
Ask HN: What should I do with a broken laptop - padseeker
About 3 months ago a family member gave me their Dell Inspiron 3520. Its about 2 years old, she bought it at best buy but was not using it. I was happy to have it, my intension was load ubuntu. I probably used it previously, with Windows 10, maybe 12 times?<p>Never got to installing ubuntu - last week I turned it on and it would not turn on. Eventually it started making 3 beeps. Apparently 3 beeps means an issue with the motherboard. After doing a bit of research on the web it turns out many others have had the same issue with the same laptop.<p>My issue is it&#x27;s not worth it to me to fix it, as replacing the motherboard costs at least $250. Even repairing it might cost money. I think it initially cost of the laptop is $450 or so. I&#x27;m not qualified to fix it myself, not sure I want to invest the time to do so.<p>Mt question is this - what do you think is the most cost efficient thing to do with this relatively new but broken laptop?
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dmfdmf
I'd say if others are experiencing the same issues and there is no easy fix
(do a search for baking HP printer motherboards at 350Deg for 12 minutes or
fixing a Brother printer error with scotch tape) then it is toast. It sounds
like a production flaw and you will just be wasting your time.

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cbanek
I find there's never enough hardware that you can go all Officespace on.

Go to a field, with a baseball bat, and beat your frustrations out of it. You
get to keep the bat, so I'd say it's pretty cost efficient.

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Ryanb58
Recycle it. Some places pay you for old electronics.

You can also pick it apart and sell the items individually on ebay or
something.

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wprapido
savage it for parts (RAM, HDD, DVD, case, display)

