way, learned it the hard way

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 months ago

Yes and no. The backplate was attached but broken, and I didn't realise that the broken piece was where the third screw for the hinge was.

In fairness to the manufacturer, this is a 7th gen i5, and it was doing great until my wife 'definitely didn't drop it' on the corner >.<

[-] RedIce25@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago

Laptop hinges are the worst, cant imagine how many laptops I've seen with cracked plastics where the hinges are.

[-] IMongoose@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

At least it didn't crack the screen with the bad hinge. I think it happens when the screws get a little loose and the angles shift. I work k-12 edu and have seen hundreds of Chromebooks do this.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 months ago

Don't scare me, I haven't fixed it yet 😅

[-] IMongoose@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

You're already working on it so you're good. We've just had kids ignore it too long which causes more issues. Just don't force it lol.

[-] kitnaht@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

Honestly, this looks like it would be repairable with the appropriate sized heat-press insert, and a longer screw. Granted, things are pretty tight in that area; but it looks like there is enough beef left on the underside to repair this 'properly'.

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[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 4 points 5 months ago

Cheap laptops don't hold up. I've seen so many broken devices which the screen just breaks off

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[-] Tabzlock@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 months ago

Yeah this is not a fun one, I have done repairs and now do retail this issue is insanely common. Pretty much all budget laptops have this threaded into cheap plastic and I have had many customers devices hinges fail within 4 months in retail.

From what I can tell you also got quite lucky the hinge snapped on the base and not the screen. I've had a couple customers unlucky enough to have it snap on the screen and shatter the glass and or LCD.

The cases where it doesn't completely destroy the screen or base you can normally use epoxy glue, melting or something similar. But that still is normally a temporary solution it will probably break again. If that can't be done or a more permanent solution is needed, I've found that repairs with a metal plate and bolt seem to last I've also seen some people just use an L shaped metal bracket and not close the laptop again...

Regardless its a really annoying thing, I try to purchase and recommend devices with Metal frames (base and screen). Unfortunately even mid range laptops are now following this trend of plastic screwed hinges.

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[-] ji17br@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 months ago

Used to do laptop repair. It’s insane how often this happens with the crappy plastic shells.

[-] kaboom36@ani.social 3 points 5 months ago

Yep, happens a lot, I've got a cute little pair of nuts that replaced the inserts in my thinkpad

[-] Quills@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

ooh my old laptop had a problem like this too, but instead of ripping off it just got so rigid it would probably completely destroy the whole hull if i tried to force it open, to "fix" it, me and my cousin just opened the laptop and (carefully /s) completely removed the hinges (or at least the part of it that connects to the base of the laptop), now it is right beside me here hosting a jellyfin server with the screen being propped up only by a wi-fi router >:3

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 months ago

That was going to be its fate if I couldn't get the parts :)

[-] lazycouchpotato@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

That sucks.

Happened with my previous laptop and couldn't find replacement parts unfortunately.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 months ago

I've managed to find a replacement base, as that was broken too, but not this part. It looks like I should be able to fix it with some epoxy though :)

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this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2024
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