41 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
41 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: Fixing a laptop
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date: 2024-12-14
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permalink: daily/2024/12/14/fixing
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tags:
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- software-development
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- linux
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cta: ~
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snippet: |
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Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop.
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---
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Today, I rediscovered my hardware knowledge and fixed my son's laptop - a Lenovo ThinkPad X390.
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Some keys weren't working when pressed, only to have the characters appear a few seconds later.
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Fun fact: I started my career refurbishing and repairing laptop computers.
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My first job was for a local laptop company that refurbished ex-business laptops for resale, followed by working for Panasonic where I'd repair laptops from blue chip clients across Europe.
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I used to build custom PCs, but have done little to no hardware work since I started in software development in 2010.
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Today, though, I took the laptop apart and after checking the motherboard and keyboard were OK, I reseated the keyboard and cleaned any dust from inside the casing.
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It worked!
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If I'd have returned it to a manufacturer or taken it to a local computer repair shop, I'd have had to pay for them to diagnose and (hopefully) resolve the issue.
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## Here's the thing
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Most laptops and phones today are sealed units and not as modular, repairable or upgradable as the devices I used to work on.
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In some cases, you can't upgrade or repair them yourself.
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Similar to [having control and ownership of my own data][0], I like the ability to repair a keyboard myself or to add more memory or storage to my laptop.
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As well as installing and running my own software, [starting a homelab][1] has also reignited my interest in hardware and being able to upgrade and repair my own devices.
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[0]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/12/13/gitea
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[1]: {{site.url}}/daily/2024/12/01/homelabbing-with-nixos
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